Related papers: Coherent structures at ion scales in fast solar wi…
Understanding the nature of the turbulent fluctuations below the ion gyroradius in solar-wind turbulence is a great challenge. Recent studies have been mostly in favor of kinetic Alfv\'en wave (KAW) type of fluctuations, but other kinds of…
We present a measurement of the spectral index of density fluctuations between ion and electron scales in solar wind turbulence using the EFI instrument on the ARTEMIS spacecraft. The mean spectral index at 1 AU was found to be -2.75 +/-…
In this work, we investigate how the complex structure found in solar wind proton velocity distribution functions (VDFs), rather than the commonly assumed two-component bi-Maxwellian structure, affects the onset and evolution of…
Spectral properties of a fully compressible solar wind Hall Magnetohydrodynamic plasma are investigated by means of time dependent three dimensional Hall MHD simulations. Our simulations, in agreement with spacecraft data, identify a…
The relationship between a decaying strong turbulence and kinetic instabilities in a slowly expanding plasma is investigated using two-dimensional (2-D) hybrid expanding box simulations. We impose an initial ambient magnetic field…
The role of compressible fluctuations in the energy cascade of fast solar wind turbulence is studied using a reduced form of an exact law derived recently (Banerjee and Galtier, PRE, 2013) for compressible isothermal magnetohydrodynamics…
The two-state solar wind paradigm is based on observations showing that slow and fast solar wind have distinct properties like helium abundances, kinetic signatures, elemental composition, and charge-state ratios. Nominally, the fast wind…
We have performed a 2.5 dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation that resolves the propagation and dissipation of Alfven waves in the solar atmosphere. Alfvenic fluctuations are introduced on the bottom boundary of the extremely large…
This paper summarises some of the recent progress that has been made in understanding astrophysical plasma turbulence in the solar wind, from in situ spacecraft observations. At large scales, where the turbulence is predominantly Alfvenic,…
Turbulence in the solar wind is characterized by Alfv\'enic fluctuations that exhibit spherical polarization, a geometric condition resulting in the nearly constant magnitude of the magnetic field. This property persists even during the…
Kinetic plasma theory is used to generate synthetic spacecraft data to analyze and interpret the compressible fluctuations in the inertial range of solar wind turbulence. The kinetic counterparts of the three familiar linear MHD wave…
The fast solar wind's high speeds and nonthermal features require that significant heating occurs well above the Sun's surface. Two leading theories seem incompatible: low-frequency "Alfv\'enic" turbulence, which transports energy outwards…
Magnetic fluctuations in the solar wind are often observed to maintain constant magnitude of the magnetic field in a manner consistent with spherically-polarized large-amplitude Alfv\'en waves. We investigate the effect of spherical…
Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in the solar wind is observed to show the spectral behavior of classical Kolmogorov fluid turbulence over an inertial subrange and departures from this at short wavelengths, where energy should be…
We present for the first time the joint distribution of electron heat flux and electron plasma beta, and the joint distribution of core electron drift velocity and electron plasma beta using a statistically large dataset of solar wind…
Turbulent magnetic field fluctuations observed in the solar wind often maintain a constant magnitude condition accompanied by spherically polarized velocity fluctuations; these signatures are characteristic of large-amplitude Alfv\'{e}n…
The anisotropic nature of solar wind magnetic turbulence fluctuations is investigated scale-by-scale using high cadence in-situ magnetic field measurements from the Cluster and ACE spacecraft missions. The data span five decades in scales…
We present multicomponent solar wind models self-consistently incorporating the contribution from dissipationless, monochromatic, finite-wavelength (non-WKB), hydromagnetic, toroidal Alfv\'en waves, which are coupled to the flow only…
Magnetic fluctuations in the solar wind are distributed according to Kolmogorov's power law $f^{-5/3}$ below the ion cyclotron frequency $f_{ci}$. Above this frequency, the observed steeper power law is usually interpreted in two different…
In magnetized, stratified astrophysical environments such as the Sun's corona and solar wind, Alfv\'enic fluctuations ''reflect'' from background gradients, enabling nonlinear interactions and thus dissipation of their energy into heat.…