Two Correlations with Enhancement Near the Proton Gyroradius Scale in Solar Wind Turbulence: Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and Wind Observations

Based on the Parker Solar Probe mission, this paper presents the observations of two correlations in solar wind turbulence near the Sun for the first time, demonstrating the clear existence of the following two correlations. One is positive correlation between the proton temperature and turbulent magnetic energy density. The other is negative correlation between the spectral index and magnetic helicity. It is found that the former correlation has a maximum correlation coefficient (CC) at the wavenumber k ρ p ≃ 0.5 (ρ p being the proton thermal gyroradius), and the latter correlation has a maximum absolute value of CC at k ρ p ≃ 1.8. In addition, investigations based on 11 yr of Wind observations reveal that the dimensionless wavenumbers (k ρ p ) corresponding to the maximum (absolute) values of CC remain nearly the same for different data sets. These results tend to suggest that the two correlations enhanced near the proton gyroradius scale would be a common feature of solar wind turbulence.

Relating the Solar Wind Turbulence Spectral Break at the Dissipation Range with an Upstream Spectral Bump at Planetary Bow Shocks

At scales much larger than the ion inertial scale and the gyroradius of thermal protons, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory is well equipped to describe the nature of solar wind turbulence. The turbulent spectrum itself is defined by a power law manifesting the energy cascading process. A break in the turbulence spectrum develops near-ion scales, signaling the onset of energy dissipation. The exact mechanism for the spectral break is still a matter of debate. In this work, we use the 20 Hz Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) magnetic field data during four planetary flybys at different heliocentric distances to examine the nature of the spectral break in the solar wind. We relate the spectral break frequencies of the solar wind MHD turbulence, found in the range of 0.3–0.7 Hz, with the well-known characteristic spectral bump at frequencies ∼1 Hz upstream of planetary bow shocks. Spectral breaks and spectral bumps during three planetary flybys are identified from the MESSENGER observations, with heliocentric distances in the range of 0.3–0.7 au. The MESSENGER observations are complemented by one Magnetospheric Multiscale observation made at 1 au. We find that the ratio of the spectral bump frequency to the spectral break frequency appears to be r- and B-independent. From this, we postulate that the wavenumber of the spectral break and the frequency of the spectral bump have the same dependence on the magnetic field strength ∣B∣. The implication of our work on the nature of the break scale is discussed.

Three-Dimensional Anisotropy and Scaling Properties of Solar Wind Turbulence at Kinetic Scales in the Inner Heliosphere: Parker Solar Probe Observations

We utilize the data from the Parker Solar Probe mission at its first perihelion to investigate the three-dimensional (3D) anisotropies and scalings of solar wind turbulence for the total, perpendicular, and parallel magnetic-field fluctuations at kinetic scales in the inner heliosphere. By calculating the five-point second-order structure functions, we find that the three characteristic lengths of turbulence eddies for the total and the perpendicular magnetic-field fluctuations in the local reference frame ( L ˆ ⊥ , l ˆ ⊥ , l ˆ ∣ ∣ ) defined with respect to the local mean magnetic field B local feature as l ∣∣ > L ⊥ > l ⊥ in both the transition range and the ion-to-electron scales, but l ∣∣ > L ⊥ ≈ l ⊥ for the parallel magnetic-field fluctuations. For the total magnetic-field fluctuations, the wave-vector anisotropy scalings are characterized by l ∣ ∣ ∝ l ⊥ 0.78 and L ⊥ ∝ l ⊥ 1.02 in the transition range, and they feature as l ∣ ∣ ∝ l ⊥ 0.44 and L ⊥ ∝ l ⊥ 0.73 in the ion-to-electron scales. Still, we need more complete kinetic-scale turbulence models to explain all these observational results.

The Relationship Between Solar Wind Dynamic Pressure Pulses and Solar Wind Turbulence

Solar wind dynamic pressure pulses (DPPs) are small-scale plasma structures with abrupt and large-amplitude plasma dynamic pressure changes on timescales of seconds to several minutes. Overwhelming majority of DPP events (around 79.13%) reside in large-scale solar wind transients, i.e., coronal mass ejections, stream interaction regions, and complex ejecta. In this study, the intermittency, which is a typical feature of solar wind turbulence, is determined and compared during the time intervals in the undisturbed solar wind and in large-scale solar wind transients with clustered DPP events, respectively, as well as in the undisturbed solar wind without DPPs. The probability distribution functions (PDFs) of the fluctuations of proton density increments normalized to the standard deviation at different time lags in the three types of distinct regions are calculated. The PDFs in the undisturbed solar wind without DPPs are near-Gaussian distributions. However, the PDFs in the solar wind with clustered DPPs are obviously non-Gaussian distributions, and the intermittency is much stronger in the large-scale solar wind transients than that in the undisturbed solar wind. The major components of the DPPs are tangential discontinuities (TDs) and rotational discontinuities (RDs), which are suggested to be formed by compressive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. There are far more TD-type DPPs than RD-type DPPs both in the undisturbed solar wind and large-scale solar wind transients. The results imply that the formation of solar wind DPPs could be associated with solar wind turbulence, and much stronger intermittency may be responsible for the high occurrence rate of DPPs in the large-scale solar wind transients.

Shock Propagation and Associated Particle Acceleration in the Presence of Ambient Solar-Wind Turbulence

The topic of this review paper is on the influence of solar wind turbulence on shock propagation and its consequence on the acceleration and transport of energetic particles at shocks. As the interplanetary shocks sweep through the turbulent solar wind, the shock surfaces fluctuate and ripple in a range of different scales. We discuss particle acceleration at rippled shocks in the presence of ambient solar-wind turbulence. This strongly affects particle acceleration and transport of energetic particles (both ions and electrons) at shock fronts. In particular, we point out that the effects of upstream turbulence is critical for understanding the variability of energetic particles at shocks. Moreover, the presence of pre-existing upstream turbulence significantly enhances the trapping near the shock of low-energy charged particles, including those near the thermal energy of the incident plasma, even when the shock propagates normal to the average magnetic field. Pre-existing turbulence, always present in space plasmas, provides a means for the efficient acceleration of low-energy particles and overcoming the well known injection problem at shocks.