On the 1/ f Spectrum in the Solar Wind and Its Connection with Magnetic Compressibility

We discuss properties of Alfvénic fluctuations with large amplitude in plasmas characterized by low magnetic field compression. We note that in such systems power laws cannot develop with arbitrarily steep slopes at large scales, i.e., when $| \delta {\boldsymbol{B}}| $ becomes of the order of the background field $| {\boldsymbol{B}}| $. In such systems there is a scale l0 at which the spectrum has to break due to the condition of weak compressibility. A very good example of this dynamics is offered by solar wind fluctuations in Alfvénic fast streams, characterized by the property of constant field magnitude. We show here that the distribution of $\delta B=| \delta {\boldsymbol{B}}| $ in the fast wind displays a strong cutoff at $\delta B/| {\boldsymbol{B}}| \lesssim 2$, as expected for fluctuations bounded on a sphere of radius $B=| {\boldsymbol{B}}| $. This is also associated with a saturation of the rms of the fluctuations at large scales and introduces a specific length l0, above which the amplitude of the fluctuations becomes independent on the scale l. Consistent with that, the power spectrum at l > l0 is characterized by a −1 spectral slope, as expected for fluctuations that are scale-independent. Moreover, we show that the spectral break between the 1/f and inertial range in solar wind spectra indeed corresponds to the scale l0 at which $\langle \delta B/B\rangle \sim 1$. Such a simple model provides a possible alternative explanation of magnetic spectra observed in interplanetary space, also pointing out the inconsistency for a plasma to simultaneously maintain $| {\boldsymbol{B}}| \sim \mathrm{const}.$ at arbitrarily large scales and satisfy a Kolmogorov scaling.