2011/10/31 by G. Gogoberidze, S. C. Chapman, B. Hnat +1
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Classical mechanics #Computational physics #K-epsilon turbulence model #K-omega turbulence model #Magnetic field #Magnetohydrodynamic drive #Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence #Magnetohydrodynamics #Mechanics #Physics #Scaling #Solar Radiation and Photovoltaics #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Solar wind #Statistical physics #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Turbulence #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21775.x
arxiv created 2011/10/31 · openalex publication_date 2012/09/24 · arxiv updated 2015/06/03 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Quantifying the scaling of fluctuations in the solar wind is central to testing predictions of turbulence theories. We study spectral features of Alfvénic turbulence in fast solar wind. We propose a general, instrument-independent method to estimate the uncertainty in velocity fluctuations obtained by in situ satellite observations in the solar wind. We show that when the measurement uncertainties of the velocity fluctuations are taken into account the less energetic Elsasser spectrum obeys a unique power law scaling throughout the inertial range as prevailing theories of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence predict. Moreover, in the solar wind interval analysed, the two Elsasser spectra are observed to have the same scaling exponent γ = −1.54 throughout the inertial range.