Anisotropies of the magnetic field fluctuations at kinetic scales in the solar wind : Cluster observations

Abstract

We present the first statistical study of the anisotropy of the magnetic field turbulence in the solar wind between 1 and 200Hz, i.e. from proton to sub-electron scales. We consider 93 10-minute intervals of Cluster/STAFF measurements. We find that the fluctuations $\delta B_{\perp}^2$ are not gyrotropic at a given frequency $f$, a property already observed at larger scales ($\parallel$/$\perp$ mean parallel/perpendicular to the average magnetic ${\bf B_0}$). This non-gyrotropy gives indications on the angular distribution of the wave vectors ${\bf k}$: at $f <$ 10Hz, we find that $k_{\perp}\gg k_{\parallel}$, mainly in the fast wind; at $f >$ 10Hz, fluctuations with a non-negligible $k_{\parallel}$ are also present. We then consider the anisotropy ratio $\delta B_{\parallel}^2/\delta B_{\perp}^2$, which is a measure of the magnetic compressibility of the fluctuations. This ratio, always smaller than 1, increases with $f.$ It reaches a value showing that the fluctuations are more or less isotropic at electron scales, for $f \geq 50$Hz. From 1 to 15-20Hz, there is a strong correlation between the observed compressibility and the one expected for the kinetic Alfv\'en waves (KAW), which only depends on the total plasma $\beta$. For $f > $ 15-20Hz, the observed compressibility is larger than expected for KAW; and it is stronger in the slow wind: this could be an indication of the presence of a slow-ion acoustic mode of fluctuations, which is more compressive and is favored by the larger values of the electron to proton temperature ratio generally observed in the slow wind.