Fundamental MHD scales -- II: the kinematic phase of the supersonic small-scale dynamo

Abstract

The small-scale dynamo (SSD) amplifies weak magnetic fields exponentially fast via kinetic motions. While there exist well-established theories for SSDs in incompressible flows, many astrophysical SSDs operate in supersonic turbulence. To understand the impact of compressibility on amplified magnetic fields, we perform an extensive set of visco-resistive SSD simulations, covering a wide range of sonic Mach number \(\mathcal{M}\), hydrodynamic Reynolds number Re, and magnetic Prandtl number Pm. We develop robust methods for measuring kinetic and magnetic energy dissipation scales \(\ell_\nu\) and \(\ell_\eta\), as well as the scale at which magnetic fields are strongest \(\ell_p\) during the kinematic phase of these simulations. We show that \(\ell_\nu/\ell_\eta \sim\) Pm\(^{1/2}\) is a universal feature in the kinematic phase of Pm \(\geq 1\) SSDs, regardless of \(\mathcal{M}\) or Re, and we confirm earlier predictions that SSDs operating in incompressible plasmas (either \(\mathcal{M} \leq 1\) or Re \(<\) Re\(_{\rm crit} \approx 100\)) concentrate magnetic energy at the smallest scales allowed by magnetic dissipation, \(\ell_p \sim \ell_\eta\), and produce fields organised with field strength and field-line curvature inversely correlated. However, we show that these predictions fail for compressible SSDs (\(\mathcal{M} > 1\) and Re \(>\) Re\(_{\rm crit}\)), where shocks concentrate magnetic energy in large-scale, over-dense, coherent structures, with size \(\ell_p \sim (\ell_{\rm turb} / \ell_{\rm shock})^{1/3} \ell_\eta \gg \ell_\eta\), where \(\ell_{\rm shock} \sim \mathcal{M}^2 / [\)Re \( (\mathcal{M} - 1)^2]\) is shock width, and \(\ell_{\rm turb}\) is the turbulent outer scale; magnetic field-line curvature becomes almost independent of the field strength. We discuss the implications for galaxy mergers and for cosmic-ray transport models in the interstellar medium that are sensitive to field-line curvature statistics.