Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026

Simultaneous Measurement of Turbulence and Particle Kinematics Using Flow Imaging Techniques
Published on: March 12, 2019
Density fluctuation spectrum of solar wind turbulence between ion and electron scales
C H K Chen1, C S Salem, J W Bonnell
1Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. chen@ssl.berkeley.edu
Abstract:
We present a measurement of the spectral index of density fluctuations between ion and electron scales in solar wind turbulence using the EFI instrument on the ARTEMIS spacecraft. The mean spectral index at 1 AU was found to be -2.75±0.06, steeper than predictions for pure whistler or kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence but consistent with previous magnetic field measurements. The steep spectra are also consistent with expectations of increased intermittency or damping of some of the turbulent energy over this range of scales. Neither the spectral index nor the flattening of the density spectra before ion scales were found to depend on the proximity to the pressure anisotropy instability thresholds, suggesting that they are features inherent to the turbulent cascade.
Related Concept Videos
Interference and Diffraction
Mass Spectrum: Interpretation
Momentum And Radiation Pressure
Turbulent Flow
Laminar and Turbulent Flow
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

