{
  "abstract": "The shape and structure of the heliosphere remain under debate, particularly regarding the formation of heliospheric jets and the existence of an open heliotail. Plasma instabilities and turbulent-like dynamics may provide key insights into these unresolved questions. In this work, we use long-term magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to further investigate the coupled evolution of Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) and Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instabilities in the heliosphere and explore their roles in generating and shaping turbulent-like fluctuations in the heliosheath (HS). The results reveal distinct scale-dependent regimes that evolve with the instabilities. The power spectral density (PSD) of magnetic field fluctuation exhibits an approximately k ⁻¹ scaling at scales ≳40 au, a steeper scaling close to k −8/3 at intermediate scales of 15–40 au, and a gradual transition toward a Kolmogorov-like k −5/3 scaling at smaller scales of 6–15 au. The intermediate-scale fluctuations remain influenced by instability-driven coherent structures, whereas increasingly turbulent-like characteristics emerge toward smaller scales. The flatness remains near the Gaussian baseline ( F = 3) at large scales but increases above 3 at smaller scales, indicating the emergence of intermittency. The long-term evolution further shows that enhanced flatness and spectral steepening are correlated with recurrent HS instability cycles. These results suggest that the HS exhibits instability-modulated, turbulent-like dynamics, in which large-scale RT/KH-driven coherent structures recurrently evolve and fragment into increasingly complex fluctuations at smaller scales, providing a possible pathway for energy redistribution across spatial scales.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Boston University",
    "The University of Alabama in Huntsville"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiaohan Ma",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0007-757X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lingling Zhao",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4299-0490"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Merav Opher",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8767-8273"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cj3mccw0cbye2.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3847/1538-4357/aeac57",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "cj3mccw0cbye2",
  "issns": [
    "1538-4357",
    "0004-637X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeac57",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "feed-journal",
      "astronomy/general"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7224016563",
  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeac57/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-27",
  "publisher": "American Astronomical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cj3mccw0cbye2.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/aeac57",
      "source": "feed-iop",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeac57"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/aeac57",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeac57"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics",
      "subfield": "stellar"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Turbulence and Intermittency Driven By Instabilities of the Heliospheric Jets",
  "title_text": "Turbulence and Intermittency Driven By Instabilities of the Heliospheric Jets",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cj3mccw0cbye2",
  "venue": "The Astrophysical Journal",
  "versions": []
}