Wavelet-based multifractal analysis of nonlinear time series: the earthquake-driven tsunami of 27 February 2010 in Chile.

We study general multifractal properties of tidal gauge and long-wave time series which show a well defined transition between two states, as is the case of sea level when a tsunami arrives. We adopt a method based on discrete wavelets, called wavelet leaders, which has been successfully used in a wide range of applications from image analysis to biomedical signals. First, we analyze an empirical time series of tidal gauge from the tsunami event of 27 February 2010 in Chile. Then, we study a numerical solution of the driven-damped regularized long-wave equation (RLWE) which displays on-off intermittency. Both time series are characterized by a sudden change between two sharply distinct dynamical states. Our analysis suggests a correspondence between the pre- and post-tsunami states (ocean background) and the on state in the RLWE, and also between the tsunami state (disturbed ocean) and the off state in the RLWE. A qualitative similarity in their singularity spectra is observed, and since the RLWE is used to model shallow water dynamics, this result could imply an underlying dynamical similarity.

Experimental evidence of phase coherence of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the solar wind: GEOTAIL satellite data.

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is commonly observed in the solar wind. Nonlinear interactions among MHD waves are likely to produce finite correlation of the wave phases. For discussions of various transport processes of energetic particles, it is fundamentally important to determine whether the wave phases are randomly distributed (as assumed in the quasi-linear theory) or have a finite coherence. Using a method based on the surrogate data technique, we analysed the GEOTAIL magnetic field data to evaluate the phase coherence in MHD turbulence in the Earth's foreshock region. The results demonstrate the existence of finite phase correlation, indicating that nonlinear wave-wave interactions are in progress.

Intermittent nature of solar wind turbulence near the Earth's bow shock: phase coherence and non-Gaussianity.

The link between phase coherence and non-Gaussian statistics is investigated using magnetic field data observed in the solar wind turbulence near the Earth's bow shock. The phase coherence index Cphi, which characterizes the degree of phase correlation (i.e., nonlinear wave-wave interactions) among scales, displays a behavior similar to kurtosis and reflects a departure from Gaussianity in the probability density functions of magnetic field fluctuations. This demonstrates that nonlinear interactions among scales are the origin of intermittency in the magnetic field turbulence.