Clustering of Intermittent Magnetic and Flow Structures near Parker Solar Probe's First Perihelion -- A Partial-Variance-of-Increments Analysis
Rohit Chhiber, M. Goldstein, B. Maruca, A. Chasapis, W. Matthaeus, D. Ruffolo, R. Bandyopadhyay, T. Parashar, R. Qudsi, T. Dudok de Wit, S. Bale, J. Bonnell, K.… 展开作者
Rohit Chhiber, M. Goldstein, B. Maruca, A. Chasapis, W. Matthaeus, D. Ruffolo, R. Bandyopadhyay, T. Parashar, R. Qudsi, T. Dudok de Wit, S. Bale, J. Bonnell, K. Goetz, P. Harvey, R. MacDowall, D. Malaspina, M. Pulupa, J. Kasper, K. Korreck, A. Case, M. Stevens, P. Whittlesey, D. Larson, R. Livi, M. Velli, N. Raouafi
During the Parker Solar Probe's (PSP) first perihelion pass, the spacecraft reached within a heliocentric distance of \(\sim 37~R_\odot\) and observed numerous magnetic and flow structures characterized by sharp gradients. To better understand these intermittent structures in the young solar wind, an important property to examine is their degree of correlation in time and space. To this end, we use the well-tested Partial Variance of Increments (PVI) technique to identify intermittent events in FIELDS and SWEAP observations of magnetic and proton-velocity fields (respectively) during PSP's first solar encounter, when the spacecraft was within 0.25 au from the Sun. We then examine distributions of waiting times between events with varying separation and PVI thresholds. We find power-law distributions for waiting times shorter than a characteristic scale comparable to the correlation time, suggesting a high degree of correlation that may originate in a clustering process. Waiting times longer than this characteristic time are better described by an exponential, suggesting a random memory-less Poisson process at play. These findings are consistent with near-Earth observations of solar wind turbulence. The present study complements the one by Dudok de Wit et al. (2020, present volume), which focuses on waiting times between observed "switchbacks" in the radial magnetic field.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe (Parker) spacecraft reached its first perihelion of 35.7 solar radii on November 5th, 2018. To aid in mission planning, and in anticipation of the unprecedented measurements to be returned, in late October, we developed a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) solution for the solar corona and inner heliosphere, driven by the then available observations of the Sun's photospheric magnetic field. Our model incorporates a wave-turbulence-driven (WTD) model to heat the corona. Here, we present our predictions for the structure of the solar corona and the likely {\it …
The solar wind undergoes significant heating as it propagates away from the Sun; the exact mechanisms responsible for this heating remain unclear. Using data from the first perihelion of the Parker Solar Probe mission, we examine the properties of proton and electron heating occurring within magnetic coherent structures identified by means of the Partial Variance of Increments (PVI) method. Statistically, regions of space with strong gradients in the magnetic field, $PVI \geq 1$, are associated with strongly enhanced proton but only slightly elevated electron temperatures. Our analysis indicat…
Sunward Streaming 3He-rich SEP Events Observed by Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe during Perihelion Passage
Southwest Research Institute（西南研究所）；Center for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian（天体物理学中心——哈佛与史密森尼学会）；Space Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院空间辐射实验室）；Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University（约翰斯·霍普金斯大学应用物理实验室）；The University of Texas at San Antonio（得克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校）
We examine Alfvén Wave Solar atmosphere Model (AWSoM) predictions of the first Parker Solar Probe (PSP) encounter. We focus on the 12-day closest approach centered on the 1st perihelion. AWSoM (van der Holst et al., 2014) allows us to interpret the PSP data in the context of coronal heating via Alfvén wave turbulence. The coronal heating and acceleration is addressed via outward-propagating low-frequency Alfvén waves that are partially reflected by Alfvén speed gradients. The nonlinear interaction of these counter-propagating waves results in a turbulent energy cascade. To apportion the wave d…
Since the launch on 2018/08/12, Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has completed its first and second orbits around the Sun, having reached down to 35.7 solar radii at each perihelion. In anticipation of the exciting new data at such unprecedented distances, we have simulated the global 3D heliosphere using an MHD model coupled with a semi-empirical coronal model using the best available photospheric magnetograms as input. We compare our heliospheric MHD simulation results with in situ measurements along the PSP trajectory from its launch to the completion of the second orbit, with particular emphasis o…
