MULTIFRACTAL STRUCTURES DETECTED BY VOYAGER 1 AT THE HELIOSPHERIC BOUNDARIES

To better understand the dynamics of turbulent systems, we have proposed a phenomenological model based on a generalized Cantor set with two rescaling and one weight parameters. In this Letter, using recent Voyager 1 magnetic field data, we extend our two-scale multifractal analysis further in the heliosheath beyond the heliospheric termination shock, and even now near the heliopause, when entering the interstellar medium for the first time in human history. We have identified the scaling inertial region for magnetized heliospheric plasma between the termination shock and the heliopause. We also show that the degree of multifractality decreases with the heliocentric distance and is still modulated by the phases of the solar cycle in the entire heliosphere including the heliosheath. Moreover, we observe the change of scaling toward a nonintermittent (nonmultifractal) behavior in the nearby interstellar medium, just beyond the heliopause. We argue that this loss of multifractal behavior could be a signature of the expected crossing of the heliopause by Voyager 2 in the near future. The results obtained demonstrate that our phenomenological multifractal model exhibits some properties of intermittent turbulence in the solar system plasmas, and we hope that it could shed light on universal characteristics of turbulence.