Large scale MHD properties of interplanetary magnetic clouds

Magnetic Clouds (MCs) are the interplanetary manifestation of Coronal Mass Ejections. These huge astrophysical objects travel from the Sun toward the external heliosphere and can reach the Earth environment. Depending on their magnetic field orientation, they can trigger intense geomagnetic storms. The details of the magnetic configuration of clouds and the typical values of their magnetohydrodynamic magnitudes are not yet well known. One of the most important magnetohydrodynamic quantities in MCs is the magnetic helicity. The helicity quantifies several aspects of a given magnetic structure, such as the twist, kink, number of knots between magnetic field lines, linking between magnetic flux tubes, etc. The helicity is approximately conserved in the solar atmosphere and the heliosphere, and it is very useful to link solar phenomena with their interplanetary counterpart. Since a magnetic cloud carries an important amount of helicity when it is ejected from the solar corona, estimations of the helicity content in clouds can help us to understand its evolution and its coronal origin. In situ observations of magnetic clouds at one astronomical unit are in agreement with a local helical magnetic structure. However, since spacecrafts only register data along a unique direction, several aspects of the global configuration of clouds cannot be observed. In this paper, we review the general properties of magnetic clouds and different models for their magnetic structure at one astronomical unit. We describe the corresponding techniques to analyze in situ measurements. We also quantify their magnetic helicity and compare it with the release of helicity in their solar source for some of the analyzed cases.     

Model-independent large-scale magnetohydrodynamic quantities in magnetic clouds

Magnetic clouds are the interplanetary manifestation of coronal mass ejections, which are transient expulsions of major quantities of magnetized plasma, from the Sun toward the heliosphere. The magnetic flux and helicity are two key physical magnitudes to track solar structures from the photosphere-corona to the interplanetary medium. To determine the content of flux and helicity in magnetic clouds, we have to know their 3D structure. However, since spacecrafts register data along a unique direction, several aspects of their global configuration cannot be observed. We present a method to estimate the magnetic flux and the magnetic helicity per unit length in magnetic clouds, directly from in situ magnetic observations, assuming only a cylindrical symmetry for the magnetic field configuration in the observed cross-section of the cloud. We select a set of 20 magnetic clouds observed by the spacecraft Wind and estimate their magnetic flux and their helicity per unit length. We compare the results obtained from our direct method with those obtained under the assumption of a helical linear force-free field. This direct method improves previous estimations of helicity in clouds.     

Geomagnetic activity associated with magnetic clouds,magnetic cloud-like structures and interplanetary shocks for the period 1995–2003

Using nine years (1995–2003) of solar wind plasma and magnetic field data, solar sunspot number, and geomagnetic activity data, we investigated the geomagnetic activity associated with magnetic clouds (MCs), magnetic cloud-like structures (MCLs), and interplanetary shock waves. Eighty-two MCs and one hundred and twenty-two MCLs were identified by using solar wind and magnetic field data from the WIND mission, and two hundred and sixty-one interplanetary shocks were identified over the period of 1995–2003 in the vicinity of Earth. It is found that MCs are typically more geoeffective than MCLs or interplanetary shocks. The occurrence frequency of MCs is not well correlated with sunspot number. By contrast, both occurrence frequency of MCLs and sudden storm commencements (SSCs) are well correlated with sunspot number.     

第24太阳活动周地球附近磁云与非磁云事件的统计分析

为研究第24太阳活动周中磁云（Magnetic Clouds,MC）与非磁云（Non-Magnetic Clouds,non-MC）的等离子体性质及其对空间天气的影响,使用1AU处的观测数据对2008-2015年168个ICME事件进行统计与分析,其中认证出磁云事件68个,占总数的40.48%.通过分析磁云与非磁云等离子体参数对空间天气环境的影响及与太阳活动的关系,整体性质的对比及在第23和24太阳活动周中性质的对比,可以发现:在第24太阳周中,磁云引起的磁暴强度普遍大于非磁云,南北向磁场分量是引起磁暴的重要参数;磁云数和太阳黑子数有很好的相关性,非磁云数与行星际日冕物质抛射总数及黑子数的相关性稍弱,磁云数在太阳周的不同阶段表现出不同的分布特性;磁云的磁场强度和南向磁场分量整体强于非磁云,两者质子温度、密度等参数差异不大.第24周磁云事件引起的地磁效应整体上弱于第23周磁云事件,这与第24周磁云事件最大南向磁场分量、传播速度以及质子温度整体小于第23周磁云事件有关.      

