Observation and Modeling of the Solar Wind Turbulence Evolution in the Sub-Mercury Inner Heliosphere
Date Issued
2022
Author(s)
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Adhikari, Laxman
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Zank, Gary P.
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Hadid, Lina Z.
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Sánchez-Cano, Beatriz
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Zhao, Lingling
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Panasenco, Olga
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Shi, Chen
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Verscharen, Daniel
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Narita, Yasuhito
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Grimani, Catia
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Carbone, Francesco
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Califano, Francesco
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Stawarz, Julia E.
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Laker, Ronan
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Bale, Stuart D.
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Kasper, Justin C.
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Heyner, Daniel
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de Wit, Thierry Dudok
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Goetz, Keith
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Harvey, Peter R.
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MacDowall, Robert J.
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Malaspina, David M.
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Pulupa, Marc
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Case, Anthony W.
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Korreck, Kelly E.
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Larson, Davin
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Livi, Roberto
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Stevens, Michael L.
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Whittlesey, Phyllis
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Auster, Hans Ulrich
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Richter, Ingo
Abstract
This letter exploits the radial alignment between the Parker Solar Probe and BepiColombo in late 2022 February, when both spacecraft were within Mercury's orbit. This allows the study of the turbulent evolution, namely, the change in spectral and intermittency properties, of the same plasma parcel during its expansion from 0.11 to 0.33 au, a still unexplored region. The observational analysis of the solar wind turbulent features at the two different evolution stages is complemented by a theoretical description based on the turbulence transport model equations for nearly incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. The results provide strong evidence that the solar wind turbulence already undergoes significant evolution at distances less than 0.3 au from the Sun, which can be satisfactorily explained as due to evolving slab fluctuations. This work represents a step forward in understanding the processes that control the transition from weak to strong turbulence in the solar wind and in properly modeling the heliosphere.
Volume
938
Issue
2
Start page
L8
Issn Identifier
2041-8205
Rights
open.access
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