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Multi-spacecraft measurement of turbulence within a magnetic reconnection jet
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Osman, K. T., Kiyani, K., Matthaeus, W. H., Hnat, Bogdan, Chapman, Sandra C. and Khotyaintsev, Yu. V. (2015) Multi-spacecraft measurement of turbulence within a magnetic reconnection jet. The Astrophysical Journal, 815 (2). L24. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/815/2/L24 ISSN 0004-637X.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/815/2/L24
Abstract
The relationship between magnetic reconnection and plasma turbulence is investigated using multipoint in situ measurements from the Cluster spacecraft within a high-speed reconnection jet in the terrestrial magnetotail. We show explicitly that work done by electromagnetic fields on the particles, J E· , has a non-Gaussian distribution and is concentrated in regions of high electric current density. Hence, magnetic energy is converted to kinetic energy in an intermittent manner. Furthermore, we find that the higher-order statistics of magnetic field fluctuations generated by reconnection are characterized by multifractal scaling on magnetofluid scales and non-Gaussian global scale invariance on kinetic scales. These observations suggest that J E· within the reconnection jet has an analog in fluid-like turbulence theory in that it proceeds via coherent structures generated by an intermittent cascade. This supports the hypothesis that turbulent dissipation is highly nonuniform, and thus these results could have far reaching implications for space and astrophysical plasmas.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | Q Science > QB Astronomy Q Science > QC Physics |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Space plasmas, Plasma astrophysics, Magnetic reconnection, Turbulence | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | The Astrophysical Journal | ||||||||
Publisher: | Institute of Physics Publishing, Inc. | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0004-637X | ||||||||
Official Date: | 16 December 2015 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 815 | ||||||||
Number: | 2 | ||||||||
Article Number: | L24 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1088/2041-8205/815/2/L24 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 19 October 2016 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 20 October 2016 | ||||||||
Funder: | Science and Technology Facilities Council (Great Britain) (STFC), United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF) | ||||||||
Grant number: | ST/I000720/1 (STFC), NNX14AC39G, NNX14AI63G (NASA), AGS-1063439, SHINE AGS-1156094 (NSF) |
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