The role of proton cyclotron resonance as a dissipation mechanism in solar wind turbulence: a statistical study at ion-kinetic scales
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Published version
Author(s)
Woodham, Lloyd D
Wicks, Robert T
Verscharen, Daniel
Owen, Christopher J
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We use magnetic field and ion moment data from the MFI and SWE instruments on board the Wind spacecraft to study the nature of solar wind turbulence at ion-kinetic scales. We analyze the spectral properties of magnetic field fluctuations between 0.1 and 5.4 Hz during 2012 using an automated routine, computing high-resolution 92 s power and magnetic helicity spectra. To ensure the spectral features are physical, we make the first in-flight measurement of the MFI "noise-floor" using tail-lobe crossings of the Earth's magnetosphere during early 2004. We utilize Taylor's hypothesis to Doppler-shift into the spacecraft frequency frame, finding that the spectral break observed at these frequencies is best associated with the proton cyclotron resonance scale, 1/kc, rather than the proton inertial length, di, or proton gyroscale, ρi. This agreement is strongest when we consider periods where ${\beta }_{i,\perp }\sim 1$, and is consistent with a spectral break at di for ${\beta }_{i,\perp }\ll 1$ and at ρi for ${\beta }_{i,\perp }\gg 1$. We also find that the coherent magnetic helicity signature observed at these frequencies is bounded at low frequencies by 1/kc, and its absolute value reaches a maximum at ρi. These results hold in both slow and fast wind streams, but with a better correlation in the more Alfvénic fast wind where the helicity signature is strongest. We conclude that these findings are consistent with proton cyclotron resonance as an important mechanism for dissipation of turbulent energy in the solar wind, occurring at least half the time in our selected interval. However, we do not rule out additional mechanisms.
Date Issued
2018-03-23
Date Acceptance
2018-02-14
Citation
The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics, 2018, 856 (1), pp.49-49
ISSN
0004-637X
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Start Page
49
End Page
49
Journal / Book Title
The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics
Volume
856
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2018. The American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
License URL
Identifier
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aab03d
Subjects
Astronomy & Astrophysics
0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
0202 Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics
0306 Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2018-03-23