We study the effect of sampling windows on derived shock and associated energetic storm particle (ESP) properties in 296 fast-forward interplanetary shocks using ACE measurements at 1 au between 02/1998 - 08/2013. We vary the time windows from 2-mins to 20-mins for the shock properties and from 2-mins to 540-mins for ESP properties. Variability is quantified by the median absolute deviation (MAD) statistic. We find that the magnetic, density, and temperature compression ratios vary from their median values by 17.03%, 20.05%, 25.91%, respectively; shock speed by 16.26%, speed jump by 45.46%, Alfvenic Mach number by 31.53%, and shock obliquity by 24.25%. Spectral indices in the 2-min to 540-min windows downstream of the shock vary from the median value of 1.79 by 26.05%, and by 30.53% from the 1.70 median value upstream of the shock. Similarity of ESP spectral indices upstream and downstream of the shock suggest that these ESP populations are likely locally accelerated at the shock. Furthermore, we find that for a moving sampling window around the shock, values for the density ratio hold for ~10-mins; the magnetic ratio and shock speed jump hold for ~30-mins, and ~60-mins, respectively. Fixing the upstream window to 2-mins and moving only in the downstream direction, then the density ratio holds for ~60-mins downstream, magnetic ratio for ~30-mins, and the shock speed jump holds for ~110-mins. Beyond these time windows, derived shock properties no longer representative of shock properties. These results provide constraints for modeling and forecasting efforts of shock and ESP-associated properties.
Reproducing measurements of the scattering mean free paths for energetic particles propagating through the solar system has been a major problem in space physics. The pioneering work of Bieber et al. [Astrophys. J. 420, 294 (1994)] provided a theoretical explanation of such observations, which, however, was based on assumptions such as the questionable hypothesis that quasi-linear theory is correct for parallel diffusion. By employing a hybrid plasma-wave/magnetostatic turbulence model, a test-particle code is used to investigate the scattering of energetic particles. The results show excellen…
Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection (ICME) shocks are known to accelerate particles and contribute significantly to Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events. We have performed Magnetohydrodynamic-Particle in Cell (MHD-PIC) simulations of ICME shocks to understand the acceleration mechanism. These shocks vary in Alfvénic Mach numbers as well as in magnetic field orientations (parallel \& quasi-perpendicular). We find that Diffusive Shock Acceleration (DSA) plays a significant role in accelerating particles in a parallel ICME shock. In contrast, Shock Drift Acceleration (SDA) plays a pivotal role …
We study periods of elevated energetic particle intensities observed by STEREO-A when the partial pressure exerted by energetic ($\geq$83 keV) protons ($P_{EP}$) is larger than the pressure exerted by the interplanetary magnetic field ($P_{B}$). In the majority of cases, these periods are associated with the passage of interplanetary shocks. Periods when $P_{EP}$ exceeds $P_{B}$ by more than one order of magnitude are observed in the upstream region of fast interplanetary shocks where depressed magnetic field regions coincide with increases of the energetic particle intensities. When solar win…
Solar energetic particles (SEPs) are one of the extreme space weather phenomena. A huge SEP event increases the radiation dose received by aircrews, who should be warned of such events as early as possible. We developed a warning system for aviation exposure to SEPs. This article describes one component of the system, which calculates the temporal evolution of the SEP intensity and the spectrum immediately outside the terrestrial magnetosphere. To achieve this, we performed numerical simulations of SEP transport in interplanetary space, in which interplanetary SEP transport is described by the…
The acceleration of charged particles by interplanetary shocks can drain a non-negligible fraction of the upstream ram pressure. For a sample of shocks observed in-situ at 1 AU by the ACE and Wind spacecraft, time-series of the non-Maxwellian components (supra-thermal and higher-energy) of the ion and electron energy spectra were acquired for each event. These were averaged for one hour before and after the time of the shock passage to determine their partial pressure. Using the MHD Rankine-Hugoniot jump conditions, we find that the fraction of the total upstream energy flux transferred to non…
We study how a high-speed solar wind stream embedded in a slow solar wind influences the spread of solar energetic protons in interplanetary space. To model the energetic protons, we used a recently developed particle transport code that computes particle distributions in the heliosphere by solving the focused transport equation in a stochastic manner. The particles are propagated in a solar wind containing a CIR, which was generated by the heliospheric magnetohydrodynamic model, EUHFORIA. We study four cases in which we assume a delta injection of 4 MeV protons spread uniformly over different…
