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At least 271 records · Page 15

A test of source-surface model predictions of heliospheric current sheet inclination

The orientation of the heliospheric current sheet predicted from a source surface model is compared with the orientation determined from minimum-variance analysis of International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) 3 magnetic field data at 1 AU near solar maximum. Of the 37 cases analyzed, 28 have minimum variance normals that lie orthogonal to the predicted Parker spiral direction. For these cases, the correlation coefficient between the predicted and measured inclinations is 0.6. However, for the subset of 14 cases for which transient signatures (either interplanetary shocks or bidirectional electrons) are absent, the agreement in inclinations improves dramatically, with a correlation coefficient of 0.96. These results validate not only the use of the source surface model as a predictor but also the previously questioned usefulness of minimum variance analysis across complex sector boundaries. In addition, the results imply that interplanetary dynamics have little effect on current sheet inclination at 1 AU. The dependence of the correlation on transient occurrence suggests that the leading edge of a coronal mass ejection (CME), where transient signatures are detected, disrupts the heliospheric current sheet but that the sheet re-forms between the trailing legs of the CME. In this way the global structure of the heliosphere, reflected both in the source surface maps and in the interplanetary sector structure, can be maintained even when the CME occurrence rate is high.

Burton, M. E.↗

A review of solar wind ion and electron plasma distribution functions: Present understanding and Ulysses results

Our present understanding of the distribution functions of the solar wind ion and electron thermal/suprathermal populations will be reviewed covering selected theoretical and observational topics. Roughly half the review will be devoted to recent discoveries (since Solar Wind 7). Among recent results are those of the Ulysses mission. The SWICS experiment observed pick-up protons and alpha particles, and acceleration of these particles at interplanetary shocks. Positive ion phenomena observed by SWOOPS include enhanced proton-alpha particle differential streaming both: (1) at high latitudes; and (2) in the ecliptic beyond 1 AU in the vicinity of shocks. The SWOOPS positive ion observations also demonstrate relative constancy of the entropy per proton at high latitudes beyond about 2.5 AU. Double beaming in both protons and alphas is observed by SWOOPS on either side of the current sheet, but not within; a possible explanation is reconnection at the edge of the current sheet. SWOOPS observed bi-directional streaming of electrons beyond 2 AU not only within Coronal Mass Ejections, but also upstream of corotating interplanetary shocks. Latitudinal and radial gradients of Ulysses electron core and halo temperatures will be discussed, as will work in progress on the three dimensional (in velocity space) properties of ion distributions.

Goldstein, B. E.↗

Solar cycle variation of interplanetary disturbances observed as Doppler scintillation transients

Interplanetary disturbances characterized by plasma that is more turbulence and/or moves faster than the background solar wind are readily defected as transients in Doppler scintillation measurements of the near-Sun solar wind. Systematic analysis of over 23,000 hours of Pioneer Venus Orbiter Doppler measurements obtained inside 0.5 AU during 1979-1987 have made it possible for the first time to investigate the frequency of occurrence of Doppler scintillation transients under solar minimum conditions and to determine its dependence on solar cycle. On the basis of a total of 142 transients, Doppler scintillation transient rates vary from a high of 0.22 in 1979 (one every 4.6 days) to a low of 0.077 transients/d in 1986 (one every 13 days), a decrease by almost a factor of 3 from solar maximum to solar minimum. This solar cycle variation, the strongest yet of any solar wind Doppler scintillation property, is highly correlated with both solar activity characterized by sunspot number and the coronal mass ejection rates deduced from Solswind and Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) coronagraph observations. These results indicate that coronal mass ejections and Doppler scintillation transients are closely related not just during solar maximum, as occasional individual comparisons have shown in the past, but throughout the entire solar cycle, and strengthen the notation that the Doppler scintillation and optical transients are different manifestations of the same physical phenomenon. The magnitudes of the transients, as described by the ratio of peak to pretransient scintillation levels (EF for enhancement factor), and their distribution iwth heliocentric distance also vary with solar cycle. While EF tends to diminish with increasing heliocentric distance during high solar activity, it is more evenly distributed during low solar activity. EF is also lower during solar minimum, as 13% of the transients during solar maximum have values exceeding 23, the highest EF observed during solar minimum. These results are consistent with the fact that occasional major fast-moving interplanetary shocks that are observed during solar maximum are very rate during solar minimum.

