On the Small Scale Solar Wind Structure

The large scale magnetic field introduces a preferential direction in the interplanetary space. The presence of this direction is particularly relevant not only for the propagation of the fluctuations and their anisotropy but also for the topology of the convected structure of the wind. As a matter of fact, solar wind fluctuations are a mixture of propagating disturbances and convected structures which carry into the interplanetary space the complicated magnetic topology present at the basis of the corona. This paper reports on a detailed analysis of the small scale average features observed within fast and slow wind for different orientation of the local field with respect to the large scale mean field direction. The analysis will mainly focus on the inner heliosphere but will also offer a preliminary comparison with Ulysses observations at high heliographic latitude.