Intermittency in the Expanding Solar Wind: Observations from Parker Solar Probe (0.16au), Helios 1 (0.3-1au), and Voyager 1 (1-10au)

Abstract

We examine statistics of magnetic field vector components to explore how intermittency evolves from near sun plasma to radial distances as large as 10 au. Statistics entering the analysis include auto-correlation, magnetic structure functions of order n (SFn), and scale dependent kurtosis (SDK), each grouped in ranges of heliocentric distance. The Goddard Space Flight Center Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF) provides magnetic field measurements for resolutions of 6.8ms for Parker Solar Probe, 6s for Helios, and 1.92s for Voyager 1. We compute SF2 to determine the scales encompassing the inertial range and examine SDK to investigate degree of non-Gaussianity. Auto-correlations are used to resolve correlation scales. Correlation lengths and ion inertial lengths provide an estimate of effective Reynolds number (Re). Variation in Re allows us to examine for the first time the relationship between SDK and Re in an interplanetary plasma. A conclusion from this observed relationship is that regions with lower Re at a fixed physical scale have on average lower kurtosis, implying less intermittent behavior. Kolmogorov refined similarity hypothesis is applied to magnetic SFn and kurtosis to calculate intermittency parameters and fractal scaling in the inertial range. A refined Voyager 1 magnetic field dataset is generated.

arXiv comment19 pages, 15 figures, Submitted to/Accepted by ApJS

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Cited by in corpus (12)

• Turbulence in the outer heliosphere
• Magnetic field spectral evolution in the inner heliosphere
• Magnetic field intermittency in the solar wind: PSP and SolO observations ranging from the Alfven region out to 1 AU
• Reconciling Parker Solar Probe observations and magnetohydrodynamic theory
• The Temperature Anisotropy and Helium Abundance Features of Alfvénic Slow Solar Wind Observed by Parker Solar Probe, Helios, and Wind Missions
• Taylor microscale and effective Reynolds number near the Sun from PSP
• Association of intermittency with electron heating in the near-Sun solar wind
• Transfer of Entropy between the Magnetic Field and Solar Energetic Particles during an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection
• De-Biasing Structure Function Estimates From Sparse Time Series of the Solar Wind: A Data-Driven Approach
• Transformation of solar wind energy and helicity spectra in the frame of magnetohydrodynamics shell modeling
• Direct power spectral density estimation from structure functions without Fourier transforms
• Isotropization and Evolution of Energy-Containing Eddies in Solar Wind Turbulence: Parker Solar Probe, Helios 1, ACE, WIND, and Voyager 1