Articolo in rivista, 2021, ENG, 10.3847/2041-8213/ac36d1

Impact of Switchbacks on Turbulent Cascade and Energy Transfer Rate in the Inner Heliosphere

Hernández, Carlos S.; Sorriso-Valvo, Luca; Bandyopadhyay, Riddhi; Chasapis, Alexandros; Vásconez, Christian L.; Marino, Raffaele; Pezzi, Oreste

Departamento de Física, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador; Swedish Institute for Space Physics, Angström Laboratory, Uppsala, Sweden; Istituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia Dei Plasmi (ISTP), Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Sede di Bari, Italy; Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, NJ USA; Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO USA; Laboratoire de Mécanique des Fluides et d'Acoustique, CNRS, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon, Ecully, France.

Recent Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observations of inner heliospheric plasma have shown an abundant presence of Alfvénic polarity reversal of the magnetic field, known as "switchbacks."While their origin is still debated, their role in driving the solar wind turbulence has been suggested through analysis of the spectral properties of magnetic fluctuations. Here, we provide a complementary assessment of their role in the turbulent cascade. The validation of the third-order linear scaling of velocity and magnetic fluctuations in intervals characterized by a high occurrence of switchbacks suggests that, irrespective of their local or remote origin, these structures are actively embedded in the turbulent cascade, at least at the radial distances sampled by PSP during its first perihelion. The stronger positive energy transfer rate observed in periods with a predominance of switchbacks indicates that they act as a mechanism injecting additional energy in the turbulence cascade.

The astrophysical journal. Letters (Print) 922 (1), pp. 1–8

Keywords

Interplanetary turbulence, Solar wind, Magnetohydrodynamics, Interplanetary magnetic fields

CNR authors

Pezzi Oreste, Sorriso Valvo Luca

CNR institutes

ISTP – Istituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi

ID: 460802

Year: 2021

Type: Articolo in rivista

Creation: 2021-12-14 12:50:31.000

Last update: 2022-02-11 10:44:47.000

External IDs

CNR OAI-PMH: oai:it.cnr:prodotti:460802

DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ac36d1

Scopus: 2-s2.0-85120648966

ISI Web of Science (WOS): 000720102400001