Radiative Particle-in-Cell Simulations of Turbulent Comptonization in Magnetized Black-Hole Coronae.

We report results from the first radiative particle-in-cell simulations of strong Alfvénic turbulence in plasmas of moderate optical depth. The simulations are performed in a local 3D periodic box and self-consistently follow the evolution of radiation as it interacts with a turbulent electron-positron plasma via Compton scattering. We focus on the conditions expected in magnetized coronae of accreting black holes and obtain an emission spectrum consistent with the observed hard state of Cyg X-1. Most of the turbulence power is transferred directly to the photons via bulk Comptonization, shaping the peak of the emission around 100 keV. The rest is released into nonthermal particles, which generate the MeV spectral tail. The method presented here shows promising potential for ab initio modeling of various astrophysical sources and opens a window into a new regime of kinetic plasma turbulence.

Fully Kinetic Simulation of 3D Kinetic Alfvén Turbulence.

We present results from a three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation of plasma turbulence, resembling the plasma conditions found at kinetic scales of the solar wind. The spectral properties of the turbulence in the subion range are consistent with theoretical expectations for kinetic Alfvén waves. Furthermore, we calculate the local anisotropy, defined by the relation k_{∥}(k_{⊥}), where k_{∥} is a characteristic wave number along the local mean magnetic field at perpendicular scale l_{⊥}∼1/k_{⊥}. The subion range anisotropy is scale dependent with k_{∥}

Structure of Plasma Heating in Gyrokinetic Alfvénic Turbulence.

We analyze plasma heating in weakly collisional kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence using high resolution gyrokinetic simulations spanning the range of scales between the ion and the electron gyroradii. Real space structures that have a higher than average heating rate are shown not to be confined to current sheets. This novel result is at odds with previous studies, which use the electromagnetic work in the local electron fluid frame, i.e., J·(E+v_{e}×B), as a proxy for turbulent dissipation to argue that heating follows the intermittent spatial structure of the electric current. Furthermore, we show that electrons are dominated by parallel heating while the ions prefer the perpendicular heating route. We comment on the implications of the results presented here.

How turbulence regulates biodiversity in systems with cyclic competition.

Cyclic, nonhierarchical interactions among biological species represent a general mechanism by which ecosystems are able to maintain high levels of biodiversity. However, species coexistence is often possible only in spatially extended systems with a limited range of dispersal, whereas in well-mixed environments models for cyclic competition often lead to a loss of biodiversity. Here we consider the dispersal of biological species in a fluid environment, where mixing is achieved by a combination of advection and diffusion. In particular, we perform a detailed numerical analysis of a model composed of turbulent advection, diffusive transport, and cyclic interactions among biological species in two spatial dimensions and discuss the circumstances under which biodiversity is maintained when external environmental conditions, such as resource supply, are uniform in space. Cyclic interactions are represented by a model with three competitors, resembling the children's game of rock-paper-scissors, whereas the flow field is obtained from a direct numerical simulation of two-dimensional turbulence with hyperviscosity. It is shown that the space-averaged dynamics undergoes bifurcations as the relative strengths of advection and diffusion compared to biological interactions are varied.