The scope of this study is to model the solar-wind environment for the Parker Solar Probe's unprecedented distances down to 9.86 Rs in its mission phase during 2018-2025. The study is performed within the CGAUSS project which is the German contribution to the PSP mission as part of the WISPR imager on PSP. We present an empirical solar-wind model for the inner heliosphere which is derived from OMNI and Helios data. The sunspot number (SSN) and its predictions are used to derive dependencies of solar-wind parameters on solar activity and to forecast them for the PSP mission. The frequency distr…
The Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons experiment on the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission measures the three-dimensional electron velocity distribution function. We derive the parameters of the core, halo, and strahl populations utilizing a combination of fitting to model distributions and numerical integration for $\sim 100,000$ electron distributions measured near the Sun on the first two PSP orbits, which reached heliocentric distances as small as $\sim 0.17$ AU. As expected, the electron core density and temperature increase with decreasing heliocentric distance, while the ratio of el…
We present the identification and preliminary analysis of a dust trail following the orbit of (3200) Phaethon as seen in white light images recorded by the Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) instrument on the NASA Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission. During PSP's first solar encounter in November 2018, a dust trail following Phaethon's orbit was visible for several days and crossing two fields of view. Preliminary analyses indicate this trail to have a visual magnitude of 15.8 $\pm$0.3 per pixel and a surface brightness of 25.0 mag arcsec$^{-2}$ as seen by PSP/WISPR from a distance …
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) aims at exploring the nascent solar wind close to the Sun. Meanwhile, PSP is also expected to encounter small objects like comets and asteroids. In this work, we survey the ephemerides to find a chance of recent encounter, and then model the interaction between released dusty plasmas and solar wind plasmas. On 2019 September 2, a comet-like object 322P/SOHO just passed its perihelion flying to a heliocentric distance of 0.12 au, and swept by PSP at a relative distance as close as 0.025 au. We present the dynamics of dust particles released from 322P, forming a curved d…
On 2018 November 5, about 24 hours before the first close perihelion passage of Parker Solar Probe (PSP), a coronal mass ejection (CME) entered the field of view of the inner detector of the Wide-field Imager for Solar PRobe (WISPR) instrument onboard PSP, with the northward component of its trajectory carrying the leading edge of the CME off the top edge of the detector about four hours after its first appearance. We connect this event to a very small jet-like transient observed from 1 au by coronagraphs on both the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and the A component of the Solar TE…
Reconnection between pairs of solar magnetic flux elements, one open and the other a closed loop, is theorised to be a crucial process for both maintaining the structure of the corona and producing the solar wind. This 'interchange reconnection' is expected to be particularly active at the open-closed boundaries of coronal holes (CHs). Previous analysis of solar wind data at 1AU indicated that peaks in the flux of suprathermal electrons at slow-fast stream interfaces may arise from magnetic connection to the CH boundary, rather than dynamic effects such as compression. Further, offsets between…
The hot and diffuse nature of the Sun's extended atmosphere allows it to persist in non-equilibrium states for long enough that wave-particle instabilities can arise and modify the evolution of the expanding solar wind. Determining which instabilities arise, and how significant a role they play in governing the dynamics of the solar wind, has been a decades-long process involving in situ observations at a variety of radial distances. With new measurements from Parker Solar Probe (PSP), we can study what wave modes are driven near the Sun, and calculate what instabilities are predicted for diff…