Magnetopause poleward of the cusp: Comparison of plasma and magnetic signature of the boundary for southward and northward directed interplanetary magnetic field

A coherent data set of high-latitude dayside magnetopause encounters by old (Heos 2, Hawkeye, Prognoz 7, 8) and new (Polar, Interball Tail, Cluster) spacecraft is needed to build a realistic model of the magnetopause (MP) including an indentation in the cusp. In building such a coherent data set a caution is necessary as the dayside magnetopause at high-latitudes may be less clearly defined than in the case of observations at low latitudes. It is due to expected presence of bundles of newly-reconnected magnetic field lines forming an extended boundary layer on the magnetosheath (MS) side of the magnetopause in the cusp region. Moreover, numerical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models of the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction predict that under northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) an additional thin current sheet should form inside the magnetopause at high latitudes on the dayside (e.g., Wu, 1983; Palmroth et al., 2001). Such a thin currect sheet is absent in empirical magnetosphere models. This internal current sheet, if a real one, may be mistaken for the magnetopause if magnetic field data are only taken into account and/or plasma data are unavailable. The Interball-Tail orbit allows for a full transition of magnetopause boundary layers at high-latitudes. We compare plasma and magnetic field signatures of the magnetopause poleward of the cusp for southward and northward IMF. The distance between the magnetic signature of the magnetopause (the current layer) and a cold and laminarly antisunward flowing MS plasma (so called free-flow MS) was found to be 0.5 to 1 R_E, at least. These observations were made under nominal solar wind of v350 km/s and p_dyn=1 to 4 nPa. We also observed several transient magnetic field reversals in the cusp related to pulses of solar wind dynamic pressure and/or the IMF discontinuity arrival. These transient reversals occurred at the same distance to the model MP as well defined full MP crossing, so most probably they represent just short encounters with the magnetopause current layer. Our analysis suggests that an indentation of the magnetopause with a subtle structure dependent on the local magnetic shear would explain and allow to predict the magnetic configuration in the high-altitude cusp.     

Fe XVII X-ray lines in solar coronal plasmas

Calculated intensities of the Fe X-ray lines due to transitions 2p⁶ − 2p⁵3d lines (near 15 Å) and 2p⁶ − 2p⁵3s lines (near 17 Å) are compared with measured line intensities in solar and tokamak spectra. For the solar spectra, temperature T_e is obtained from the ratio of the Fe 16.776 Å line to a nearby Fe line. We find excellent agreement for all the major Fe line features in the 15–17 Å region except the Fe 15.015 Å line, the observed flux of which is less than the theoretical by a factor f. We find that f strongly depends on the heliocentric angle θ of the emitting region, being smallest (0.2) when the region is nearest Sun centre, but nearly 1 near the limb. Attributing this to resonance scattering, we are able to deduce the path length and electron density from the observations. Possible application to stellar active regions is given.     

The relationship between the recovery phase of geomagnetic storms and the magnetic clouds

Starting with our elliptical cross-section model for the study of the magnetic topology of magnetic clouds (MCs) in the interplanetary medium, we develop an analytical approach to the behavior of the D_st index at the recovery phase of a geomagnetic storm.Assuming an axially symmetric ring current, we estimate its physical parameters during that recovery phase of the storm-time. We compare the theoretical and measured D_st indexes in two intense geomagnetic storms (D_st <–100 nT), both associated with MCs.     

Actors of the main activity in large complex centres during the 23 solar cycle maximum

During the maximum of Solar Cycle 23, large active regions had a long life, spanning several solar rotations, and produced large numbers of X-class flares and CMEs, some of them associated to magnetic clouds (MCs). This is the case for the Halloween active regions in 2003. The most geoeffective MC of the cycle (Dst = −457) had its source during the disk passage of one of these active regions (NOAA 10501) on 18 November 2003. Such an activity was presumably due to continuous emerging magnetic flux that was observed during this passage. Moreover, the region exhibited a complex topology with multiple domains of different magnetic helicities. The complexity was observed to reach such unprecedented levels that a detailed multi-wavelength analysis is necessary to precisely identify the solar sources of CMEs and MCs. Magnetic clouds are identified using in situ measurements and interplanetary scintillation (IPS) data. Results from these two different sets of data are also compared.     

