INTERMITTENCY OF SOLAR WIND DENSITY FLUCTUATIONS FROM ION TO ELECTRON SCALES

Journal Article · Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/789/1/L8· OSTI ID:22365755

Chen, C. H. K. ^[1]; Sorriso-Valvo, L. ^[2]; Šafránková, J.

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1. Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)
2. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

The intermittency of density fluctuations in the solar wind at kinetic scales has been examined using high time resolution Faraday cup measurements from the Spektr-R spacecraft. It was found that the probability density functions (PDFs) of the fluctuations are highly non-Gaussian over this range, but do not show large changes in shape with scale. These properties are statistically similar to those of the magnetic fluctuations and are important to understanding the dynamics of small scale turbulence in the solar wind. Possible explanations for the behavior of the density and magnetic fluctuations are discussed.

• OSTI ID: 22365755
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 789, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
DENSITY
FARADAY CUPS
FLUCTUATIONS
IONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
PLASMA
PROBABILITY DENSITY FUNCTIONS
SOLAR ELECTRONS
SOLAR WIND
TIME RESOLUTION
TURBULENCE