Magnetic turbulent spectra in the magnetosheath: new insights

Abstract

The spectrum of the magnetic fluctuations measured by the Cluster satellites in the inner magnetosheath is investigated using the k-filtering technique. On a case study, it is shown first that the wave vectors calculated from the Flux Gate Magnetometer (FGM) data fit well with those determined from the Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Field Fluctuations (STAFF) data for their common range of frequency, which allows one to confirm that the high pass filter applied to STAFF data does not alter the spatial characteristics of its spectra. Both analyses confirm the dominance of the mirror mode for frequencies up to 1.4Hz. Furthermore, by comparing the experimental charateristics of the identified mirror mode to the prediction of the linear theory, it is shown that the predicted maximum growth rate is observed in the frequency range 0-0.15Hz, i.e. the FGM range. All the rest of the mirror mode, identified for higher frequencies is more likely to be a non linear extension of the most instable one. This cascade on the spatial scales is, in turn, observed in the satellite frame as a temporal spread due to Doppler shift. Further implications on the real nature of the observed spectrum are discussed.