The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has observed copious rapid magnetic field direction changes in the near-Sun solar wind. These features have been called "switchbacks," and their origin is a mystery. But their widespread nature suggests that they may be generated by a frequently occurring process in the Sun's atmosphere. We examine the possibility that the switchbacks originate from coronal jets. Recent work suggests that many coronal jets result when photospheric magnetic flux cancels, and forms a small-scale "minifilament" flux rope that erupts and reconnects with coronal field. We argue that the…
On April 5, 2019, while the Parker Solar Probe was at its 35 solar radius perihelion, the data set collected at 293 samples/sec contained more than 10,000 examples of spiky electric-field-like structures having durations less than 200 milliseconds and amplitudes greater than 10 mV/m. The vast majority of these events was caused by plasma turbulence. Defining dust events as those having similar, narrowly peaked, positive, single-ended signatures, resulted in finding 135 clear dust events, which, after correcting for the low detection efficiently, resulted in an estimate consistent with the 1000…
We investigate the solar wind energy flux in the inner heliosphere using 12-day observations around each perihelion of Encounter One (E01), Two (E02), Four (E04), and Five (E05) of Parker Solar Probe (PSP), respectively, with a minimum heliocentric distance of 27.8 solar radii ($R_\odot{}$). Energy flux was calculated based on electron parameters (density $n_e$, core electron temperature $T_{c}$, and suprathermal electron temperature $T_{h}$) obtained from the simplified analysis of the plasma quasi-thermal noise (QTN) spectrum measured by RFS/FIELDS and the bulk proton parameters (bulk speed …
Many solar coronal jets result from erupting miniature-filament ("minifilament") magnetic flux ropes that reconnect with encountered surrounding far-reaching field. Many of those minifilament flux ropes are apparently built and triggered to erupt by magnetic flux cancelation. If that cancelation (or some other process) results in the flux rope's field having twist, then the reconnection with the far-reaching field transfers much of that twist to that reconnected far-reaching field. In cases where that surrounding field is open, the twist can propagate to far distances from the Sun as a magneti…
High time-resolution solar wind magnetic field data is employed to study statistics describing intermittency near the first perihelion (~35.6 Rs) of the Parker Solar Probe mission. A merged dataset employing two instruments on the FIELDS suite enables broadband estimation of higher order moments of magnetic field increments, with five orders established with reliable accuracy. The duration, cadence, and low noise level of the data permit evaluation of scale dependence of the observed intermittency from the inertial range to deep subproton scales. The results support multifractal scaling in the…
Magnetic reconnection in current sheets converts magnetic energy into particle energy. The process may play an important role in the acceleration and heating of the solar wind close to the Sun. Observations from Parker Solar Probe provide a new opportunity to study this problem, as it measures the solar wind at unprecedented close distances to the Sun. During the 1st orbit, PSP encountered a large number of current sheets in the solar wind through perihelion at 35.7 solar radii. We performed a comprehensive survey of these current sheets and found evidence for 21 reconnection exhausts. These e…
Radio waves are strongly scattered in the solar wind, so that their apparent sources seem to be considerably larger and shifted than the actual ones. Since the scattering depends on the spectrum of density turbulence, better understanding of the radio wave propagation provides indirect information on the relative density fluctuations $ε=\langleδn\rangle/\langle n\rangle$ at the effective turbulence scale length. Here, we have analyzed 30 type III bursts detected by Parker Solar Probe (PSP). For the first time, we have retrieved type III burst decay times $τ_{\rm{d}}$ between 1 MHz and 10 MHz t…
A solar energetic particle event was detected by the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (ISOIS) instrument suite on Parker Solar Probe (PSP) on 2019 April 4 when the spacecraft was inside of 0.17 au and less than 1 day before its second perihelion, providing an opportunity to study solar particle acceleration and transport unprecedentedly close to the source. The event was very small, with peak 1 MeV proton intensities of ~0.3 particles (cm^2 sr s MeV)^-1, and was undetectable above background levels at energies above 10 MeV or in particle detectors at 1 au. It was strongly anisotropi…