Woo, Richard↗

Coronal Mass Ejections: a Summary of Recent Results

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have been recognized as the most energetic phenomenon in the heliosphere, deriving their energy from the stressed magnetic fields on the Sun. This paper highlights some of the recent results on CMEs obtained from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) missions. The summary of the talk follows. SOHO observations revealed that the CME rate is almost a factor of two larger than previously thought and varied with the solar activity cycle in a complex way (e.g., high-latitude CMEs occurred in great abundance during the solar maximum years). CMEs were found to interact with other CMEs as well as with other large-scale structures (coronal holes), resulting in deflections and additional particle acceleration. STEREO observations have confirmed the three-dimensional nature of CMEs and the shocks surrounding them. The EUV signatures (flare arcades, corona) dimming, filament eruption, and EUV waves) associated with CMEs have become vital in the identification of solar sources from which CMEs erupt. CMEs with speeds exceeding the characteristic speeds of the corona and the interplanetary medium drive shocks, which produce type II radio bursts. The wavelength range of type II bursts depends on the CME kinetic energy: type II bursts with emission components at all wavelengths (metric to kilometric) are due to CMEs of the highest kinetic energy. Some CMEs, as fast as 1600 km/s do not produce type II bursts, while slow CMEs (400 km/s) occasionally produce type II bursts. These observations can be explained as the variation in the ambient flow speed (solar wind) and the Alfven speed. Not all CME-driven shocks produce type II bursts because either they are subcritical or do not have the appropriate geometry. The same shocks that produce type II bursts also produce solar energetic particles (SEPs), whose release near the Sun seems to be delayed with respect to the onset of type II bursts. This may indicate a subtle difference in the acceleration of the ions and 10 keV electrons needed to produce type II bursts. Surprisingly, some shocks lacking type II bursts are associated with energetic storm particle events (ESPs) pointing to the importance of electron escape from the shock for producing the radio emission. CMEs slow down or accelerate in the interplanetary medium because of the drag force, which modifies the transit time of CMEs and shocks. Halo CMEs that appear to surround the occulting disk were known before the SOHO era as occasional events. During the SOHO era, they became very prominent because of their ability to impact Earth and producing geomagnetic storms. Halo CMEs are generally more energetic than ordinary CMEs, which means they can produce severe impact on Earth's magnetosphere. Their origin close to the disk center of the Sun ensures direct impact on the magnetosphere, although their internal magnetic structure is crucial in causing storms. The solar sources of CMEs that produce SEP events at Earth, on the other hand, are generally in the western hemisphere because of the magnetic connectivity. Thus, CMEs are very interesting from the point of view of plasma physics as well as practical implications because of their space weather impact.

Gopalswamy, Nat↗

Modeling Particle Acceleration and Release from Solar Eruptions

Determining the relative contribution of solar flares versus coronal mass ejections in large solar energetic particle (SEP) events is a long-standing problem. Flare-accelerated particles may travel through complex magnetic fields in the eruption region and escape into interplanetary space, thereby contributing to large SEP events. The process by which flare accelerated particles are released into the heliosphere is poorly understood and yet is critical to advancing our understanding of SEPs. In this work, we address the release problem by solving the focused transport equation in the context of a 2.5D ARMS magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a breakout coronal mass ejection (CME)/flare event. We find that particles accelerated by flare reconnection can be released into interplanetary space through interchange reconnection between closed and open field lines. These particles can contribute directly to SEP events and may become an important seed population for further acceleration by CME-driven shocks. Additionally, we find that the energetic particle fluxes in the inner heliosphere remain elevated for an extended period, allowing them to contribute to SEP acceleration by subsequent CMEs. This study represents the first direct particle modeling of how flare-accelerated particles can contribute to major SEP events.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Front-Side Type II Radio Bursts Without Shocks Near Earth

