Eulerian decorrelation of fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field

Abstract

A method is devised for estimating the two-time correlation function and the associated Eulerian decorrelation timescale in turbulence. With the assumptions of a single decorrelation time and a frozen-in flow approximation for the single-point analysis, the method compares two-point correlation measurements with single-point correlation measurements at the corresponding spatial lag. This method is applied to interplanetary magnetic field measurements from the Advanced Composition Explorer and Wind spacecraft. An average Eulerian decorrelation time of 2.9 hr is found. This measures the total rate of distortion of turbulent fluid elements—including sweeping, nonlinear distortion, and wave propagation.