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      Solar wind turbulence from MHD to sub-ion scales: high-resolution hybrid simulations

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          Abstract

          We present results from a high-resolution and large-scale hybrid (fluid electrons and particle-in-cell protons) two-dimensional numerical simulation of decaying turbulence. Two distinct spectral regions (separated by a smooth break at proton scales) develop with clear power-law scaling, each one occupying about a decade in wave numbers. The simulation results exhibit simultaneously several properties of the observed solar wind fluctuations: spectral indices of the magnetic, kinetic, and residual energy spectra in the magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) inertial range along with a flattening of the electric field spectrum, an increase in magnetic compressibility, and a strong coupling of the cascade with the density and the parallel component of the magnetic fluctuations at sub-proton scales. Our findings support the interpretation that in the solar wind large-scale MHD fluctuations naturally evolve beyond proton scales into a turbulent regime that is governed by the generalized Ohm's law.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          2015-03-18
          2015-04-18
          Article
          10.1088/2041-8205/804/2/L39
          1503.05457
          6732e481-fb4b-49d4-b039-854e48c55b1f

          http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/

          History
          Custom metadata
          5 pages, 5 figures; introduction and conclusions changed, references updated, accepted for publication in ApJL
          astro-ph.SR physics.space-ph

          Space Physics,Solar & Stellar astrophysics
          Space Physics, Solar & Stellar astrophysics

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