Implications of ROSAT observations for the local hot bubble

The ROSAT all-sky survey and Guest Observer pointed observations have brought a wealth of high-quality data to the study of the soft X-ray diffuse background. Analysis of the spatial structure of the 1/4 keV flux, including observations of shadows cast by discrete clouds in the interstellar medium, have allowed the separation of the observed flux into foreground and background components supporting a spatially varying local component consistent with previous ideas of the local hot bubble, a highly variable galactic halo component, and an extragalactic background.     

Classification and quantification of solar wind driver gases leading to intense geomagnetic storms

Classification and quantification of the interplanetary structures causing intense geomagnetic storms (Dst?≤??100?nT) that occurred during 1997–2016 are studied. The subject of this consists of solar wind parameters of seventy-three intense storms that are associated with the southward interplanetary magnetic field. About 30.14% of the storms were driven by a combination of the sheath and ejecta (S?+?E), magnetic clouds (MC) and sheath field (S) are 26% each, 10.96% by combined sheath and MCs (S?+?C), while 5.48% of the storms were driven by ejecta (E) alone. Therefore, we want to aver that for storms driven by: (1) S?+?E. The Bz is high (≥10?nT), high density (ρ) (>10?N/cm³), high plasma beta (β) (>0.8), and unspecified (i.e. high or low) structure of the plasma temperature (T) and the flow speed (V); (2) MC. The Bz is ≥10?nT, low temperature (T?≤?400,000?K), low ρ (≤10?N/cm³), high V (≥450?km), and low β (≤0.8); (3) The structures of S?+?C are similar to that of MC except that the V is low (V?≤?450?km); (4) S. The Bz is high, low T, high ρ, unspecified V, and low β; and (5) E. Is when the structures are directly opposite of the one driven by MCs except for high V. Although, westward ring current indicates intense storms, but the large intensity of geomagnetic storms is determined by the intense nature of the electric field strength and the Bz. Therefore, great storms (i.e. Dst?≤??200?nT) are manifestation of high electric field strength (≥13?mV/m).     

Inconsistency of magnetic field and plasma velocity variations in the distant plasma sheet: Violation of the “frozen-in” criterion?

Measurements of the magnetic field and low energy plasma by the GEOTAIL spacecraft have been used to study the relationship between variations of the plasma velocity and of the magnetic field in the distant (100–200 R_E) and middle (40–80 R_E) tail. The analysis was carried out separately for the tail lobes and the plasma sheet. It is shown that the absolute values of the magnetic field and plasma velocity, as well as their corresponding components (V_X and B_X, V_Y and B_Y, V_Z and B_Z), are linearly connected in the tail lobes. In the plasma sheet, however, the plasma velocity and the magnetic field do not seem to be related to one another. The distant plasma sheet seems to be in a regime of turbulence. The diffusion coefficients estimated from our data set of the velocity parameters in the plasma sheet are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions of Antonova and Ovchinnikov (1996, 1999).     

空间等离子体云的回旋同步辐射

CME在行星际空间传播时, 会导致强磁场、高密度等离子体云的出现. 回旋同步辐射是此类等离子体的一种主要的射电辐射机制, 且携带行星际磁场的重要信息. 本文重点探讨了光深τν ≤1时回旋同步辐射的发射、吸收及极化特性, 包括热电子、非热电子, 投掷角各向同性、投掷角各向异性等离子体云的回旋同步辐射过程的研究分析. 在此基础上, 推导了考虑折射指数情况下, 辐射强度、辐射亮温的表达式.      

