Speaker
Description
First Name: Lorenzo
Last Name: Matteini
Email Address: l.matteini@imperial.ac.uk
Affiliation: Physics Department, Imperial College London, UK
All Authors: Lorenzo Matteini
Abstract: Recent observations by both Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe in the Inner Heliosphere have highlighted the key role played by Alfvénic fluctuations in the acceleration of the Solar Wind and in the energization of the plasma. In this presentation, I will briefly review the main properties of Alfvénic fluctuations observed in the near-Sun regions as well as their radial evolution. This includes the emergence of the state of “spherical polarisation” for the fluctuations, as well as the origin and evolution of magnetic switchbacks and their associated speed enhancements which are ubiquitous in wind coming from coronal holes and open field regions. I will then present and discuss results from recent simulations able to effectively reproduce these features in the expanding solar wind. Moreover, I will show how the main properties of spherically polarisation and switchbacks can be implemented in a simple model of Alfvénic fluctuations, reproducing their modulation with radial distance and thus explaining the main observational differences when comparing PSP and Solar Orbiter measurements.