Type II radio bursts are due to shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), so the shocks are expected to arrive at Earth in 2-3 days if the source is on the front-side of the Sun. However, a significant fraction of front-side CMEs producing type II bursts did not result in shocks at 1 AU. On can think of several possibilities for the lack of shocks: (1) CMEs originating at large central meridian distances may be driving a shock, but the shock may not be extended sufficiently to reach to the Sun-Earth line. (2) CME cannibalism results in the merger of shocks so that one observes a single shock at Earth even though there are two type II bursts near the Sun. (3) CME-driven shocks may become weak and dissipate before reaching 1 AU. We examined a set of 30 type II bursts observed by the Wind/WAVES experiment that had the solar sources very close to the disk center (within a CMD of 15 degrees), but did not have shock at Earth. We find that the near-Sun speeds of the associated CMEs average to approx.600 km/s, only slightly higher than the average speed of CM Es associated with radio-quiet shocks. However, the fraction of halo CMEs is only -28%, compared to 40% for radio-quiet shocks and 72% for all radio-loud shocks. We conclude that the disk-center radio loud CMEs with no shocks at 1 AU are generally of lower energy and they drive shocks only close to the Sun.

Gopalswamy, N.↗

The Relation between Coronal Holes and Coronal Mass Ejections during the Rise, Maximum, and Declining Phases of Solar Cycle 23

We study the interaction between coronal holes (CHs) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) using a resultant force exerted by all the coronal holes present on the disk and is defined as the coronal hole influence parameter (CHIP). The CHIP magnitude for each CH depends on the CH area, the distance between the CH centroid and the eruption region, and the average magnetic field within the CH at the photospheric level. The CHIP direction for each CH points from the CH centroid to the eruption region. We focus on Solar Cycle 23 CMEs originating from the disk center of the Sun (central meridian distance ≤15deg) and resulting in magnetic clouds (MCs) and non-MCs in the solar wind. The CHIP is found to be the smallest during the rise phase for MCs and non-MCs. The maximum phase has the largest CHIP value (2.9 G) for non-MCs. The CHIP is the largest (5.8 G) for driverless (DL) shocks, which are shocks at 1 AU with no discernible MC or non-MC. These results suggest that the behavior of non-MCs is similar to that of the DL shocks and different from that of MCs. In other words, the CHs may deflect the CMEs away from the Sun-Earth line and force them to behave like limb CMEs with DL shocks. This finding supports the idea that all CMEs may be flux ropes if viewed from an appropriate vantage point.

CMEs↗

Overexpanding Coronal Mass Ejections at High Heliographic Latitudes: Observations and Simulations

Ulysses observations reveal that most coronal mass ejections (CMES) observed in the solar wind far from the Sun at high heliographic latitudes have large radial widths and are still expanding as they pass the spacecraft. CME radial widths ranging between 0.5 and 2.5 AU have observed at heliocentric distances between 1.4 and 4.6 AU and at latitudes greater than 22 deg. A CME may expand simply because it is ejected from the Sun with a leading edge speed that is greater than its trailing edge speed. Rarefaction waves produced by relative motion between a CME and the surrounding wind also can cause a CME to expand. Finally, a CME may expand because it is ejected into the wind with an internal pressure that is greater than that of the surrounding wind. In the latter case, which we have called 'overexpansion,' the expansion tends to drive compressive waves into the surrounding solar wind; these waves commonly steepen into shocks at large distances from the Sun. The relative importance of these various expansion processes differs from event to event depending upon initial conditions within the CME and the surrounding wind. Using Ulysses observations and a simple one-dimensional, gasdynamic code, we have explored how initial conditions affect the radial evolution of solar wind disturbances associated with overexpanding CMES. We find good qualitative agreement between the results of our simulations and Ulysses observations of such disturbances.

