Observations of turbulence in a Kelvin-Helmholtz event on September 8, 2015 by the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Spatial and high-time-resolution properties of the velocities,
magnetic eld, and 3D electric eld within plasma turbulence are examined observationally using data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission. Observations from a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) on the Earth's magnetopause are examined, which both provides a series of repeatable intervals to analyze, giving better statistics, and provides a rst look at the properties of turbulence in the KHI. For the rst time direct observations of both the high-frequency ion and electron velocity spectra are examined, showing differing ion and electron behavior at kinetic scales. Temporal spectra ex-hibit power law behavior with changes in slope near the ion gyrofrequency and lower-hybrid frequency. The work provides the rst observational evi-
dence for turbulent intermittency and anisotropy consistent with quasi-two-dimensional turbulence in association with the KHI. The behavior of kinetic scale intermittency is found to have di erences from previous studies of solar wind turbulence, leading to novel insights on the turbulent dynamics in
the KHI.
magnetic eld, and 3D electric eld within plasma turbulence are examined observationally using data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission. Observations from a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) on the Earth's magnetopause are examined, which both provides a series of repeatable intervals to analyze, giving better statistics, and provides a rst look at the properties of turbulence in the KHI. For the rst time direct observations of both the high-frequency ion and electron velocity spectra are examined, showing differing ion and electron behavior at kinetic scales. Temporal spectra ex-hibit power law behavior with changes in slope near the ion gyrofrequency and lower-hybrid frequency. The work provides the rst observational evi-
dence for turbulent intermittency and anisotropy consistent with quasi-two-dimensional turbulence in association with the KHI. The behavior of kinetic scale intermittency is found to have di erences from previous studies of solar wind turbulence, leading to novel insights on the turbulent dynamics in
the KHI.
Date Issued
2016-11-22
Date Acceptance
2016-11-05
Citation
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 2016, 121 (11), pp.11021-11034
ISSN
2169-9380
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Start Page
11021
End Page
11034
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Volume
121
Issue
11
Copyright Statement
© 2016. The Authors.This is an open access article under theterms of the Creative CommonsAttribution License, which permits use,distribution and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original work isproperly cited.
Sponsor
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
The Leverhulme Trust
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Grant Number
ST/K001051/1
RF-2015-188
ST/N000692/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Astronomy & Astrophysics
SOLAR-WIND
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE
PLASMA TRANSPORT
MHD TURBULENCE
WAVES
FLUCTUATIONS
INTERMITTENCY
VORTICES
ACCELERATION
Publication Status
Published