Structure transitions induced by the Hall term in homogeneous and isotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Hall effects on local structures in homogeneous, isotropic, and incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence are studied numerically. The transition of vortices from sheet-like to tubular structures induced by the Hall term is found, while the kinetic energy spectrum does not distinguish the two types of structures. It is shown by the use of the sharp low-pass filter that the transition occurs not only in the scales smaller than the ion skin depth but also in a larger scale. The transition is related with the forward energy transfer in the spectral space. Analyses by the use of the sharp low-pass filter show that the nonlinear energy transfer associated with the Hall term is dominated by the forward transfer and relatively local in the wave number space. A projection of the simulation data to a Smagorinsky-type sub-grid-scale model shows that the high wave number component of the Hall term may possibly be replaced by the model effectively. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.