Gosling, J. T.↗

Modeling a Carrington-Scale Stellar Superflare and Coronal Mass Ejection from K(exp 1) Cet

Observations from the Kepler mission have revealed frequent superflares on young and active solar-like stars. Superflares result from the large-scale restructuring of stellar magnetic fields, and are associated with the eruption of coronal material (a coronal mass ejection, or CME) and energy release that can be orders of magnitude greater than those observed in the largest solar flares. These catastrophic events, if frequent, can significantly impact the potential habitability of terrestrial exoplanets through atmospheric erosion or intense radiation exposure at the surface. We present results from numerical modeling designed to understand how an eruptive superflare from a young solar-type star, κ(exp 1)Cet, could occur and would impact its astrospheric environment. Our data-inspired, three- dimensional magnetohydrodynamic modeling shows that global-scale shear concentrated near the radial-field polarity inversion line can energize the closed-field stellar corona sufficiently to power a global, eruptive superflare that releases approximately the same energy as the extreme 1859 Carrington event from the Sun. We examine proxy measures of synthetic emission during the flare and estimate the observational signatures of our CME-driven shock, both of which could have extreme space-weather impacts on the habitability of any Earth-like exoplanets. We also speculate that the observed 1986 Robinson-Bopp superflare from κ(exp 1)Cet was perhaps as extreme for that star as the Carrington flare was for the Sun.

Lynch, Benjamin J.↗

Maximizing the Scientific Return of the Sentinels Mission Using Global MHD Models

The Sentinels mission promises to provide a unique view of the acceleration and transport processes of energetic particles as well as the initiation and evolution of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). A crucial component in understanding the physics associated with these processes lies in the large-scale structure of the corona and heliosphere, particularly during the eruption and propagation of fast CMEs. In this talk we review the current status of our MHD modeling efforts, focusing on Sentinels-specific science, and project forward to envisage what capabilities we may have developed by the time that the Sentinels launch (2012). In conjunction with Solar Orbiter, the farside and near-Earth Sentinels spacecraft will provide simultaneous photospheric magnetograph measurements at multiple longitudes, which will lead to major improvements in our ability to prescribe accurate, time-dependent global boundary conditions. Data returned from the inner heliospheric Sentinels will be used to validate these results. The model results can be used in a variety of ways to interpret the observations. For example, products from the model, such as the properties of CME-driven shocks and CME-associated reconnection sites can be used to interpret complex energetic particle profiles. Also, by tracing along magnetic field lines, the inferred sites of the energetic particles can be connected directly with the in situ measurements at each spacecraft. Perhaps more so than any previous mission, sophisticated models will be required to unravel the broad and disparate measurements returned by the suite of Sentinels spacecraft.

Riley, P.↗

Coronal Mass Ejections and Their Heliospheric Consequences

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have been recognized as the most energetic phenomenon in the heliosphere, deriving their energy from the stressed magnetic fields on the Sun. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission has accumulated a wealth of information on CMEs with unprecedented extent, clarity, and uniformity. The CME data base has been useful in confirming results from past missions and obtaining a number of new results on the initiation, propagation, and heliospheric consequences of CMEs. This paper highlights some of the recent results on the morphological, physical, and kinematic properties of CMEs observed during solar cycle 23. White-light signatures of CMEs and their utility in inferring coronal magnetic fields near the Sun will be discussed. Presence of coronal holes near eruption regions have been shown to significantly modify the trajectories of CMEs. New results on the interaction of CMEs with large-scale structures such as coronal holes and other CMEs will be presented. Finally, the CME consequences in the heliosphere such as interplanetary shocks, type II radio bursts, energetic particles, geomagnetic storms, and cosmic ray modulation will be discussed

