The hallmark of nonlinear complexity phenomena in magnetohydrodynamic and plasma turbulence as well as all natural sciences is the appearance of intermittent fluctuating events. We introduce here a unique procedure that is both physically explicable and quantitatively accurate in deciphering the multifractal characteristics of intermittency. The generic character of the procedure provides a natural connection between the suggested spectrum based on rank order and the idea of one-parameter scaling for monofractals. We demonstrate the utility of this method using results obtained from a large scale two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation mimicking solar wind turbulence.

• Received 27 December 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.77.045401