Repository logo
  • Log In
    Log in via Symplectic to deposit your publication(s).
Repository logo
  • Communities & Collections
  • Research Outputs
  • Statistics
  • Log In
    Log in via Symplectic to deposit your publication(s).
  1. Home
  2. Faculty of Natural Sciences
  3. Physics
  4. Space and Atmospheric Physics
  5. Switchbacks, microstreams and broadband turbulence in the solar wind
 
  • Details
Switchbacks, microstreams and broadband turbulence in the solar wind
File(s)
082905_1_5.0123250.pdf (3.61 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Horbury, Timothy
Bale, Stuart
mcmanus, michael
Larson, Davin
Kasper, Justin
more
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Switchbacks are a striking phenomenon in near-Sun coronal hole flows, but their origins, evolution, and relation to the broadband fluctuations seen farther from the Sun are unclear. We use the near-radial lineup of Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe during September 2020 when both spacecraft were in wind from the Sun's Southern polar coronal hole to investigate if switchback variability is related to large scale properties near 1 au⁠. Using the measured solar wind speed, we map measurements from both spacecraft to the source surface and consider variations with source Carrington longitude. The patch modulation of switchback amplitudes at Parker at 20 solar radii was associated with speed variations similar to microstreams and corresponds to solar longitudinal scales of around 5°–10°. Near 1 au⁠, this speed variation was absent, probably due to interactions between plasma at different speeds during their propagation. The alpha particle fraction, which has recently been shown to have spatial variability correlated with patches at 20 solar radii, varied on a similar scale at 1 au⁠. The switchback modulation scale of 5°–10°, corresponding to a temporal scale of several hours at Orbiter, was present as a variation in the average deflection of the field from the Parker spiral. While limited to only one stream, these results suggest that in coronal hole flows, switchback patches are related to microstreams, perhaps associated with supergranular boundaries or plumes. Patches of switchbacks appear to evolve into large scale fluctuations, which might be one driver of the ubiquitous turbulent fluctuations in the solar wind.
Date Issued
2023-08-18
Date Acceptance
2022-12-29
Citation
Physics of Plasmas, 2023, 30 (8)
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/102691
DOI
https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0123250
ISSN
1070-664X
Publisher
American Institute of Physics
Journal / Book Title
Physics of Plasmas
Volume
30
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© 2023 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
082905
About
Spiral Depositing with Spiral Publishing with Spiral Symplectic
Contact us
Open access team Report an issue
Other Services
Scholarly Communications Library Services
logo

Imperial College London

South Kensington Campus

London SW7 2AZ, UK

tel: +44 (0)20 7589 5111

Accessibility Modern slavery statement Cookie Policy

Built with DSpace-CRIS software - Extension maintained and optimized by 4Science

  • Cookie settings
  • Privacy policy
  • End User Agreement
  • Send Feedback