Aims: Our goal is to develop methodologies to seamlessly track transient solar wind flows viewed by coronagraphs or heliospheric imagers from rapidly varying viewpoints. Methods: We constructed maps of intensity versus time and elongation (J-maps) from Parker Solar Probe (PSP) Wide-field Imager (WISPR) observations during the fourth encounter of PSP. From the J-map, we built an intensity on impact-radius-on-Thomson-surface map (R-map). Finally, we constructed a latitudinal intensity versus time map (Lat-map). Our methodology satisfactorily addresses the challenges associated with the construct…
The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft has flown into the most dense and previously unexplored region of our solar system's zodiacal cloud. While PSP does not have a dedicated dust detector, multiple instruments onboard are sensitive to the effects of meteoroid bombardment. Here, we discuss measurements taken during PSP's first two orbits and compare them to models of the zodiacal cloud's dust distribution. Comparing the radial impact rate trends and the timing and location of a dust impact to an energetic particle detector, we find the impactor population to be consistent with dust grains on…
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) achieved its first orbit perihelion on November 6, 2018, reaching a heliocentric distance of about 0.165 au (35.55 R$_\odot$). Here, we study the evolution of fully developed turbulence associated with the slow solar wind along the PSP trajectory between 35.55 R$_\odot$ and 131.64 R$_\odot$ in the outbound direction, comparing observations to a theoretical turbulence transport model. Several turbulent quantities, such as the fluctuating kinetic energy and the corresponding correlation length, the variance of density fluctuations, and the solar wind proton temperature a…
The Solar Probe Cup (SPC) is a Faraday Cup instrument onboard NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft designed to make rapid measurements of thermal coronal and solar wind plasma. The spacecraft is in a heliocentric orbit that takes it closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, allowing measurements to be made where the coronal and solar wind plasma is being heated and accelerated. The SPC instrument was designed to be pointed directly at the Sun at all times, allowing the solar wind (which is flowing primarily radially away from the Sun) to be measured throughout the orbit. The instru…
Direct evidence of an inertial-range turbulent energy cascade has been provided by spacecraft observations in heliospheric plasmas. In the solar wind, the average value of the derived heating rate near 1 au is $\sim 10^{3}\, \mathrm{J\,kg^{-1}\,s^{-1}}$, an amount sufficient to account for observed departures from adiabatic expansion. Parker Solar Probe (PSP), even during its first solar encounter, offers the first opportunity to compute, in a similar fashion, a fluid-scale energy decay rate, much closer to the solar corona than any prior in-situ observations. Using the Politano-Pouquet third-…
\textit{Parker Solar Probe} has shown the ubiquitous presence of strong magnetic field deflections, namely switchbacks, during its first perihelion where it was embedded in a highly Alfvénic slow stream. Here, we study the turbulent magnetic fluctuations around ion scales in three intervals characterized by a different switchback activity, identified by the behaviour of the magnetic field radial component, $B_r$. \textit{Quiet} ($B_r$ does not show significant fluctuations), \textit{weak} ($B_r$ has strong fluctuations but no reversals) and \textit{strong} ($B_r$ has full reversals) periods sh…
Energetic particle transport in the interplanetary medium is known to be affected by magnetic structures. It has been demonstrated for solar energetic particles in near-Earth orbit studies, and also for the more energetic cosmic rays. In this paper, we show observational evidence that intensity variations of solar energetic particles can be correlated with the occurrence of helical magnetic flux tubes and their boundaries. The analysis is carried out using data from Parker Solar Probe orbit 5, in the period 2020 May 24 to June 2. We use FIELDS magnetic field data and energetic particle measure…
Heat transport in the solar corona and wind is still a major unsolved astrophysical problem. Because of the key role played by electrons, the electron density and temperature(s) are important prerequisites for understanding these plasmas. We present such in situ measurements along the two first solar encounters of Parker Solar Probe (PSP), between 0.5 and 0.17 AU from the Sun, revealing different states of the emerging solar wind near solar activity minimum. These preliminary results are obtained from a simplified analysis of the plasma quasi-thermal noise (QTN) spectrum measured by the Radio …
