Evolution of solar wind turbulence during radial alignment of Parker Solar Probe with Solar Orbiter in December 2022

Authors: Ashok Silwal (University of Alabama in Huntsville), Lingling Zhao (University of Alabama in Huntsville), Xingyu Zhu (University of Alabama in Huntsville)

Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and Solar Orbiter are radially aligned in early December 2022, with PSP at close to 0.11 au and Solar Orbiter near 0.88 au. We model the plasma propagation considering a constant acceleration constrained by the measurements of the two spacecraft, identifying nearly the same plasma parcel at two locations, which allows us to investigate the evolution of solar wind turbulence with radial distance and distinguish it from other sources of variation. We analyzed the spectral scaling, turbulence energy evolution, and intermittency signatures from 0.1 au to nearly 1 au based on the two identified intervals, using magnetic field and plasma measurements from both spacecraft. The results show that the plasma evolves from highly Alfvénic, less developed turbulence near the Sun to fully developed and intermittent turbulence near 1 au, consistent with previous case studies of the same plasma flow and statistical analysis of the radial evolution of turbulence.