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Related papers: Large Amplitude Switchback Turbulence: Possible Ma…

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We present the first statistical study of the anisotropy of the magnetic field turbulence in the solar wind between 1 and 200Hz, i.e. from proton to sub-electron scales. We consider 93 10-minute intervals of Cluster/STAFF measurements. We…

Space Physics · Physics 2017-10-18 Catherine Lacombe , Olga Alexandrova , Lorenzo Matteini

Parker Solar Probe's first encounters with the Sun revealed the presence of ubiquitous localised magnetic deflections in the inner heliosphere; these structures, often called switchbacks, are particularly striking in solar wind streams…

A major discovery of Parker Solar Probe (PSP) was the presence of large numbers of localized increases in the radial solar wind speed and associated sharp deflections of the magnetic field - switchbacks (SB). A possible generation mechanism…

The nature of turbulence at sub-electron scales has remained an open question, central to understanding how electrons are heated in the solar wind. This is primarily because spacecraft measurements have been limited to magnetic field…

Space Physics · Physics 2026-01-21 Shiladittya Mondal , Christopher H. K. Chen , Davide Manzini

Radio waves are strongly scattered in the solar wind, so that their apparent sources seem to be considerably larger and shifted than the actual ones. Since the scattering depends on the spectrum of density turbulence, better understanding…

Magnetic switchbacks, large-amplitude, localized Alfvenic like rotations of the solar wind magnetic field, have been the subject of intensive investigation, with approximately 200 refereed papers published in the last decade. Yet,…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2026-05-15 Forrest Mozer , Oleksiy Agapitov , Kyung-Eun Choi , Richard Sydora

Turbulence is a prevalent phenomenon in space and astrophysical plasmas, often characterized by stochastic fluctuations. While laboratory experiments and numerical simulations have revealed chaotic behavior, in-situ observations of…

Characterizing compressible fluctuations in the solar wind is essential for understanding their role in solar wind acceleration and heating, yet their origin and evolution across different turbulence regimes remain poorly understood. In…

Plasma Physics · Physics 2026-04-13 C. A. Gonzalez , C. Gonzalez , A. Tenerani

Close to Earth the solar wind is usually super-Alfv\'enic, i.e. the speed of the solar wind is much larger than the Alfv\'en speed. However, in the lower coronal regions, the solar wind is mostly sub-Alfv\'enic. With the Parker Solar Probe…

A statistical relationship between magnetic reconnection, current sheets and intermittent turbulence in the solar wind is reported for the first time using in-situ measurements from the Wind spacecraft at 1 AU. We identify intermittency as…

Space Physics · Physics 2015-06-19 K. T. Osman , W. H. Matthaeus , J. T. Gosling , A. Greco , S. Servidio , B. Hnat , S. C. Chapman , T. D. Phan

The structure of magnetic flux ropes injected into the solar wind during reconnection in the coronal atmosphere is explored with particle-in-cell simulations and compared with in situ measurements of magnetic "switchbacks" from the Parker…

We report observations of solar wind turbulence derived from measurements by the Parker Solar Probe. Our findings reveal the emergence of finite magnetic helicity within the transition range of the turbulence, aligning with signatures of…

The solar wind is a magnetized and turbulent plasma. Its turbulence is often dominated by Alfv\'enic fluctuations and often deemed as nearly incompressible far away from the Sun, as shown by in-situ measurements near 1AU. However, for solar…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-09-14 Xiangrong Fu , Hui Li , Zhaoming Gan , Senbei Du , John Steinberg

Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter data are used to investigate the radial evolution of magnetic turbulence between $0.06 ~ \lesssim R ~\lesssim 1$ au. The spectrum is studied as a function of scale, normalized to the ion inertial scale…

We discuss properties of Alfv\'enic fluctuations with large amplitude in plasmas characterised by low magnetic field compression. We note that in such systems power laws can not develop with arbitrarily steep slopes at large scales, i.e.…

Space Physics · Physics 2018-12-26 Lorenzo Matteini , David Stansby , Timothy Horbury , Christopher H. K. Chen

We investigate the orientation of the magnetic field deflections in switchbacks (SB) to determine if they are characterised by a possible preferential orientation. We compute the deflection angles of the magnetic field relative to the…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-07-20 Naïs Fargette , Benoit Lavraud , Alexis P. Rouillard , Victor Réville , Stuart D. Bale , Justin Kasper

Observations by the Parker Solar Probe mission of the solar wind at about 35.7 solar radii reveal the existence of whistler wave packets with frequencies below 0.1 f/fce (20-80 Hz in the spacecraft frame). These waves often coincide with…

We provide a simple geometric explanation for the source of switchbacks and associated large and one-sided transverse flows in the solar wind observed by Parker Solar Probe. The more radial, Sub-Parker Spiral structure of the heliospheric…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2021-03-17 N. A. Schwadron , D. J. McComas

Solar wind turbulence is anisotropic with respect to the mean magnetic field. Anisotropy leads to ambiguity when interpreting in-situ turbulence observations in the solar wind because an apparent change in the measurements could be due…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-01-12 L. -L. Zhao , G. P. Zank , L. Adhikari , M. Nakanotani

Solar wind magnetic fluctuations exhibit anisotropy due to the presence of a mean magnetic field in the form of the Parker spiral. Close to the Sun, direct measurements were not available until the recently launched Parker Solar Probe (PSP)…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-01-05 Riddhi Bandyopadhyay , David J. McComas