Gopalswamy, Nat↗

Modeling Solar Energetic Particle Events Using ENLIL Heliosphere Simulations

Solar energetic particle (SEP) event modeling (SEPMOD) has gained renewed attention in part because of the availability of a decade of multipoint measurements from STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) and L1 (Lagrangian point 1) spacecraft at 1 AU (Astronomical Unit). These observations are coupled with improving simulations of the geometry and strength of heliospheric shocks obtained by using coronagraph images to send erupted material into realistic solar wind backgrounds. The STEREO and ACE (Aerosol, Cloud systems, ocean Ecosystems) measurements in particular have highlighted the sometimes surprisingly widespread nature of SEP events. It is thus an opportune time for testing SEP models, which typically focus on protons approximately 1-100 megaelectronvolts, toward both physical insight to these observations and potentially useful space radiation environment forecasting tools. Some approaches emphasize the concept of particle acceleration and propagation from close to the Sun, while others emphasize the local field line connection to a traveling, evolving shock source. Among the latter is the previously introduced SEPMOD treatment, based on the widely accessible and well-exercised WSA-ENLIL (Wang-Sheeley-Arge-ENLIL)-cone model. SEPMOD produces SEP proton time profiles at any location within the ENLIL domain. Here we demonstrate a SEPMOD version that accommodates multiple, concurrent shock sources occurring over periods of several weeks. The results illustrate the importance of considering longer-duration time periods and multiple CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) contributions in analyzing, modeling, and forecasting SEP events.

Luhmann, J. G.↗

The solar flare myth

Many years of research have demonstrated that large, nonrecurrent geomagnetic storms, shock wave disturbances in the solar wind, and energetic particle events in interplanetary space often occur in close association with large solar flares. This result has led to a pradigm of cause and effect - that large solar flares are the fundamental cause of these events in the near-Earth space environmemt. This paradigm, which I call 'the solar flare myth,' dominates the popular perception of the relationship between solar activity and interplanetary and geomagnetic events and has provided much of the pragmatic rationale for the study of the solar flare phenomenon. Yet there is good evidence that this paradigm is wrong and that flares do not generally play a central role in producing major transient disturbances in the near-Earth space environment. In this paper I outline a different paradigm of cause and effect that removes solar flares from their central position in the chain of events leading from the Sun to near-Earth space. Instead, this central role is given to events known as coronal mass ejections.

Gosling, J. T.↗

The solar/interplanetary event of 14 April 1994 observed by Yohkoh/SXT

The polar crown event of April 14 1994 is one of the largest scale eruptive events observed by the Yohkoh/SXT. Associated with the formation of an arcade of soft X-ray loops at the Sun was the detection of an interplanetary forward/reverse shock event by the Ulysses spacecraft some 4-7 days later. The relationship between the coronal and interplanetary signatures of these events is important if we are to address fully the initialization and consequent acceleration of interplanetary phenomena, such as CMEs and counter-streaming electrons, originating at the Sun. From detailed analysis of the energetics of the arcade formed during the eruption of April 14 1994, we find peak temperatures and emission measures of approximately 5MK and approximately 10(exp 48)cm(exp -3) respectively. The total thermal content of the arcade loop structure observed in soft X-rays is calculated to be some 5 x 10(exp 29) ergs. The development of these parameters as the event proceeds and their relationship to the dynamics of the eruption are investigated. Although spanning a longitudinal range of some 150 degrees the April 14 event displayed the typical helmet streamer structure normally associated with coronal mass ejections These helmet streamers are thought to be related to the global solar magnetic field through the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). The arcade formation, together with the eruption of material into interplanetary space, signifies a large-scale reconfiguration of the coronal magnetic field. We examine the effects of the formation of such a coronal arcade structure on the HCS and discuss the dynamics involved with the passage of a large scale disturbance through the interplanetary magnetic field.

Alexander, D.↗

Scaling arguments for a plasma experiment relevant to an interplanetary coronal mass ejection

We present the design of a plasma experiment scaled to be relevant to an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) traveling from the Sun to the Earth. The experiment would launch a compact torus of plasma (the scaled analog of the coronal mass ejected by the Sun) into a magnetized background plasma (the scaled analog of the interplanetary medium, the diffuse magnetized plasma that fills the Solar System). We present the complete process of scaling the ICME system to a laboratory experiment: beginning with the ICME features that we aim to replicate with a laboratory experiment, explaining how these desired features are translated into specific design constraints, and presenting a set of experimental parameters that meet those constraints. We find that the experiment would be possible with plasma conditions typically achieved in large-scale facilities such as the Big Red Ball at the University of Wisconsin or the LArge Plasma Device at the University of California, Los Angeles.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Simulated Encounters of the Parker Solar Probe with a Coronal-Hole Jet

