Collisionless magnetohydrodynamics with gyrokinetic effects

Anisotropic magnetohydrodynamics equations, which also capture the dynamics of quasi-transverse small scales obeying the gyrokinetic ordering, are derived using fourth-rank moment closures, based on a refined description of linear Landau damping and finite Larmor radius (FLR) corrections. This FLR-Landau fluid model reproduces the dispersion relation of low-frequency waves, up to scales that, in the case of quasi-transverse kinetic Alfven waves, can be much smaller than the ion gyroradius. The mirror instability, which requires temperature anisotropy, is also captured, together with its quenching at small scales. This model that accurately reproduces the collisionless dissipation of low-frequency modes, should provide an efficient tool to simulate mesoscale turbulence in a magnetized collisionless plasma. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.