The evolution of compressible solar wind turbulence in the inner heliosphere: PSP, THEMIS and MAVEN observations

Abstract

The first computation of the compressible energy transfer rate from $\sim$ 0.2 AU up to $\sim$ 1.7 AU is obtained using PSP, THEMIS and MAVEN observations. The compressible energy cascade rate $\varepsilon_C$ is computed for hundred of events at different heliocentric distances, for time intervals when the spacecraft were in the pristine solar wind. The observational results show moderate increases of $\varepsilon_C$ with respect to the incompressible cascade rate $\varepsilon_I$. Depending on the level of compressibility in the plasma, which reach up to 25 $\%$ in the PSP perihelion, the different terms in the compressible exact relation are shown to have different impact in the total cascade rate $\varepsilon_C$. Finally, the observational results are connected with the local ion temperature and the solar wind heating problem.