Empirical inner boundary conditions and rotation rates for solar wind models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huw Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Coronal Magnetic Field ◽  
Height Range ◽  
Rotation Rates ◽  
Wind Structure ◽  
Solar Wind Structure ◽  
Coronal Electron ◽  
Made In

<p>To date, the inner boundary conditions for solar wind models are either directly or indirectly based on magnetic field extrapolation models of the photosphere. Furthermore, between the photosphere and Earth, there are no other direct empirical constraints on models. New breakthroughs in coronal rotation tomography, applied to coronagraph observations, allow maps of the coronal electron density to be made in the heliocentric height range 4-12 solar radii (Rs). We show that these maps (i) give a new empirical boundary condition for solar wind structure at a height where the coronal magnetic field has become radial, thus avoiding the need to model the complex inner coronal magnetic field, and (ii) give accurate rotation rates for the corona, of crucial importance to the accuracy of solar wind models and forecasts.</p>

Solar Wind Anomalies at 1 au and Their Associations with Large-scale Structures

2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (1) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Yan Li ◽  
Shaosui Xu ◽  
Janet G. Luhmann ◽  
Benoit Lavraud
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Solar Minimum ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Radial Magnetic Field ◽  
Suprathermal Electron ◽  
Wind Structure ◽  
Solar Wind Structure ◽  
Cycle 24

Abstract We study solar wind anomalies and their associations with solar wind structures using the STEREO solar wind and suprathermal electron (STE) data from IMPACT and PLASTIC. We define solar wind anomalies as temporary and local excursions from the average solar wind state, regardless of their origins, for six anomalies: sunward strahls, counterstreaming suprathermal electrons, suprathermal electron depletions, nearly radial magnetic field episodes, anomalously low proton temperatures, and anomalously low proton beta. We first establish the solar wind synoptic contour displays, which show the expected variations in solar wind structure during the solar cycle: recurrent corotating heliospheric magnetic field (HMF) and stream structures are dominant during solar quiet times around the solar minimum (2008 December) preceding cycle 24, while complex structures characterize solar active times around the solar maximum (2014 April). During the declining phase of the cycle (2016–2019), the stream structures remain complex, but the HMF sectors show the structures of the solar minimum. We then systematically study the six anomalies by analyzing the STE data using automated procedures. All anomalies present some degree of dependence on the large-scale solar wind structure, especially around the solar minimum, implying that the solar wind structure plays a role in either the generation or transportation of these anomalies. One common feature of all of the anomalies is that the distributions of the durations of the anomalous episodes all peak at the 1 hr data resolution, but monotonically decrease over longer durations, which may arguably imply that solar anomalies occur on a continuum of temporal and spatial scales.

scholarly journals Interplanetary conditions: lessons from this minimum

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S286) ◽  
pp. 168-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Luhmann ◽  
C. O. Lee ◽  
P. Riley ◽  
L. K. Jian ◽  
C. T. Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Solar Minimum ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Coronal Magnetic Field ◽  
Source Surface ◽  
Field Source ◽  
Mass Fluxes ◽  
Solar Wind Structure ◽  
Cycle 24

AbstractInterplanetary conditions during the Cycle 23-24 minimum have attracted attention because they are noticeably different than those during other minima of the space age, exhibiting more solar wind stream interaction structures in addition to reduced mass fluxes and low magnetic field strengths. In this study we consider the differences in the solar wind source regions by applying Potential Field Source Surface models of the coronal magnetic field. In particular, we consider the large scale coronal field geometry that organizes the open field region locations and sizes, and the appearance of the helmet streamer structure that is another determiner of solar wind properties. The recent cycle minimum had an extraordinarily long entry phase (the decline of Cycle 23) that made it difficult to identify when the actual miminum arrived. In particular, the late 23rd cycle was characterized by diminishing photospheric fields and complex coronal structures that took several extra years to simplify to its traditional dipolar solar minimum state. The nearly dipolar phase, when it arrived, had a duration somewhat shorter than those of the previous cycles. The fact that the corona maintained an appearance more like a solar maximum corona through most of the quiet transitional phase between Cycles 23 and 24 gave the impression of a much more complicated solar minimum solar wind structure in spite of the weaknesses of the mass flux and interplanetary field. The extent to which the Cycle 23-24 transition will affect Cycle 24, and/or represents what happens during weak cycles in general, remains to be seen.

scholarly journals Solar cycle changes of large-scale solar wind structure

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S264) ◽  
pp. 356-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Manoharan
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Solar Cycle ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Interplanetary Space ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Wind Structure ◽  
Level Of Activity ◽  
Solar Wind Structure ◽  
Current Minimum ◽  
Inner Heliosphere

AbstractIn this paper, I present the results on large-scale evolution of density turbulence of solar wind in the inner heliosphere during 1985–2009. At a given distance from the Sun, the density turbulence is maximum around the maximum phase of the solar cycle and it reduces to ~70%, near the minimum phase. However, in the current minimum of solar activity, the level of turbulence has gradually decreased, starting from the year 2005, to the present level of ~30%. These results suggest that the source of solar wind changes globally, with the important implication that the supply of mass and energy from the Sun to the interplanetary space has significantly reduced in the present low level of activity.

The Long Term Cosmic Ray Variation Relevant to Solar Wind Structure in the Outer Heliosphere

1990 ◽  
pp. 199-203
Author(s):  
M.V. Alania ◽  
R.G. Aslamazashvili ◽  
T.B. Bochorishvili ◽  
L.I. Dorman ◽  
R.T. Guschina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Outer Heliosphere ◽  
Wind Structure ◽  
Solar Wind Structure

Solar wind structure at 0.1-1 AU reconstructed from IPS observations using tomography

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kojima ◽  
K. Asai ◽  
P. L. Hick ◽  
B. V. Jackson ◽  
M. Tokumaru ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Wind Structure ◽  
Solar Wind Structure

Large-scale solar-wind structure near the Sun detected by Doppler scintillation

Nature ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 366 (6455) ◽  
pp. 543-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Woo ◽  
Paul Gazis
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Wind Structure ◽  
Solar Wind Structure
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