2,493 research outputs found
Validity of the Taylor Hypothesis for Linear Kinetic Waves in the Weakly Collisional Solar Wind
The interpretation of single-point spacecraft measurements of solar wind
turbulence is complicated by the fact that the measurements are made in a frame
of reference in relative motion with respect to the turbulent plasma. The
Taylor hypothesis---that temporal fluctuations measured by a stationary probe
in a rapidly flowing fluid are dominated by the advection of spatial structures
in the fluid rest frame---is often assumed to simplify the analysis. But
measurements of turbulence in upcoming missions, such as Solar Probe Plus,
threaten to violate the Taylor hypothesis, either due to slow flow of the
plasma with respect to the spacecraft or to the dispersive nature of the plasma
fluctuations at small scales. Assuming that the frequency of the turbulent
fluctuations is characterized by the frequency of the linear waves supported by
the plasma, we evaluate the validity of the Taylor hypothesis for the linear
kinetic wave modes in the weakly collisional solar wind. The analysis predicts
that a dissipation range of solar wind turbulence supported by whistler waves
is likely to violate the Taylor hypothesis, while one supported by kinetic
Alfven waves is not.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Interpreting Magnetic Variance Anisotropy Measurements in the Solar Wind
The magnetic variance anisotropy () of the solar wind has been
used widely as a method to identify the nature of solar wind turbulent
fluctuations; however, a thorough discussion of the meaning and interpretation
of the has not appeared in the literature. This paper explores
the implications and limitations of using the as a method for
constraining the solar wind fluctuation mode composition and presents a more
informative method for interpreting spacecraft data. The paper also compares
predictions of the from linear theory to nonlinear turbulence
simulations and solar wind measurements. In both cases, linear theory compares
well and suggests the solar wind for the interval studied is dominantly
Alfv\'{e}nic in the inertial and dissipation ranges to scales .Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Evidence of Critical Balance in Kinetic Alfven Wave Turbulence Simulations
A numerical simulation of kinetic plasma turbulence is performed to assess
the applicability of critical balance to kinetic, dissipation scale turbulence.
The analysis is performed in the frequency domain to obviate complications
inherent in performing a local analysis of turbulence. A theoretical model of
dissipation scale critical balance is constructed and compared to simulation
results, and excellent agreement is found. This result constitutes the first
evidence of critical balance in a kinetic turbulence simulation and provides
evidence of an anisotropic turbulence cascade extending into the dissipation
range. We also perform an Eulerian frequency analysis of the simulation data
and compare it to the results of a previous study of magnetohydrodynamic
turbulence simulations.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Physics of Plasma
Multiscale nature of the dissipation range in gyrokinetic simulations of Alfv\'enic turbulence
Nonlinear energy transfer and dissipation in Alfv\'en wave turbulence are
analyzed in the first gyrokinetic simulation spanning all scales from the tail
of the MHD range to the electron gyroradius scale. For typical solar wind
parameters at 1 AU, about 30% of the nonlinear energy transfer close to the
electron gyroradius scale is mediated by modes in the tail of the MHD cascade.
Collisional dissipation occurs across the entire kinetic range
. Both mechanisms thus act on multiple coupled scales,
which have to be retained for a comprehensive picture of the dissipation range
in Alfv\'enic turbulence.Comment: Made several improvements to figures and text suggested by referee
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