Identification

Title

Two-dimensional correlation functions for density and magnetic field fluctuations in magnetosheath turbulence measured by the Cluster spacecraft

Abstract

Knowledge of multidimensional correlation functions is crucial for understanding the anisotropy of turbulence. The two-dimensional (2-D) spatial correlation functions (SCFs) obtained in previous studies of space plasma turbulence were restricted to large-length scales and covered a limited angular domain of the two-point separation vector with respect to the mean magnetic field. Here we aim to derive 2-D SCFs with smaller-length scale and nearly full angular distribution for the fluctuations of the number density and magnetic field in magnetosheath turbulence. We use the Cluster four-spacecraft measurements of the fluctuations with respect to a temporally and spatially varying background magnetic field to construct the 2-D SCFs. We find that the correlation function of the density fluctuations shows a pattern similar to that of the magnetic field fluctuations, both of which appear to be composed of two populations, whereby the major population extends along the coordinate parallel to mean magnetic field (S∥) and the minor one deviates toward the perpendicular coordinate (S⊥). This pattern of 2-D SCFs implies that the energy of magnetosheath turbulence seems to cascade, in the inertial range close to the ion scale, mostly transverse to the background magnetic field and meanwhile partly along the field (i.e., k ⊥ >> k∥).

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d71j9bb0

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2011-06-09T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Copyright 2011 American Geophysical Union.

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata date

2025-07-17T14:47:25.500655

Metadata language

eng; USA