Turbulence and intermittency in the heliospheric magnetic field in fast and slow solar wind

Abstract

We study the nonuniform solar wind turbulence using high‐resolution Ulysses magnetic field data measured at different solar activity level, heliospheric latitudes, and distance. We define several types of solar wind dependent of the coronal region of origin and also of the dynamical behavior of the different streams, namely, “pure” fast wind, fast streams, “pure” slow wind, and slow streams. The turbulent properties of the solar wind types were investigated in terms of their scaling properties and spatial inhomogeneity. A clear trend in the power spectrum of the solar wind magnetic field magnitude is observed: the “pure” fast wind has a slope ∼−1.33 (1/f‐like), the fast streams ∼−1.48 (Kraichnan‐like), the “pure” slow wind ∼−1.67 (Kolmogorov‐like), and the slow streams ∼−1.72. We find that the “pure” fast wind in the polar heliolatitudes is less intermittent than the other types: “pure” slow wind and both slow and fast streams, which is because of the absence of dynamical interactions between streams with different speeds. On the other hand, fast streams are more intermittent than the “pure” fast wind, and slow streams are less intermittent than the “pure” slow winds. A clear radial and latitudinal evolution of the intermittency is observed only for the “pure” fast wind, while in the equatorial plane, the fast streams, the “pure” slow wind, and the slow streams do not show evolution either in heliolatitude or in heliocentric distance.