COMPRESSIBLE 'TURBULENCE' OBSERVED IN THE HELIOSHEATH BY VOYAGER 2
Creators
- 1. Geospace Physics Laboratory, Code 673, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
- 2. Institute for Astrophysics and Computational Sciences, Catholic University of America, Washington DC 20064 (United States)
Description
This paper describes the multiscale structure of the compressible 'turbulence' observed in the high-resolution (48 s) observations of the magnetic field strength B made by Voyager 2 (V2) in the heliosheath behind the termination shock from 2007 DOY 245.0-300.8 and in a unipolar region from 2008 DOY 2.9-75.6. The magnetic field strength is highly variable on scales from 48 s to several hours in both intervals. The distributions of daily averages and 48 s averages of B are lognormal in the post-termination shock (TS) region and Gaussian in the unipolar region, respectively. The amplitudes of the fluctuations were greater in the post-TS region than in the unipolar region, at scales less than several hours. The multiscale structure of the increments of B is described by the q-Gaussian distribution of nonextensive statistical mechanics on all scales from 48 s to 3.4 hr in the unipolar region and from 48 s to 6.8 hr in the post-TS region, respectively. The amplitudes of the fluctuations of increments of B are larger in the post-TS region than in the unipolar region at all scales. The probability density functions of the increments of B are non-Gaussian at all scales in the unipolar region, but they are Gaussian at the largest scales in the post-TS region. Time series of the magnitude and direction of B show that the fluctuations are highly compressive. The small-scale fluctuations are a mixture of coherent structures (semi-deterministic structures) and random structures, which vary significantly from day to day. Several types of coherent structures were identified in both regions.
Availability note (English)
Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/703/1/311Additional details
Identifiers
Publishing Information
- Journal Title
- Astrophysical Journal
- Journal Volume
- 703
- Journal Issue
- 1
- Journal Page Range
- p. 311-324
- ISSN
- 0004-637X
- CODEN
- ASJOAB
INIS
- Country of Publication
- United States
- Country of Input or Organization
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- INIS RN
- 41102452
- Subject category
- S71: CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
- Descriptors DEI
- GAUSS FUNCTION; MAGNETIC FIELDS; PROBABILITY DENSITY FUNCTIONS; RANDOMNESS; RESOLUTION; SOLAR WIND; STATISTICAL MECHANICS; SUN; TURBULENCE; VOYAGER SPACE PROBES
- Descriptors DEC
- FUNCTIONS; MAIN SEQUENCE STARS; MECHANICS; SOLAR ACTIVITY; SPACE VEHICLES; STARS; STELLAR ACTIVITY; STELLAR WINDS; VEHICLES