Magnetohydrodynamic turbulent cascade of coronal loop magnetic fields.

The Parker model for coronal heating is investigated through a high resolution simulation. An inertial range is resolved where fluctuating magnetic energy EMk[Please see symbol]) [Please see symbol] k[Please see symbol](-2.7) exceeds kinetic energy EK(k[Please see symbol])[Please see symbol]k[Please see symbol](-0.6). Increments scale as δbℓ ~/= ℓ(-0.85) and δuℓ ~/= ℓ(+0.2) with velocity increasing at small scales, indicating that magnetic reconnection plays a prime role in this turbulent system. We show that spectral energy transport is akin to standard magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence even for a system of reconnecting current sheets sustained by the boundary. In this new MHD turbulent cascade, kinetic energy flows are negligible while cross-field flows are enhanced, and through a series of "reflections" between the two fields, cascade more than half of the total spectral energy flow.