Intermittency of Solar Wind Density Fluctuations From Ion to Electron Scales

TL;DR

This study investigates the non-Gaussian, scale-invariant intermittency of solar wind density fluctuations at kinetic scales using high-resolution spacecraft data, shedding light on small-scale turbulence dynamics.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the intermittency of solar wind density fluctuations from ion to electron scales, comparing them to magnetic fluctuations.

Findings

Density fluctuation PDFs are highly non-Gaussian across scales.

Density and magnetic fluctuations show similar statistical properties.

No significant change in fluctuation shape with scale.

Abstract

The intermittency of density fluctuations in the solar wind at kinetic scales has been examined using high time resolution Faraday cup measurements from the Spektr-R spacecraft. It was found that the probability density functions (PDFs) of the fluctuations are highly non-Gaussian over this range, but do not show large changes in shape with scale. These properties are statistically similar to those of the magnetic fluctuations and are important to understanding the dynamics of small scale turbulence in the solar wind. Possible explanations for the behavior of the density and magnetic fluctuations are discussed.