The acceleration of thermal solar wind protons at spherical interplanetary shocks driven by coronal mass ejections is investigated. The solar wind velocity distribution is represented using $κ$-functions, which are transformed in response to simulated shock transitions in the fixed-frame flow speed, plasma number density, and temperature. These heated solar wind distributions are specified as source spectra at the shock from which particles with sufficient energy can be injected into the diffusive shock acceleration process. It is shown that for shock-accelerated spectra to display the classic…
In this work, a gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) event observed by multispacecraft has been simulated. The time profiles of SEP fluxes accelerated by an interplanetary shock in the three-dimensional interplanetary space are obtained by solving numerically the Fokker-Planck focused transport equation. The interplanetary shock is modeled as a moving source of energetic particles. By fitting the 1979/03/01 SEP fluxes observed by Helios 1, Helios 2, and IMP 8 with our simulations, we obtain the best parameters for the shock acceleration efficiency model. And we also find that the particle pe…
To understand the origin of Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs), we must study their injection time relative to other solar eruption manifestations. Traditionally the injection time is determined using the Velocity Dispersion Analysis (VDA) where a linear fit of the observed event onset times at 1 AU to the inverse velocities of SEPs is used to derive the injection time and path length of the first-arriving particles. VDA does not, however, take into account that the particles that produce a statistically observable onset at 1 AU have scattered in the interplanetary space. We use Monte Carlo test…
The acceleration of charged particles by interplanetary shocks (IPs) can drain a non-negligible fraction of the plasma pressure. In this study, we have selected 17 IPs observed in-situ at $1\,\text{au}$ by the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and the Wind spacecraft, and 1 shock at $0.8\,\text{au}$ observed by Parker Solar Probe (PSP). We have calculated the time-dependent partial pressure of supra-thermal and energetic particles (smaller and greater than $50\,\text{keV}$ for protons and $30\,\text{keV}$ for electrons, respectively) in both the upstream and downstream regions. The particle …
Energetic particle-mediated interplanetary shocks observed by Solar Orbiter
European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)（欧洲空间局（ESA），欧洲空间天文中心（ESAC））；Heliospheric Physics Laboratory, Heliophysics Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center（NASA戈达德太空飞行中心，日球物理部，日球物理实验室）；Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik（马克斯·普朗克核物理研究所）；Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory（约翰斯·霍普金斯大学应用物理实验室）；Istituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi (ISTP), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche（意大利国家研究委员会等离子体科学与技术研究所（ISTP））；Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London（伦敦大学玛丽女王学院物理与天文学系）；Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona（亚利桑那大学月球与行星实验室）；Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, Kiel University（基尔大学实验与应用物理研究所）
We calculate the interplanetary magnetic field path lengths traveled by electrons in solar electron events detected by the WIND 3DP instrument from $1994$ to $2016$. The velocity dispersion analysis method is applied for electrons at energies of $\sim$ $27$ keV to $310$ keV. Previous velocity dispersion analyses employ the onset times, which are often affected by instrumental effects and the pre-existing background flux, leading to large uncertainties. We propose a new method here. Instead of using the peak or onset time, we apply the velocity dispersion analysis to the times that correspond t…
We examine the accuracy of a common technique for estimating the start time of solar energetic particle injection based on a linear fit to the observed onset time versus 1/(particle velocity). This is based on a concept that the first arriving particles move directly along the magnetic field with no scattering. We check this by performing numerical simulations of the transport of solar protons between 2 and 2000 MeV from the Sun to the Earth, for several assumptions regarding interplanetary scattering and the duration of particle injection, and analyzing the results using the inverse velocity …
Solar energetic particles (SEPs), accelerated during solar eruptions, propagate in turbulent solar wind before being observed with in situ instruments. In order to interpret their origin through comparison with remote-sensing observations of the solar eruption, we thus must deconvolve the transport effects due to the turbulent magnetic fields from the SEP observations. Recent research suggests that the SEP propagation is guided by the turbulent meandering of the magnetic fieldlines across the mean magnetic field. However, the lengthening of the distance the SEPs travel, due to the fieldline me…
The random walk of magnetic field lines is an important ingredient in understanding how the connectivity of the magnetic field affects the spatial transport and diffusion of charged particles. As solar energetic particles (SEPs) propagate away from near-solar sources, they interact with the fluctuating magnetic field, which modifies their distributions. We develop a formalism in which the differential equation describing the field line random walk contains both effects due to localized magnetic displacements and a non-stochastic contribution from the large-scale expansion. We use this formalis…