Solar coronal jets are small, transient, collimated ejections most easily observed in coronal holes (CHs). The upcoming Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission provides the first opportunity to encounter CH jets in situ near the Sun and examine their internal structure and dynamics. Using projected mission orbital parameters, we have simulated PSP encounters with a fully three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of a CH jet. We find that three internal jet regions, featuring different wave modes and levels of compressibility, have distinct identifying signatures detectable by PSP. The leading Alfvén wave front and its immediate wake are characterized by transAlfvénic plasma flows with mild density enhancements. This front exhibits characteristics of a fast switch-on MHD shock, whose arrival is signaled by the sudden onset of large-amplitude transverse velocity and magnetic-field oscillations highly correlated in space and time. The trailing portion is characterized by supersonic but subAlfvénicout flows of dense plasma with uncorrelated velocity and magnetic-field oscillations. This compressible region contains most of the jet's mass. The volume between the immediate wake and dense jet, the remote wake,mixes and transitions the characteristics of the two other regions. In addition to probing each region separately, we also simulate a corotational PSP-jet encounter. In this scenario, the simulated spacecraft hovers over the jet producing CH, as may occur during the mission's corotational phases, sampling each jet region in turn. We estimate that PSP will encounter numerous CH jets over the lifetime of the mission.

Roberts, Merrill A.↗

Coronal Magnetic Field Measurement Using CME-Driven Shock Observations

Collisionless shocks form ahead of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) when the CME speed exceeds the Alfven speed of the ambient plasma in the corona and interplanetary medium. The shock stands at a distance from the CME flux rope that depends on the shock Mach number, the geometry of the driver, and the adiabatic index. While the shock ahead of the CME has been observed for a long time in the in situ data, it has been identified recently near the Sun in the coronagraphic and EUV images. Unlike in situ observations, the imaging observations are two dimensional, so one can better discern the CME-shock relationship near the Sun. Gopalswamy and Yashiro demonstrated that the coronal magnetic field can be derived from the shock standoff distance measured in coronagraphic images. The method involves measuring the standoff distance, the radius of curvature of the flux rope, and assuming the value of the adiabatic index and deriving the Alfvenic Mach number. The next step is to derive the Alfvenic Mach number from the measured shock speed and an estimate of the local solar wind speed. The final step involves deriving the magnetic field from the Alfven speed by measuring the local plasma density either from coronagraphic (polarized brightness) images or from the band-splitting of type II radio bursts. In this paper, we derive the combined magnetic field profile from near the Sun to the edge of the LASCO field of view (1.5 to 30 solar radii) and compare it with the current model profiles.

Gopalswarmy, Nat↗

Source and Propagation of a Streamer Blowout Coronal Mass Ejection Observed by the Parker Solar Probe

In the first orbit of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP), in situ thermal plasma and magnetic field measurements were collected as close as 35RSun from the Sun, an environment that had not been previously explored. During the first orbit of PSP, the spacecraft flew through a streamer blowout coronal mass ejection (SBO-CME) on 2018 November 11 at 23:50 UT as it exited the science encounter. The SBO-CME on November 11 was directed away from the Earth and was not visible by L1 or Earth-based telescopes due to this geometric configuration. However, PSP and the STEREO-A spacecraft were able to make observations of this slow (v ≈ 380 kms−1) SBO-CME. Using the PSP data, STEREO-A images, and Wang–Sheeley–Arge model, the source region of the CME is found to be a helmet streamer formed between the northern polar coronal hole and a mid-latitude coronal hole. Using the YGUAZU-A model, the propagation of the CME is traced from the source at the Sun to PSP. This model predicts the travel time of the flux rope to the PSP spacecraft as 30 hr, which is within 0.33 hr of the actual measured arrival time. The in situ Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons data were examined to determine that no shock was associated with this SBO-CME. Modeling of the SBO-CME shows that no shock was present at PSP; however, at other positions along the SBO-CME front, a shock could have formed. The geometry of the event requires in situ and remote sensing observations to characterize the SBO-CME and further understand its role in space weather.

Kelly Elizabeth Korreck↗