Nonlinear Interactions in Spherically Polarized Alfvénic Turbulence
Turbulent magnetic field fluctuations observed in the solar wind often maintain a constant-magnitude magnetic field accompanied by spherically polarized velocity fluctuations; these signatures are characteristic of large-amplitude Alfvén waves. Nonlinear energy transfer in Alfvénic turbulence is typ...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc569 |
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| author | Trevor A. Bowen Corina I. Dunn Alfred Mallet Jonathan Squire Samuel T. Badman Stuart D. Bale Thierry Dudok de Wit Timothy S. Horbury Kristopher G. Klein Davin Larson Lorenzo Matteini Michael D. McManus Nikos Sioulas |
| author_facet | Trevor A. Bowen Corina I. Dunn Alfred Mallet Jonathan Squire Samuel T. Badman Stuart D. Bale Thierry Dudok de Wit Timothy S. Horbury Kristopher G. Klein Davin Larson Lorenzo Matteini Michael D. McManus Nikos Sioulas |
| author_sort | Trevor A. Bowen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Turbulent magnetic field fluctuations observed in the solar wind often maintain a constant-magnitude magnetic field accompanied by spherically polarized velocity fluctuations; these signatures are characteristic of large-amplitude Alfvén waves. Nonlinear energy transfer in Alfvénic turbulence is typically considered in the small-amplitude limit where the constant-magnitude condition may be neglected; in contrast, nonlinear energy transfer of large-amplitude fluctuations remains relatively unstudied. We develop a method to analyze large-amplitude turbulence through studying fluctuations as constant-magnitude rotations in the de Hoffmann–Teller frame, in which the convected electric field of the fluctuations vanishes such that the frame and fluctuations are copropagating. Our analysis reveals signatures of large-amplitude effects deep into the inertial range. While the dominant fluctuations are consistent with spherically polarized large-amplitude Alfvén waves, the subdominant fluctuations are relatively compressible. Signatures of nonlinear interaction between the large-amplitude spherically polarized mode with the subdominant population reveal highly aligned transverse components. In many theoretical models of Alfvénic turbulence, alignment is thought to reduce nonlinearity; our observations suggest that the observed alignment is sufficient to either reduce shear nonlinearity such that non-Alfvénic interactions may be responsible for energy transfer in spherically polarized states, or alternatively that counterpropagating fluctuations maintain anomalous coherence, a predicted signature of reflection-driven turbulence. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e7673a273f054e119403f54b668cebf9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-e7673a273f054e119403f54b668cebf92025-08-20T02:58:36ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198514910.3847/1538-4357/adc569Nonlinear Interactions in Spherically Polarized Alfvénic TurbulenceTrevor A. Bowen0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4625-3332Corina I. Dunn1https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8306-2635Alfred Mallet2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9202-1340Jonathan Squire3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8479-962XSamuel T. Badman4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6145-436XStuart D. Bale5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1989-3596Thierry Dudok de Wit6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4401-0943Timothy S. Horbury7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7572-4690Kristopher G. Klein8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6038-1923Davin Larson9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5030-6030Lorenzo Matteini10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6276-7771Michael D. McManus11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6077-4145Nikos Sioulas12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1128-9685Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7450, USA ; tbowen@berkeley.eduSpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7450, USA ; tbowen@berkeley.edu; Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7300, USASpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7450, USA ; tbowen@berkeley.eduDepartment of Physics, University of Otago , 730 Cumberland St., Dunedin 9016, New ZealandSpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7450, USA ; tbowen@berkeley.eduSpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7450, USA ; tbowen@berkeley.edu; Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7300, USALPC2E, CNRS, CNES, and University of Orléans , Orléans, France; ISSI , Hallerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, SwitzerlandThe Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London , London, SW7 2AZ, UKDepartment of Planetary Sciences & Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USASpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7450, USA ; tbowen@berkeley.eduThe Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London , London, SW7 2AZ, UKSpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7450, USA ; tbowen@berkeley.edu; Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7300, USASpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley , CA 94720-7450, USA ; tbowen@berkeley.eduTurbulent magnetic field fluctuations observed in the solar wind often maintain a constant-magnitude magnetic field accompanied by spherically polarized velocity fluctuations; these signatures are characteristic of large-amplitude Alfvén waves. Nonlinear energy transfer in Alfvénic turbulence is typically considered in the small-amplitude limit where the constant-magnitude condition may be neglected; in contrast, nonlinear energy transfer of large-amplitude fluctuations remains relatively unstudied. We develop a method to analyze large-amplitude turbulence through studying fluctuations as constant-magnitude rotations in the de Hoffmann–Teller frame, in which the convected electric field of the fluctuations vanishes such that the frame and fluctuations are copropagating. Our analysis reveals signatures of large-amplitude effects deep into the inertial range. While the dominant fluctuations are consistent with spherically polarized large-amplitude Alfvén waves, the subdominant fluctuations are relatively compressible. Signatures of nonlinear interaction between the large-amplitude spherically polarized mode with the subdominant population reveal highly aligned transverse components. In many theoretical models of Alfvénic turbulence, alignment is thought to reduce nonlinearity; our observations suggest that the observed alignment is sufficient to either reduce shear nonlinearity such that non-Alfvénic interactions may be responsible for energy transfer in spherically polarized states, or alternatively that counterpropagating fluctuations maintain anomalous coherence, a predicted signature of reflection-driven turbulence.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc569Alfvén wavesSpace plasmasMagnetohydrodynamicsInterplanetary turbulenceInterstellar plasmaSolar wind |
| spellingShingle | Trevor A. Bowen Corina I. Dunn Alfred Mallet Jonathan Squire Samuel T. Badman Stuart D. Bale Thierry Dudok de Wit Timothy S. Horbury Kristopher G. Klein Davin Larson Lorenzo Matteini Michael D. McManus Nikos Sioulas Nonlinear Interactions in Spherically Polarized Alfvénic Turbulence The Astrophysical Journal Alfvén waves Space plasmas Magnetohydrodynamics Interplanetary turbulence Interstellar plasma Solar wind |
| title | Nonlinear Interactions in Spherically Polarized Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_full | Nonlinear Interactions in Spherically Polarized Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_fullStr | Nonlinear Interactions in Spherically Polarized Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nonlinear Interactions in Spherically Polarized Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_short | Nonlinear Interactions in Spherically Polarized Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_sort | nonlinear interactions in spherically polarized alfvenic turbulence |
| topic | Alfvén waves Space plasmas Magnetohydrodynamics Interplanetary turbulence Interstellar plasma Solar wind |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc569 |
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