title: Spectrum of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.
abstract: We propose a phenomenological theory of strong incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the presence of a strong large-scale external magnetic field. We argue that in the inertial range of scales, magnetic-field and velocity-field fluctuations tend to align the directions of their polarizations. However, the perfect alignment cannot be reached; it is precluded by the presence of a constant energy flux over scales. As a consequence, the directions of shear-Alfvén fluid and magnetic-field fluctuations at each scale lambda become effectively aligned within the angle phi(lambda) proportional to lambda (1/4), which leads to scale-dependent depletion of the nonlinear interaction and to the field-perpendicular energy spectrum E(k(perpendicular)) proportional to k(perpendicular)(-3/2). Our results may be universal, i.e., independent of the external magnetic field, since small-scale fluctuations locally experience a strong field produced by large-scale eddies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Stanislav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boldyrev