Magnetic turbulence in space plasmas: in and around the Earth's magnetosphere

Abstract

In collisionless space plasmas most phenomena are governed by wave particle interaction and by the interaction with the large scale fields. Low frequency magnetic turbulence in the solar wind is relatively well characterized and understood. The situation is more complicated for magnetic turbulence in and around the Earth's magnetosphere, where the turbulence feature can vary widely with the location. Recent spacecraft observations of magnetic turbulence in the magnetosheath, in the polar cusp regions and in the magnetotail are considered. Turbulence features like the fluctuation level, the spectral power law index, the turbulence drivers and the turbulence anisotropy and intermittency are addressed. The influence of such a turbulence on the plasma transport and dynamics is briefly described, also using the results of numerical simulations.