We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
In situ multi-satellite detection of coherent vortices as a manifestation of Alfvénic turbulence.
- Authors
Sundkvist, David; Krasnoselskikh, Vladimir; Shukla, Padma K; Vaivads, Andris; André, Mats; Buchert, Stephan; Rème, Henri
- Abstract
Turbulence in fluids and plasmas is a ubiquitous phenomenon driven by a variety of sources-currents, sheared flows, gradients in density and temperature, and so on. Turbulence involves fluctuations of physical properties on many different scales, which interact nonlinearly to produce self-organized structures in the form of vortices. Vortex motion in fluids and magnetized plasmas is typically governed by nonlinear equations, examples of which include the Navier-Stokes equation, the Charney-Hasegawa-Mima equations and their numerous generalizations. These nonlinear equations admit solutions in the form of different types of vortices that are frequently observed in a variety of contexts: in atmospheres, in oceans and planetary systems, in the heliosphere, in the Earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere, and in laboratory plasma experiments. Here we report the discovery by the Cluster satellites of a distinct class of vortex motion-short-scale drift-kinetic Alfvén (DKA) vortices-in the Earth's magnetospheric cusp region. As is the case for the larger Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices observed previously, these dynamic structures should provide a channel for transporting plasma particles and energy through the magnetospheric boundary layers.
- Publication
Nature, 2005, Vol 436, Issue 7052, p825
- ISSN
1476-4687
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1038/nature03931