Non-uniformity effects in the negative effective magnetic pressure instability

In direct numerical simulations of strongly stratified turbulence we have previously studied the development of large scale magnetic structures starting from a uniform background field. This is caused by an instability resulting from a negative contribution of small-scale turbulence to the effective (mean-field) magnetic pressure, and was qualitatively reproduced in mean-field simulations (MFS) where this pressure reduction was modeled as a function of the mean magnetic field normalized by the equipartition field. We now investigate the effect of mean current density on the turbulent pressure reduction. In our MFS, such currents are associated with sharp gradients of the growing structures. We find that an enhanced mean current density increases the suppression of the turbulent pressure. PACS numbers: 91.25.Cw, 92.60.hk, 94.05.Lk, 96.50.Tf, 96.60.qd (Some figures may appear in color only in the online journal)