The “Singular” Behavior of the Solar Wind Scaling Features during Parker Solar Probe–BepiColombo Radial Alignment

Abstract

Abstract At the end of 2020 September, the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and BepiColombo were radially aligned: PSP was orbiting near 0.17 au and BepiColombo near 0.6 au. This geometry is of particular interest for investigating the evolution of solar wind properties at different heliocentric distances by observing the same solar wind plasma parcels. In this work, we use the magnetic field observations from both spacecraft to characterize both the topology of the magnetic field at different heliocentric distances (scalings, high-order statistics, and multifractal features) and its evolution when moving from near-Sun to far-Sun locations. We observe a breakdown of the statistical self-similar nature of the solar wind plasma with an increase in the efficiency of the nonlinear energy cascade mechanism when moving away from the Sun. We find a complex organization of large field gradients to dissipate the excess of kinetic energy across the inertial range near the Sun, whereas the topological organization of small fluctuations is still primarily responsible for the energy transfer rate at 0.6 au. These results provide, for the first time, evidence of the different roles of dissipation mechanisms near and far away from the Sun.