Observations at 1 au have confirmed that enhancements in measured energetic particle fluxes are statistically associated with "rough" magnetic fields, i.e., fields having atypically large spatial derivatives or increments, as measured by the Partial Variance of Increments (PVI) method. One way to interpret this observation is as an association of the energetic particles with trapping or channeling within magnetic flux tubes, possibly near their boundaries. However, it remains unclear whether this association is a transport or local effect; i.e., the particles might have been energized at a dis…
Direct Measurement of Polar Coronal Hole-like Solar Wind in its Acceleration Phase
University of Colorado, Boulder（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校）；NASA Goddard Space Flight Center（美国宇航局戈达德太空飞行中心）；Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London（穆拉德空间科学实验室，伦敦大学学院）；Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校空间科学实验室）；University of California, Los Angeles（加州大学洛杉矶分校）；Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校物理系）；University of Michigan, Ann Arbor（密歇根大学安娜堡分校）；Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona（亚利桑那大学月球与行星实验室）；University of Delaware（特拉华大学）；Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory（史密森尼天体物理台）；University of Toulouse（图卢兹大学）；Imperial College London（帝国理工学院）；Harvard University（哈佛大学）；Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory（约翰斯·霍普金斯大学应用物理实验室）；European Space Agency, ESTEC（欧洲空间局欧洲空间研究与技术中心）
Parker Solar Probe Observations of Preferential Heating of Protons over Alpha Particles near Turbulent Coherent Structures
Yunnan University（云南大学）；University College London（伦敦大学学院）；Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London（穆拉德空间科学实验室，伦敦大学学院）；University of Delaware（特拉华大学）；CNR, Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (ISTP)（意大利国家研究委员会等离子科学与技术研究所（ISTP））；KTH - Royal Institute of Technology（瑞典皇家理工学院）；China University of Petroleum (East China)（中国石油大学（华东））；State Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China)（中国石油大学（华东）深油气资源与地质国家重点实验室）；Beihang University（北京航空航天大学）；National Institute of Natural Hazards, Ministry of Emergency Management of China（中国应急管理部自然灾害防治研究院）；National University of Defense Technology（国防科技大学）
Sheaths ahead of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) are turbulent heliospheric structures. Knowledge of their structure and fluctuations is important for understanding their geoeffectiveness, their role in accelerating particles, and the interaction of ICMEs with the solar wind. We studied observations from the Parker Solar Probe of a sheath observed at 0.5 au in March 2019, ahead of a slow streamer blowout CME. To examine the MHD-scale turbulent properties, we calculated fluctuation amplitudes, magnetic compressibility, partial variance of increments (PVI), cross helicity ($σ_c$), …
A Singular Value Decomposition Framework for Jovian Radio Emissions from Parker Solar Probe
University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）；Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校空间科学实验室）；Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校伯克利宇宙物理学中心）；LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS（巴黎天文台LESIA，PSL大学，法国国家科学研究中心）；Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen（格罗宁根大学卡普坦天体物理研究所）；Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校物理系）；The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London（伦敦帝国理工学院布莱克特实验室）
During Parker Solar Probe's first orbit, the solar wind plasma has been observed in situ closer than ever before, the perihelion on November 6th 2018 revealing a flow that is constantly permeated by large amplitude Alfvénic fluctuations. These include radial magnetic field reversals, or switchbacks, that seem to be a persistent feature of the young solar wind. The measurements also reveal a very strong, unexpected, azimuthal velocity component. In this work, we numerically model the solar corona during this first encounter, solving the MHD equations and accounting for Alfvén wave transport and…
The large scale features of the solar wind are examined in order to predict small scale features of turbulence in unexplored regions of the heliosphere. The strategy is to examine how system size, or effective Reynolds number, varies, and then how this quantity influences observable statistical properties, including intermittency properties of solar wind turbulence. The expectation based on similar hydrodynamics scalings, is that the kurtosis, of the small scale magnetic field increments, will increase with increasing Reynolds number. Simple theoretical arguments as well as Voyager observation…
