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Title: Solar wind compressible turbulence near proton scales: Cluster observations

Abstract

The solar wind compressible turbulence attracts more attention recently due to its possible role in plasma heating. Using the plasma density and magnetic field measured simultaneously by the Cluster C1 probe, we statistically investigate the wave characteristics of the proton-scale compressible turbulence. In most cases, the density and magnetic field strength fluctuations almost show no positive correlation, suggesting the absence of fast mode waves. Moreover, the magnetic compressibility C{sub b} as measured by the level of magnetic fluctuations parallel to the background field, is enhanced continuously around proton scales and is consistent with kinetic Alfvén wave (KAW) prediction. Interestingly, kinetic slow mode waves (KSW) are identified in a few cases through large values of C{sub b} and plasma compressibility C{sub p}, together with the the anti-correlation between n and B. We suggest that both KAW and KSW can account for the compressible fluctuations energy, while their relative proportions under certain plasma condition require further studies.

Authors:
; ; ;  [1]
  1. Space Science Institute, School of Astronautics, Beihang University, Beijing (China)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22590912
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
AIP Conference Proceedings
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 1720; Journal Issue: 1; Conference: SOLAR WIND 14: 14. international solar wind conference, Weihai (China), 22-26 Jun 2015; Other Information: (c) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0094-243X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; ALFVEN WAVES; ASTROPHYSICS; COMPRESSIBILITY; CORRELATIONS; FLUCTUATIONS; MAGNETIC FIELDS; PLASMA DENSITY; PLASMA HEATING; SOLAR PROTONS; SOLAR WIND; TURBULENCE

Citation Formats

Wang, Tieyan, Cao, Jinbin, Fu, Huishan, and Yang, Jian. Solar wind compressible turbulence near proton scales: Cluster observations. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4943829.
Wang, Tieyan, Cao, Jinbin, Fu, Huishan, & Yang, Jian. Solar wind compressible turbulence near proton scales: Cluster observations. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943829
Wang, Tieyan, Cao, Jinbin, Fu, Huishan, and Yang, Jian. 2016. "Solar wind compressible turbulence near proton scales: Cluster observations". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943829.
@article{osti_22590912,
title = {Solar wind compressible turbulence near proton scales: Cluster observations},
author = {Wang, Tieyan and Cao, Jinbin and Fu, Huishan and Yang, Jian},
abstractNote = {The solar wind compressible turbulence attracts more attention recently due to its possible role in plasma heating. Using the plasma density and magnetic field measured simultaneously by the Cluster C1 probe, we statistically investigate the wave characteristics of the proton-scale compressible turbulence. In most cases, the density and magnetic field strength fluctuations almost show no positive correlation, suggesting the absence of fast mode waves. Moreover, the magnetic compressibility C{sub b} as measured by the level of magnetic fluctuations parallel to the background field, is enhanced continuously around proton scales and is consistent with kinetic Alfvén wave (KAW) prediction. Interestingly, kinetic slow mode waves (KSW) are identified in a few cases through large values of C{sub b} and plasma compressibility C{sub p}, together with the the anti-correlation between n and B. We suggest that both KAW and KSW can account for the compressible fluctuations energy, while their relative proportions under certain plasma condition require further studies.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4943829},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22590912}, journal = {AIP Conference Proceedings},
issn = {0094-243X},
number = 1,
volume = 1720,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Mar 25 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Fri Mar 25 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}