Sheaths ahead of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large heliospheric structures that form with CME expansion and propagation. Turbulent and compressed sheaths contribute to the acceleration of particles in the corona and in interplanetary space, but the relation of their internal structures to particle energization is still relatively little studied. In particular, the role of sheaths in accelerating particles when the shock Mach number is low is a significant open problem. This work seeks to provide new insights on the internal structure of CME sheaths with regard to energetic particle enhan…
Forecasting Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) fluence, as integrated over an SEP event, is an important element when estimating the effect of solar eruptions on humans and technology in space. Current real-time estimates are based on SEP measurements at a single location in space. However, the interplanetary magnetic field corotates with the Sun approximately 13$^\circ$ each day with respect to Earth, thus in 4 days a near-Earth spacecraft will have changed their connection about 60$^\circ$ from the original SEP source. We estimate the effect of the corotation on particle fluence using a simple p…
A functional form I_{max}(R)=kR^{-α}, where R is the radial distance of spacecraft, was usually used to model the radial dependence of peak intensities I_{max}(R) of solar energetic particles (SEPs). In this work, the five-dimensional Fokker-Planck transport equation incorporating perpendicular diffusion is numerically solved to investigate the radial dependence of SEP peak intensities. We consider two different scenarios for the distribution of spacecraft fleet: (1) along the radial direction line, (2) along the Parker magnetic field line. We find that the index αin the above expression varie…
Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs), a major component of space weather, propagate through the interplanetary medium strongly guided by the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF). In this work, we analyse the implications a flat Heliospheric Current Sheet (HCS) has on proton propagation from SEP release sites to the Earth. We simulate proton propagation by integrating fully 3-D trajectories near an analytically defined flat current sheet, collecting comprehensive statistics into histograms, fluence maps and virtual observer time profiles within an energy range of 1--800 MeV. We show that protons exp…
Small 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events have been commonly associated with extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) jets and narrow coronal mass ejections (CMEs) which are believed to be the signatures of magnetic reconnection involving field lines open to interplanetary space. The elemental and isotopic fractionation in these events are thought to be caused by processes confined to the flare sites. In this study we identify 32 3He-rich SEP events observed by the Advanced Composition Explorer near the Earth during the solar minimum period 2007-2010 and examine their solar sources with the high r…
The event-averaged charge state of heavy ion Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs), measured at 1 AU from the Sun, typically increases with the ions' kinetic energy. The origin of this behaviour has been ascribed to processes taking place within the acceleration region. In this paper we study the propagation through interplanetary space of SEP Fe ions, injected near the Sun with a variety of charge states that are uniformly distributed in energy, by means of a 3D test particle model. In our simulations, due to gradient and curvature drifts associated with the Parker spiral magnetic field, ions of d…
As solar energetic particles (SEPs) stream outward along the interplanetary magnetic field after acceleration by shock waves near the Sun, their intensities are limited by scattering against self-generated Alfvén waves, trapping the particles near their source. This streaming limit varies with the magnetic rigidity of the particle and with distance from the source. Pitch-angle coupling can cause higher-energy protons to suppress the intensities of lower-energy ions causing flattened low-energy spectra on the early SEP intensity plateau. At sufficiently high energies, particle flow and wave tra…
The dearth of observations between 1 au and 3 au limits our understanding of energetic particle acceleration processes in interplanetary space. We present the first-of-their-kind observations of the energetic particle acceleration in a Corotating Interaction Region (CIR) using data from two vantage points, 1 au (near Earth) and 1.5 au (near Mars). The CIR event of June 2015 was observed by the particle detectors aboard the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) satellite as well as the SEP (Solar Energetic Particle) instrument aboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft s…
We investigate the spatial distribution of charged particles accelerated by non-relativistic oblique fast collisionless shocks using three-dimensional test-particle simulations. We find that the density of low-energy particles exhibit a localised enhancement at the shock, resembling the "spike" measured at interplanetary shocks. In contrast to previous results based on numerical solutions to the focused transport equation, we find a shock spike for any magnetic obliquity, from quasi-perpendicular to parallel. We compare the pitch-angle distribution with respect to the local magnetic field and …
