[IGPP Everyone] Physics&Astronomy Plasma Seminar TODAY 5/21, 1pm: MHD turbulence in the solar wind (Marco Velli, EPSS)

[Emmanuel V. Masongsong]

Dear all,

Just a reminder: we have a plasma seminar TODAY, Thursday, May 21st at 
1PM in Room 4-330 of the Physics & Astronomy Building (PAB). 
Refreshments are at 12:30PM on the 4th floor of PAB.  Our speaker is 
Prof. Marco Velli of UCLA, and his title and abstract are as follows:

"MHD turbulence in the solar wind"

The solar wind displays fluctuations over a very wide range of
frequencies, with energy distributions displaying power laws of
variable spectral index as a function of distance, wind-type and
moment of solar activity cycle. While typical slow wind streams
display what might appear as a standard form of compressible MHD
turbulence, fast solar wind streams are more typically the seat of
so-called Alfvénic turbulence, dominated by what appear to be
nonlinear waves outwardly propagating from the Sun (in other words,
though all waves are advected outwards by the supersonic and
superAlfvénic wind, the turbulence in fast streams has no inward type
modes present). This talk will review the status of our understanding
of turbulence in the heliosphere, its dynamical role, and the many
open questions it poses in basic plasma physics.

http://www.pa.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/plasma_Velli52115.pdf