Siqi Q. Zhao, Huirong Yan, Terry Z. Liu, Mingzhe Liu, Huizi Wang

• We present observations of three-dimensional magnetic power spectra in wavevector space to investigate the anisotropy and scalings of sub-Alfvenic solar wind turbulence at magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) scale using the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. The magnetic power distributions are organized in a new coordinate determined by wavevectors ((kappa) over cap) and background magnetic field ((b) over cap (0)) in Fourier space. This study utilizes two approaches to determine wavevectors: the singular value decomposition method and multispacecraft timing analysis. The combination of the two methods allows an examination of the properties of magnetic field fluctuations in terms of mode compositions without any spatiotemporal hypothesis. Observations show that fluctuations (delta B-perpendicular to 1) in the direction perpendicular to (kappa) over cap and (b) over cap (0) prominently cascade perpendicular to (b) over cap (0), and such anisotropy increases with wavenumbers. The reduced power spectra of 6.8 11 follow Goldreich-SridharWe present observations of three-dimensional magnetic power spectra in wavevector space to investigate the anisotropy and scalings of sub-Alfvenic solar wind turbulence at magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) scale using the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. The magnetic power distributions are organized in a new coordinate determined by wavevectors ((kappa) over cap) and background magnetic field ((b) over cap (0)) in Fourier space. This study utilizes two approaches to determine wavevectors: the singular value decomposition method and multispacecraft timing analysis. The combination of the two methods allows an examination of the properties of magnetic field fluctuations in terms of mode compositions without any spatiotemporal hypothesis. Observations show that fluctuations (delta B-perpendicular to 1) in the direction perpendicular to (kappa) over cap and (b) over cap (0) prominently cascade perpendicular to (b) over cap (0), and such anisotropy increases with wavenumbers. The reduced power spectra of 6.8 11 follow Goldreich-Sridhar scalings: (P) over cap (k(perpendicular to)) proportional to k(perpendicular to)(-5/3) and (P) over cap (k(parallel to)) proportional to k(parallel to)(-2). In contrast, fluctuations within the (k) over cap(b) over cap (0) plane show isotropic behaviors: perpendicular power distributions are approximately the same as parallel distributions. The reduced power spectra of fluctuations within the (k) over cap(b) over cap (0) plane follow the scalings (P) over cap (k(perpendicular to)) proportional to k(perpendicular to)(-3/2) and (P) over cap (k(parallel to)) proportional to k(parallel to)(-3/2). Comparing frequency-wavevector spectra with theoretical dispersion relations of MHD modes, we find that delta B-perpendicular to 1 are probably associated with Alfven modes. On the other hand, magnetic field fluctuations within the (k) over cap(b) over cap (0) plane more likely originate from fast modes based on their isotropic behaviors. The observations of anisotropy and scalings of different magnetic field components are consistent with the predictions of current compressible MHD theory. Moreover, for the Alfvenic component, the ratio of cascading time to the wave period is found to be a factor of a few, consistent with critical balance in the strong turbulence regime. These results are valuable for further studies of energy compositions of plasma turbulence and their effects on energetic particle transport.…