Exploring intermittency in numerical simulations of turbulence using single and multi-spacecraft analysis

Abstract

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The energy dissipation in collisionless plasmas as the solar wind is not yet fully understood. The intermittent nature of magnetic structures appears to be a fundamental part of the energy cascade. Understanding energy transfer and dissipation in the solar wind requires an accurate description of its intermittency. Upcoming multi-spacecraft missions will provide new insight on this matter. However, the use of multi-point data requires developing new data analysis techniques as well as cross-validating these techniques. In this study, we address the latter and explore the intermittency in a 3D simulation of anisotropic plasma turbulence using two approaches. We implement the standard single-spacecraft partial variance increments technique as well as a multi-point partial variance increments technique. We contrast these two techniques and explore their dependence on the angle between the spacecraft-configuration travel direction and the background magnetic field.

Keywords

• plasma turbulence
• intermittency
• numerical simulation
• multi-spacecraft analysis
• HelioSwarm