Intermittency and Avalanching in Turbulent Space Plasmas: from Models to Reality
Vadim M. Uritsky
Institute for Space Research, University of Calgary
I present a new approach for quantifying multiscale intermittency in
complex natural systems with spatially extended degrees of freedom,
including those commonly studied in solar- and space physics. The
approach is based on spatiotemporal decomposition of a continuum
time-dependent turbulent field into a set of discrete dissipation
events similar to energy avalanches in sandpile models, and its
subsequent filtering and analysis. The idea is illustrated by a
variety of examples, including flaring activity in the solar corona,
electron precipitation dynamics in the auroral zone of Earth's
ionosphere, and bursty magnetic energy transport in turbulent MHD
simulations. In each case, the proposed method provides significant
new information on the scaling regimes, predictability, correlation
patterns and the underlying thermodynamic states of the studied
systems.
Date: | Friday, 26 September 2008 |
Time: | 10:00 |
Where: | Université de Montréal |
| Pavillon Roger-Gaudry, Local D-460 |
Contact: | Pierre Bergeron |
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