A novel technique is presented for describing and visualizing the local topology of the magnetic field using single-spacecraft data in the solar wind. The approach merges two established techniques: the Grad-Shafranov (GS) reconstruction method, which provides a plausible regional two-dimensional magnetic field surrounding the spacecraft trajectory, and the Partial Variance of Increments (PVI) technique that identifies coherent magnetic structures, such as current sheets. When applied to one month of Wind magnetic field data at 1-minute resolution, we find that the quasi-two-dimensional turbul…
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has shown that the solar wind in the inner heliosphere is characterized by the quasi omni-presence of magnetic switchbacks ("switchback" hereinafter), local backward-bends of magnetic field lines. Switchbacks also tend to come in patches, with a large-scale modulation that appears to have a spatial scale size comparable to supergranulation on the Sun. Here we inspect data from the first ten encounters of PSP focusing on different time intervals when clear switchback patches were observed by PSP. We show that the switchbacks modulation, on a timescale of several hours, …
Several studies in the near-Earth environment show that intermittent structures are important sites of energy dissipation and particle energization. Recent Parker Solar Probe (PSP) data, sampled in the near-Sun environment, have shown that proton heating is concentrated near coherent structures, suggesting local heating of protons by turbulent cascade in this region. However, whether electrons exhibit similar behavior in the near-Sun environment is not clear. Here, we address this question using PSP data collected near the Sun during the first seven orbits. We use the partial variance of incre…
Understanding the physical processes in the solar wind and corona which actively contribute to heating, acceleration, and dissipation is a primary objective of NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission. Observations of coherent electromagnetic waves at ion scales suggests that linear cyclotron resonance and non-linear processes are dynamically relevant in the inner heliosphere. A wavelet-based statistical study of coherent waves in the first perihelion encounter of PSP demonstrates the presence of transverse electromagnetic waves at ion resonant scales which are observed in 30-50\% of radial fie…
The Parker Solar Probe is in a solar orbit with a perihelion for orbit 12 at 13.3 solar radii. The electric field experiment on this satellite observes what we call triggered ion-acoustic waves as the most dominant wave mode above a few Hz within the solar radial distance of 15-25 solar radii. In this mode, a few Hz electrostatic wave is typically accompanied by bursts of a few hundred Hz wave whose bursts are phase locked with each low frequency wave period. Plasma density fluctuations with Δn/n~0.1 accompany these waves and they have no magnetic field component. The wave durations can be hou…
Motivated by prior remote observations of a transition from striated solar coronal structures to more isotropic ``flocculated'' fluctuations, we propose that the dynamics of the inner solar wind just outside the Alfvén critical zone, and in the vicinity of the first $β=1$ surface, is powered by the relative velocities of adjacent coronal magnetic flux tubes. We suggest that large amplitude flow contrasts are magnetically constrained at lower altitude but shear-driven dynamics are triggered as such constraints are released above the Alfvén critical zone, as suggested by global magnetohydrodynam…
Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校空间科学实验室）；Dept. of System Analysis and Optimization Theory, Uzhhorod National University（乌日霍罗德国立大学系统分析与优化理论系）
The solar wind proton temperature at 1-au has been found to be correlated with small-scale intermittent magnetic structures, i.e., regions with enhanced temperature are associated with coherent structures such as current sheets. Using Parker Solar Probe data from the first encounter, we study this association using measurements of radial proton temperature, employing the Partial Variance of Increments (PVI) technique to identify intermittent magnetic structures. We observe that the probability density functions of high-PVI events have higher median temperatures than those with lower PVI, The r…
We use data from the first six encounters of Parker Solar Probe and employ the Partial Variance of Increments ($PVI$) method to study the statistical properties of coherent structures in the inner heliosphere with the aim of exploring physical connections between magnetic field intermittency and observable consequences such as plasma heating and turbulence dissipation. Our results support proton heating localized in the vicinity of, and strongly correlated with, magnetic structures characterized by $PVI \geq 1$. We show that on average, such events constitute $\approx 19\%$ of the dataset, tho…
