EULERIAN DECORRELATION OF FLUCTUATIONS IN THE INTERPLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELD

W. H. Matthaeus, S. Dasso, J. M. Weygand, M. G. Kivelson, K. T. Osman
2010 Astrophysical Journal Letters  
A method is devised for estimating the two-time correlation function and the associated Eulerian decorrelation timescale in turbulence. With the assumptions of a single decorrelation time and a frozen-in flow approximation for the single-point analysis, the method compares two-point correlation measurements with single-point correlation measurements at the corresponding spatial lag. This method is applied to interplanetary magnetic field measurements from the Advanced Composition Explorer and
more » ... nd spacecraft. An average Eulerian decorrelation time of 2.9 hr is found. This measures the total rate of distortion of turbulent fluid elements-including sweeping, nonlinear distortion, and wave propagation.
doi:10.1088/2041-8205/721/1/l10 fatcat:yxkacybb7fg5jip52zzwd44f5m