Drifts in the Parker spiral interplanetary magnetic field are known to be an important component in the propagation of galactic cosmic rays, while they are thought to be negligible for Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs). As a result they have so far been ignored in SEP propagation modelling and data analysis. We examine drift velocities in the Parker spiral within single particle first-order adiabatic theory, in a local coordinate system with an axis parallel to the magnetic field. We show that, in the presence of scattering in interplanetary space, protons at the high end of the SEP energy rang…
A complete theory for the complex interaction between solar energetic particles and the turbulent interplanetary magnetic field remains elusive. In this work we aim to contribute towards such a theory by modelling the propagation of solar energetic particle electrons in plasma wave turbulence. We specify a background turbulence spectrum, as constrained through observations, calculate the transport coefficients from first principles, and simulate the propagation of these electrons in the inner heliosphere. We have also, for the first time, included dynamical effects into the perpendicular diffu…
Understanding the transport of Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) from acceleration sites at the Sun into interplanetary space and to the Earth is an important question for forecasting space weather. The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF), with two distinct polarities and a complex structure, governs energetic particle transport and drifts. We analyse for the first time the effect of a wavy Heliospheric Current Sheet (HCS) on the propagation of SEPs. We inject protons close to the Sun and propagate them by integrating fully 3D trajectories within the inner heliosphere in the presence of weak sc…
Impulsive solar energetic particle events are widely believed to be due to the prompt escape into the interplanetary medium of flare-accelerated particles produced by solar eruptive events. According to the standard model for such events, however, particles accelerated by the flare reconnection should remain trapped in the flux rope comprising the coronal mass ejection. The particles should reach the Earth only much later, along with the bulk ejecta. To resolve this paradox, we have extended our previous axisymmetric model for the escape of flare-accelerated particles to fully three-dimensiona…
The motion of a charged particle in a magnetic dipole has first been studied by Stormer. The different applications of Stormer's theory to aurorae, cosmic rays and Van Allen radiation belt particles are recalled in an historical perspective. In this paper, we expand the Stormer theory in order to take into account the effects produced by an additional uniform and stationary interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) whose orientation is parallel or antiparallel to the magnetic moment of the dipole. A new expression is derived for the Stormer potential taking into account the additional IMF component.…
August 1 to November 15, 2016 period was characterized by the presence of Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) and a few weak Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) in the heliosphere. In this study we show recurrent energetic electron and proton enhancements observed near Earth (1 AU) and Mars (1.43-1.38 AU) during this period. The observations near Earth are using data from instruments aboard ACE, SOHO, and SDO whereas those near Mars are by the SEP, SWIA, and MAG instruments aboard MAVEN. During this period, the energetic electron fluxes observed near Earth and Mars showed prominent periodic enhanc…
Context. Among others, shocks are known to be accelerators of energetic charged particles. However, many questions regarding the acceleration efficiency and the required conditions are not fully understood. In particular, the acceleration of electrons by shocks is often questioned. Aims. In this study we determine the efficiency of interplanetary shocks for $<$100 keV electrons, and for ions at $\sim$0.1 and $\sim$2 MeV energies, as measured by the Solar Electron and Proton Telescope (SEPT) instruments aboard the twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft. Methods. We emp…
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) of the European Space Agency (ESA) will be the first low-frequency gravitational-wave observatory orbiting the Sun at 1 AU. The LISA Pathfinder (LPF) mission, aiming at testing of the instruments to be located on board the LISA spacecraft (S/C), hosted, among the others, fluxgate magnetometers and a particle detector as parts of a diagnostics subsystem. These instruments allowed us for the estimate of the magnetic and Coulomb spurious forces acting on the test masses that constitute the mirrors of the interferometer. With these instruments we also …
We draw a comparison between a solar energetic particle event associated with the release of a slow coronal mass ejection close to the sun, and the energetic particle population produced in high current density field-aligned current structures associated with auroral phenomena in planetary magnetospheres. We suggest that this process is common in CME development and lift-off in the corona, and may account for the electron populations that generate Type III radio bursts, as well as for the prompt energetic ion and electron populations typically observed in interplanetary space.
