IDENTIFICATION OF KINETIC ALFVÉN WAVE TURBULENCE IN THE SOLAR WIND

Abstract

The nature of small-scale turbulent fluctuations in the solar wind is investigated using a comparison of Cluster magnetic and electric field measurements to predictions arising from models consisting of either kinetic Alfvén waves or whistler waves. The electric and magnetic field properties of these waves from linear theory are used to construct spacecraft-frame frequency spectra of (|δE|/|δB|)s/c and (|δB∥|/|δB|)s/c, allowing for a direct comparison to spacecraft data. The measured properties of the small-scale turbulent fluctuations, found to be inconsistent with the whistler wave model, agree well with the prediction of a spectrum of kinetic Alfvén waves with nearly perpendicular wavevectors.