Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufmsh52a..04s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #SH52A-04
Physics
Plasma Physics
[2149] Interplanetary Physics / Mhd Waves And Turbulence, [2159] Interplanetary Physics / Plasma Waves And Turbulence, [2164] Interplanetary Physics / Solar Wind Plasma, [7863] Space Plasma Physics / Turbulence
Scientific paper
Electromagnetic fluctuations in the inertial range of solar wind MHD turbulence and beyond (up to frequencies of 10Hz) have been studied for the first time using both magnetic field and electric field measurements on Cluster [Bale et al., 2005]. It has been shown that at frequencies above the spectral breakpoint at ~0.4Hz, in the dissipation range, the wave modes become dispersive and are consistent with Kinetic Alfven Waves (KAW). This interpretation, consistent with findings from recent theoretical studies, is based on the simple assumption that the measured frequency spectrum is actually a Doppler shifted wave number spectrum (ω ≈ k Vsw), commonly used in the solar wind and known as Taylor's hypothesis. While Taylor's hypothesis is valid in the inertial range of solar wind turbulence, it may break down in the dissipation range where temporal fluctuations can become important. We recently analyzed the effect of Doppler shift on KAW as well as compressional proton whistler waves [Salem et al., 2009]. The dispersive properties of the KAW and the whistler wave modes, as well as the electric to magnetic field (E/B) ratio, have been determined both analytically and numerically in the plasma and the spacecraft frame, with the goal of directly comparing those analytical/numerical estimates in the spacecraft frame with the data as measured. We revisit here Cluster electric field and magnetic field data in the solar wind using this approach. We focus our analysis on several ambient solar wind intervals with varying plasma parameters, allowing for a statistical study. We show that this technique provides an efficient diagnostics for wave-mode identification in the dissipation/dispersion range of solar wind turbulence.
Bale Stuart
Salem C. S.
Sundkvist D. J.
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