Solar Wind Turbulence Studies using MMS Fast Plasma Investigation Data

Abstract

Studies of solar wind turbulence traditionally employ high-resolution magnetic field data, but high-resolution measurements of ion and electron moments have been possible only recently. We report the first turbulence studies of ion and electron velocity moments accumulated in pristine solar wind by the Fast Particle Investigation instrument onboard the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission. Use of these data is made possible by a novel implementation of a frequency domain Hampel filter, described herein. After presenting procedures for processing of the data, we discuss statistical properties of solar wind turbulence extending into the kinetic range. Magnetic field fluctuations dominate electron and ion velocity fluctuation spectra throughout the energy-containing and inertial ranges. However, a multi-spacecraft analysis indicates that at scales shorter than the ion-inertial length, electron velocity fluctuations become larger than ion velocity and magnetic field fluctuations. The kurtosis of ion velocity peaks around few ion-inertial lengths and returns to near gaussian value at sub-ion scales.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement

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• Pressure-Strain Interaction as the Energy Dissipation Estimate in Collisionless Plasma
• Role of magnetic field curvature in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
• Large-scale Structure and Turbulence Transport in the Inner Solar Wind -- Comparison of Parker Solar Probe's First Five Orbits with a Global 3D Reynolds-averaged MHD Model
• Direct Measurement of the Solar-Wind Taylor Microscale using MMS Turbulence Campaign Data
• Kinetic range spectral features of cross-helicity using MMS
• Kinetic Entropy-Based Measures of Distribution Function Non-Maxwellianity: Theory and Simulations
• Multidimensional Iterative Filtering: a new approach for investigating plasma turbulence in numerical simulations
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• A Statistical Study of the Compressible Energy Cascade Rate in Solar Wind Turbulence: Parker Solar Probe Observations
• Sign singularity of the local energy transfer in space plasma turbulence
• Sub-ion scale Compressive Turbulence in the Solar wind: MMS spacecraft potential observations
• Compressible Turbulence in the Near-Sun Solar Wind: Parker Solar Probe's First Eight Perihelia
• Power Anisotropy, Dispersion Signature and Turbulence Diffusion Region in the 3D Wavenumber Domain of Space Plasma Turbulence
• Incompressible Extended Magnetohydrodynamics Waves: Implications of Electron Inertia
• Isotropization and Evolution of Energy-Containing Eddies in Solar Wind Turbulence: Parker Solar Probe, Helios 1, ACE, WIND, and Voyager 1