Auroral signatures of transient processes in the outer magnetosphere

We present an analysis of sporadic and recurrent injections of magnetospheric ions in the midnight auroral oval during substorms and of the associated ionospheric ion outflows. The source of plasma sheet precipitating ions is determined using a simple method, based on the measured relation between the ion inverse velocity and time (l = v × t). This method is applied here to two typical passes of the Interball-Auroral (IA) satellite at distances of 3 R_E above the auroral regions. Substorm related ion injections are shown to be mainly due to time of flight effects. In contrast with particle trajectory computations (Sauvaud et al., 1999), the inverse velocity method does not require magnetic and electric field models and can thus be used systematically for the detection of time of flight dispersed ion structures (TDIS). This allowed us to build a large database of TDIS events and to perform a statistical analysis of their spatial distribution. For the cases presented here the source region of the injected ions is found at radial distances from 18 to 30 R_E near the equatorial magnetosphere. At Interball altitudes ( 3 R_E), ion injections detected at the poleward boundary of the nighside auroral oval are associated with shear Alfvén waves superimposed over large-scale quasi-static current structures. We show that the most poleward TDIS are collocated with a large outflow of ionospheric H⁺ and O⁺ displaying pitch-angle distributions peaked in the pitch-angle range 90°–120°. These ions are thus accelerated perpendicularly to the magnetic field not only in the main auroral acceleration region but also up to at least 3 R_E. The expanding auroral bulge thus constitutes a significant source of H⁺ and O⁺ ions for the mid-tail magnetosphere.     

Investigation of impulsive soft X-ray brightening in solar flares

Four multi-loops or arcade flares showing strong impulsive soft X-ray brightenings on Yohkoh/SXT frames have been selected. By inspection of light curves of individual pixels, the areas of brightening have been localised. Evidences that non-thermal electron beams easily penetrate through whole flaring structures have been found. In some footpoints of the flaring structures during the impulsive phase the evidence of the chromospheric evaporation driven by non-thermal electron beams has been detected. The velocities of the upflowing plasma have been estimated. Derived values are in a wide range among 220 and 750 km/s. The SXT images of the investigated flares have been compared with the Yohkoh/HXT images. Generally good spatial and temporal coincidence between soft and hard X-ray emission from footpoints of flaring structures during the impulsive phase have been found but some exceptions occur. An explanation of the reported exceptions based on the magnetic field configuration has been proposed.     

Modeling the (upper) solar atmosphere including the magnetic field

The atmosphere of the Sun is highly structured and dynamic in nature. From the photosphere and chromosphere into the transition region and the corona plasma-β changes from above to below one, i.e., while in the lower atmosphere the energy density of the plasma dominates, in the upper atmosphere the magnetic field plays the governing role – one might speak of a “magnetic transition”. Therefore the dynamics of the overshooting convection in the photosphere, the granulation, is shuffling the magnetic field around in the photosphere. This leads not only to a (re-)structuring of the magnetic field in the upper atmosphere, but induces also the dynamic reaction of the coronal plasma, e.g., due to reconnection events. Therefore the (complex) structure and the interaction of various magnetic patches is crucial to understand the structure, dynamics and heating of coronal plasma as well as its acceleration into the solar wind.

The present article will emphasize the need for three-dimensional modeling accounting for the complexity of the solar atmosphere to understand these processes. Some advances on 3D modeling of the upper solar atmosphere in magnetically closed as well as open regions will be presented together with diagnostic tools to compare these models to observations. This highlights the recent success of these models which in many respects closely match the observations.     

Solar wind dependence of the Pc1 wave activity

There are a host of factors influencing the excitation of Pc1 geomagnetic pulsations, which are ULF waves in the frequency range between 0.2 and 5 Hz. We have studied carefully the dependence of the pearl-type Pc1 activity at Sodankylä, Finland (L = 5.1) on the plasma density N in front of the magnetosphere, the bulk velocity V of the solar wind, and the intensity B of the IMF. The result is as follows: high values of N and reduced values of V are favorable to appearance of Pc1, whereas the dependence of Pc1 activity on B is practically absent. We also show that the probability of Pc1 occurrence decreases with the interplanetary electric field, and increases with solar wind impact pressure and with the plasma to magnetic pressure ratio “beta”.     

A question raised from the observation of dynamic cusp formation: When and where does particle acceleration occur?

