Sign-singularity of the reduced magnetic helicity in the solar wind plasma.
We investigate the scaling laws of a signed measure derived from the reduced magnetic helicity which has been determined from Cluster data in the solar wind. This quantifies the handedness of the magnetic field; namely, it can be related to the polarization of the magnetic field fluctuations (right or left hand). The measure results to be sign-singular; that is, we do not observe any scale-dependent effect at the ion- and at electron-cyclotron frequencies. Cancellations between right- and left-hand polarizations go on in the dispersive or dissipative range, beyond the electron-cyclotron frequency. This means that the mechanism responsible for the generation of the dispersive or dissipative range is rather insensitive to the polarization of the magnetic field fluctuations.
Carbone
V
V
Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá della Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy.
Perri
S
S
Yordanova
E
E
Veltri
P
P
Bruno
R
R
Khotyaintsev
Y
Y
André
M
M