Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Surface Renewal: An Advanced Micrometeorological Method for Measuring and Processing Field-Scale Energy Flux Density Data
Published on: December 12, 2013
Universality of solar-wind turbulent spectrum from MHD to electron scales
O Alexandrova1, J Saur, C Lacombe
1Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz 1, 50923, Cologne, Germany. olga.alexandrova@obspm.fr
Abstract:
To investigate the universality of magnetic turbulence in space plasmas, we analyze seven time periods in the free solar wind under different plasma conditions. Three instruments on Cluster spacecraft operating in different frequency ranges give us the possibility to resolve spectra up to 300 Hz. We show that the spectra form a quasiuniversal spectrum following the Kolmogorov's law approximately k(-5/3) at MHD scales, a approximately k(-2.8) power law at ion scales, and an exponential approximately exp[-sqrt[k(rho)e]] at scales k(rho)e approximately [0.1,1], where rho(e) is the electron gyroradius. This is the first observation of an exponential magnetic spectrum in space plasmas that may indicate the onset of dissipation. We distinguish for the first time between the role of different spatial kinetic plasma scales and show that the electron Larmor radius plays the role of a dissipation scale in space plasma turbulence.
Related Concept Videos
Emission Spectra
Ultraviolet and Visible (UV–Vis) Spectroscopy: Overview
Magnetostatic Boundary Conditions
IR Spectroscopy: Hooke's Law Approximation of Molecular Vibration
According to Hooke's law, the vibrational frequency is directly proportional to the...
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

