Abstract
A dynamical approach, rather than the usual statistical approach, is taken to
explore the physical mechanisms underlying the nonlinear transfer of energy,
the damping of the turbulent fluctuations, and the development of coherent
structures in kinetic plasma turbulence. It is argued that the linear and
nonlinear dynamics of Alfven waves are responsible, at a very fundamental
level, for some of the key qualitative features of plasma turbulence that
distinguish it from hydrodynamic turbulence, including the anisotropic cascade
of energy and the development of current sheets at small scales. The first
dynamical model of kinetic turbulence in the weakly collisional solar wind
plasma that combines self-consistently the physics of Alfven waves with the
development of small-scale current sheets is presented and its physical
implications are discussed. This model leads to a simplified perspective on the
nature of turbulence in a weakly collisional plasma: the nonlinear interactions
responsible for the turbulent cascade of energy and the formation of current
sheets are essentially fluid in nature, while the collisionless damping of the
turbulent fluctuations and the energy injection by kinetic instabilities are
essentially kinetic in nature.
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