We present observations of a C9.4 flare on 2002 June 2 in EUV (TRACE) and X-rays (RHESSI). The multiwavelength data reveal: (1) the involvement of a quadrupole magnetic configuration; (2) loop expansion and ribbon motion in the pre-impulsive phase; (3) gradual formation of a new compact loop with a long cusp at the top during the impulsive phase of the flare; (4) appearance of a large, twisted loop above the cusp expanding outward immediately after the hard X-ray peak; and (5) X-ray emission observed only from the new compact loop and the cusp. In particular, the gradual formation of an EUV cusp feature is very clear. The observations also reveal the timing of the cusp formation and particle acceleration: most of the impulsive hard X-rays (>25 keV) were emitted before the cusp was seen. This suggests that fast reconnection occurred during the restructuring of the magnetic configuration, resulting in more efficient particle acceleration, while the reconnection slowed after the cusp was completely formed and the magnetic geometry was stabilized. This observation is consistent with the observations obtained with Yohkoh/Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) that soft X-ray cusp structures only appear after the major impulsive energy release in solar flares. These observations have important implications for the modeling of magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration.     

IMF effect on ionospheric trough occurrence at equinoxes

Previous observations have shown that there is a relationship between the F region trough and both B_z and B_y components of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Since IMF governs the polar cap convection, we investigate here if this relationship can be explained by means of polar cap convection. The study is limited to equinox seasons. The poleward and equatorward edges of the trough are determined from satellite tomographic observations and their locations are plotted in magnetic coordinates together with the convection pattern given by Papitashvili and Rich [Papitashvili, V.O., Rich, F.J. High-latitude ionospheric convection models derived from DMSP ion drift observations and parameterized by the IMF strength and direction. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 2002, doi:10.1029/2001JA000264] using IMF measurements coincident with trough observations. The results indicate a close relationship between the troughs and convection. Most of the troughs are seen within the dusk cell and the pattern of trough observations rotates with the convection pattern, when B_y changes its sign. More dayside troughs are observed when B_z is negative than in the opposite case, i.e. fast convective flow favours the dayside trough occurrence. Nightside troughs are observed more frequently when B_y is negative. In both evening and morning sectors the trough is situated close to the edges of convection cells, which partly contradicts previous results showing that the troughs are associated with the convection reversal. It is concluded that plasma convection has an important role in trough generation, although the effect of a strong electric field and other mechanisms like precipitation certainly have a role of their own.     

Physical interpretation of interdisciplinary solar/interplanetary observations relevant to the 27–29 June 1980 SMY/STIP event no. 5

A sequence of six well defined interplanetary structures (magnetic clouds) was identified in the solar wind and magnetic field measurements of Helios-1 from 29 June-01 July, 1980. (location 0.64–0.67 AU, C. Long. ～165°, C. Lat. ～5.8°). These structures were characterized by a large northward directed solar wind flow; by well defined directional discontinuities of mainly the ‘tangential-type’ at their beginnings and ends; by some increase in proton and by very pronounced increases in alpha particle number densities - each accompanied by sudden temperature decreases (or in one case by an increase); by some times an increase in magnetic field strength and by values of Nα/Np typical of the inner solar atmosphere. These structures are suggested to have been ejections from a succession (27–29 June, 1980) of Type II producing flares in Hale Region 16923 which coronagraph and X-ray (GOES) data indicate constituted a family of transient producing events. Only two interplanetary shocks were identified in the relevant Helios-1 records. It is suggested on the basis of observations of the directionality of certain of the flare related Type II bursts that some of these shocks could have been missed by the spacecraft. This implies that, in the absence of directional information, correlation of an observed interplanetary shock wave with a solar Type II burst may not always lead to a unique result.     

行星际磁场的螺旋扇形过渡区

从行星际磁场的大尺度螺旋形构型和扇形边界附近太阳风流动与冕旒的可能相关,本文得到一个推论,即在行星际空间可能存在一种较厚的螺旋扇形过渡区。行星际磁场和太阳风的实地观测证实了这种较厚的螺旋扇形过渡区的存在。在所分析的45个螺旋扇形过渡区中,磁场强度都不为零;大部分大于或小于周围平均场强。本文进一步分析了磁增大和磁减小两类过渡区中的物理性质和可能成因。