Context. Interplanetary (IP) shocks are known to be accelerators of energetic charged particles observed in-situ in the heliosphere. However, the acceleration of near-relativistic electrons by shocks in the interplanetary medium is often questioned. On 9 August 2011 a Corotating Interaction Region (CIR) passed STEREO B (STB) that resulted in a flux increase in the electron and ion channels of the Solar Electron and Proton Telescope (SEPT). Because electron measurements in the few keV to several 100 keV range rely on the so-called magnet foil technique, which is utilized by SEPT, ions can contr…
Context. Current solar energetic particle (SEP) propagation models describe the effects of interplanetary plasma turbulence on SEPs as diffusion, using a Fokker-Planck (FP) equation. However, FP models cannot explain the observed fast access of SEPs across the average magnetic field to regions that are widely separated in longitude within the heliosphere without using unrealistically strong cross-field diffusion. Aims. We study whether the recently suggested early non-diffusive phase of SEP propagation can explain the wide SEP events with realistic particle transport parameters. Methods. We us…
Non-thermal pickup ions (PUIs) are created in the solar wind (SW) by charge-exchange between SW ions (SWIs) and slow interstellar neutral atoms. It has long been theorized, but not directly observed, that PUIs should be preferentially heated at quasi-perpendicular shocks compared to thermal SWIs. We present in situ observations of interstellar hydrogen (H+) PUIs at an interplanetary shock by the New Horizons' Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument at ~34 au from the Sun. At this shock, H+ PUIs are only a few percent of the total proton density but contain most of the internal particle press…
In some solar energetic particle (SEP) events, a counter-streaming particle beam with a deep depression of flux near 90 degrees pitch angle during the beginning phase is observed. Two different interpretations exist in the community to explain this interesting phenomenon. One explanation invokes the hypothesis of an outer reflecting boundary or a magnetic mirror beyond the observer. The other one considers the effect of the perpendicular diffusion on the transport process of SEPs in the interplanetary space. In this work, we revisit the problem of the counter-streaming particle beams observed …
Energetic particles spectra at interplanetary shocks often exhibit a power law within a narrow momentum range softening at higher energy. We introduce a transport equation accounting for particle acceleration and escape with diffusion contributed by self-generated turbulence close to the shock and by pre-existing turbulence far upstream. The upstream particle intensity steepens within one diffusion length from the shock as compared with diffusive shock acceleration rollover. The momentum spectrum, controlled by macroscopic parameters such as shock compression, speed, far upstream diffusion coe…
By the study of the dynamical processes related to entropy, this work aims to create a mathematical tool to identify magnetic clouds (MCs) in the interplanetary space using only interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) data. Used as basis for an analysis methodology, the spatio-temporal entropy (STE) measures the image (recurrence plots) "structuredness" in both space and time domains. Initially we worked with the Huttunen et al. 2005's dataset and studied the 41 MCs presenting a shock wave identified before the cloud. The STE values for each Bx, By, Bz IMF time series, with dimension and time dela…
Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) are an important component of Space Weather, including radiation hazard to humans and electronic equipment, and the ionisation of the Earth's atmosphere. We review the key observations of SEPs, our current understanding of their acceleration and transport, and discuss how this knowledge is incorporated within Space Weather forecasting tools. Mechanisms for acceleration during solar flares and at shocks driven by Coronal Mass Ejections are discussed, as well as the timing relationships between signatures of solar eruptive events and the detection of SEPs in inte…
We compare the characteristics of flare-accelerated energetic electrons at the Sun with those injected into interplanetary space. We have identified 17 energetic electron events well-observed with the SEPT instrument aboard STEREO which show a clear association with a hard X-ray (HXR) flare observed with the RHESSI spacecraft. We compare the spectral indices of the RHESSI HXR spectra with those of the interplanetary electrons. Because of the frequent double-power-law shape of the in situ electron spectra, we paid special attention to the choice of the spectral index used for comparison. The ti…
Energetic particle instruments on board GPS satellites form a powerful global prompt proton sensor network (GPPSn) that provides an unprecedented opportunity to monitor and characterize solar energetic protons targeting the Earth. The medium-Earth-orbits of the GPS constellation have the unique advantage of allowing solar energetic protons to be simultaneously measured from multiple points in both open- and closed-field line regions. Examining two example intervals of solar proton events, we showcase in this study how GPS proton data are prepared, calibrated and utilized to reveal important fe…
We find that the sheath regions between fast interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) and their preceding shocks are often characterized by plasma depletion and mirror wave structures, analogous to planetary magnetosheaths. A case study of these signatures in the sheath of a magnetic cloud (MC) shows that a plasma depletion layer (PDL) coincides with magnetic field draping around the MC. In the same event, we observe an enhanced thermal anisotropy and plasma beta as well as anti-correlated density and magnetic fluctuations which are signatures of mirror mode waves. We perform a superposed…
