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Updated: May 14, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Toward astrophysical turbulence in the laboratory
G G Howes1, D J Drake, K D Nielson
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA.
Abstract:
Turbulence is a ubiquitous phenomenon in space and astrophysical plasmas, driving a cascade of energy from large to small scales and strongly influencing the plasma heating resulting from the dissipation of the turbulence. Modern theories of plasma turbulence are based on the fundamental concept that the turbulent cascade of energy is caused by the nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfvén waves, yet this interaction has never been observationally or experimentally verified. We present here the first experimental measurement in a laboratory plasma of the nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfvén waves, the fundamental building block of astrophysical plasma turbulence. This measurement establishes a firm basis for the application of theoretical ideas developed in idealized models to turbulence in realistic space and astrophysical plasma systems.
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