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PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv

Why MHD turbulence forms sheets: energy conversion and cascade geometry

  • Damiano Capocci
  • Moritz Linkmann
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Abstract

Sheet-like structures are ubiquitous in magnetohydrodynamic systems and are known to play a crucial role in astrophysical plasma transport. Here, by applying a theoretical framework to data from numerical simulations, we demonstrate that current-sheet formation is a direct consequence of energy conversion between kinetic and magnetic fields. The strain-magnetic field organisation associated with this conversion favours the emergence of sheet-like structures, and analytical calculations show that sheet-like geometry constitutes the dominant flow configuration. We further show that the same conversion-driven reorganisation of the strain motion is responsible for the depletion of the mean Inertial energy transfer, a previously observed phenomenon whose physical origin has remained unclear. Finally, we identify experimentally accessible diagnostics through which these predictions can be tested in multi-spacecraft observations of turbulent plasmas.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{capocci2026turbulence,
  title = {{Why MHD turbulence forms sheets: energy conversion and cascade geometry}},
  author = {Damiano Capocci and Moritz Linkmann},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.25407},
  eprint = {2609.25407},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25407},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Why MHD turbulence forms sheets: energy conversion and cascade geometry
AU  - Damiano Capocci
AU  - Moritz Linkmann
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/21
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.25407
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25407
AB  - Sheet-like structures are ubiquitous in magnetohydrodynamic systems and are known to play a crucial role in astrophysical plasma transport. Here, by applying a theoretical framework to data from numerical simulations, we demonstrate that current-sheet formation is a direct consequence of energy conversion between kinetic and magnetic fields. The strain-magnetic field organisation associated with this conversion favours the emergence of sheet-like structures, and analytical calculations show that sheet-like geometry constitutes the dominant flow configuration. We further show that the same conversion-driven reorganisation of the strain motion is responsible for the depletion of the mean Inertial energy transfer, a previously observed phenomenon whose physical origin has remained unclear. Finally, we identify experimentally accessible diagnostics through which these predictions can be tested in multi-spacecraft observations of turbulent plasmas.
ER  -