Transport of turbulence in the solar wind

Abstract

Charged particles are ejected from the sun and transported radially outward to the edge of the solar system, this plasma is called the solar wind. In the solar wind, turbulent fluctuations and waves form, and their transport can be modelled using the Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations. This thesis displays several different options for building an MHD turbulence model including nonlinear phenomenologies, and turbulence source driving like interstellar pickup ions and velocity shear. The options are extended from existing models that express a range of variables from the forward and backward propagating energies, the energy difference and the respective correlation lengths. Non-linear phenomenologies are built from analogies to Hydrodynamic (HD) von Kármán-Taylor phenomenologies extended to MHD. Additional phenomenological models are needed for the energy difference (and its correlation length). These models are evaluated from 0.29 to 100 AU, analytically where possible, otherwise numerical solutions are sought after and compared to simulation data, and satellite data obtained from the Helios 2, Ulysses and Voyager 2 spacecraft.