Paper detail

Formation of Rotational Discontinuities in Compressive three-dimensional MHD Turbulence

Measurements of solar wind turbulence reveal the ubiquity of discontinuities. In this study, we investigate how the discontinuities, especially rotational discontinuities (RDs), are formed in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. In a simulation of the decaying compressive three-dimensional (3-D) MHD turbulence with an imposed uniform background magnetic field, we detect RDs with sharp field rotations and little variations of magnetic field intensity as well as mass density. At the same time, in the de Hoffman-Teller (HT) frame, the plasma velocity is nearly in agreement with the Alfvén speed, and is field-aligned on both sides of the discontinuity. We take one of the identified RDs to analyze in details its 3-D structure and temporal evolution. By checking the magnetic field and plasma parameters, we find that the identified RD evolves from the steepening of the Alfvén wave with moderate amplitude, and that steepening is caused by the nonuniformity of the Alfvén speed in the ambient turbulence.