Exploring the Application of Field-Particle Correlations to Low Time Resolution Data

The Field-Particle Correlation Technique has been shown to successfully utilize single point measurements to uncover signatures of various particle energization mechanisms in turbulent space plasmas. Using this technique, the signature of Landau damping by electrons has been found in both simulations and in situ data from Earth's magnetosheath, but a challenge to discovering the full extent of this mechanism's presence in the solar wind is presented by inherent technological limits in spacecraft sampling rates. Theory predicts that field-particle correlations can recover phase-space energization signatures despite data that is under-sampled with respect to the characteristic frequencies at which electron Landau damping occurs. To test this hypothesis, we perform a high-resolution gyrokinetic simulation of space plasma turbulence, confirm the presence of signatures of electron Landau damping, and then systematically reduce the time resolution of the data to identify the point at which the signatures become impossible to recover. We find initial results in support of our theoretical prediction, and look for a rule of thumb that can be compared with the measurement capabilities of spacecraft missions to inform the process of applying field-particle correlations to low time resolution data.