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Dynamic properties of small-scale solar wind plasma fluctuations

Publication at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics |
2015

Abstract

The paper presents the latest results of the studies of small-scale fluctuations in a turbulent flow of solar wind (SW) using measurements with extremely high temporal resolution (up to 0.03 s) of the bright monitor of SW (BMSW) plasma spectrometer operating on astrophysical SPECTR-R spacecraft at distances up to 350 000km from the Earth. The spectra of SW ion flux fluctuations in the range of scales between 0.03 and 100 s are systematically analysed.

The difference of slopes in low-and high-frequency parts of spectra and the frequency of the break point between these two characteristic slopes was analysed for different conditions in the SW. The statistical properties of the SW ion flux fluctuations were thoroughly analysed on scales less than 10 s.

A high level of intermittency is demonstrated. The extended self-similarity of SW ion flux turbulent flow is constantly observed.

The approximation of non-Gaussian probability distribution function of ion flux fluctuations by the Tsallis statistics shows the non-extensive character of SW fluctuations. Statistical characteristics of ion flux fluctuations are compared with the predictions of a log-Poisson model.

The log-Poisson parametrization of the structure function scaling has shown that well-defined filament-like plasma structures are, as a rule, observed in the turbulent SW flows.