Energetic Particles and Corotating Interaction Regions in the Solar Wind

This paper reviews three important effects on energetic particles of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) in the solar wind that are formed at the leading edges of high-speed solar wind streams originating in coronal holes. A brief overview of CIRs and their important features is followed by a discussion of CIR-associated modulations in the galactic cosmic ray intensity, with an emphasis on observations made by spacecraft particle telescope ‘anti-coincidence’ guards. Such guards combine high counting rates (hundreds of counts/s) and a lower rigidity response than neutron monitors to provide detailed information on the relationship between cosmic ray modulations and CIR structure. The modulation of Jovian electrons by CIRs is then described. Finally, the acceleration of ions to energies of ～20 MeV/n in the vicinity of CIRs is reviewed.     

Development and Effects of Turbulence in Connection with CIRs

We present an overview of the properties of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence within corotating interaction regions (CIRs) and its effects on energetic particles. We stress the importance of both the population of fluctuations in the inner heliosphere and the changing local environment in determining their properties at larger heliospheric distances. We present observations from two typical CIRs, one at 0.3 AU before compression regions have formed and the other well developed at 5.1 AU, and discuss the properties of fluctuations within them and show that it is possible to distinguish different regions of the CIR on the basis of the turbulence itself. The strength of the turbulence varies strongly within and close to the CIRs, explaining changes in the mean free path of energetic particles of several orders of magnitude with implications for the modulation of cosmic rays and for diffusive acceleration of particles. The mechanisms by which turbulent fluctuations within interaction regions scatter energetic particles are briefly discussed on a theoretical basis. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Simultaneous Observations of Solar Energetic Particle Events by imp 8 and the Ulysses Cospin High Energy Telescope at High Solar Latitudes

With Ulysses approaching the south solar polar latitudes during a period of high solar activity, it is for the first time possible to study the distribution of solar energetic particles (SEPs) in solar latitude as well as in radius and longitude. From July 1997 to August 2000, Ulysses moved from near the solar equator at ∼5 AU to ∼67° S latitude at ∼3 AU. Using observations of >∼30 MeV protons from Ulysses and IMP-8 at Earth we find good correlation between large SEP increases observed at IMP and Ulysses, almost regardless of the relative locations of the spacecraft. The observations show that within a few days after injection of SEPs, the flux in the inner heliosphere is often almost uniform, depending only weakly on the position of the observer. No clear effect of the increasing solar latitude of Ulysses is evident. Since the typical latitudinal extent of CMEs, which most likely accelerate the SEPs, is only ∼30°, this suggests that the enhanced cross-field propagation for cosmic rays and CIR-accelerated particles deduced from Ulysses’ high latitude studies near solar minimum is also true for SEPs near solar maximum. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Corotating Particle Events

The corotating particle events give us a unique opportunity to probe the three-dimensional structures of the heliosphere. This is especially true if we have observations over a period of extreme stability of the CIRs, such as existed over the recent solar minimum. We discuss how the observations fit into the context of current heliospheric magnetic field models. The energetic particle signatures of CIRs throughout the regions of the heliosphere covered by the deep-space missions are reviewed. The CIRs accelerate these particles and at the same time modulate both the high energy galactic cosmic rays and the anomalous cosmic rays.     

Mechanisms for Latitudinal Transport of Energetic Particles in the Heliosphere

Energetic particles in the heliosphere, from relatively low-energy particles which are accelerated in Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) to galactic cosmic rays, are observed to propagate relatively easily in heliographic latitude. Two mechanisms for this transport appear possible: cross-field diffusion, or, in a recent model for the heliospheric magnetic field, by direct magnetic connection. The commonalties and differences of these two mechanisms are considered, and the need for future observations and modeling efforts are discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

26-day Analysis of Energetic Ion Observations at High and Low Heliolatitudes: Ulysses and ACE

We present observations of energetic (0.34–8 MeV) ions from the Ulysses spacecraft during its second ascent to southern high latitude regions of the heliosphere. We cover the period from January 1999 until mid-2000 as Ulysses moved from 5.2 AU and 18° S to 3.5 AU and 55° S. In contrast to the long-lived and well-defined ∼26-day recurrences that were observed throughout Ulysses‘ first southern pass, energetic ion fluxes during the first portion of the Ulysses’ second polar orbit are highly irregular. Although corotating interaction regions (CIRs) are clearly present in solar wind and magnetic field data throughout the first half of 1999, their effects on energetic ion intensities are quite different from what they were in 1992–1993. No dominant strictly recurrent ion flux increases are observed in association with the arrival of these CIRs. Correspondingly, there is no stable structure of large polar coronal holes during the same period. Isolated transient solar energetic particle (SEP) events are observed at low and high latitudes. We compare energetic ion observations from the ACE and Ulysses spacecraft during the first half of 1999 to determine the influence of these SEP events in the observed recurrent CIR structure. Such SEP events occurred only occasionally during 1992–1993, but when they occurred, they obscured the recurrences in a manner similar to that observed in 1999–2000. We therefore conclude that the basic differences in the behavior of energetic ion events between the first and second southern passes are due to the short life of the corotating structure and the higher frequency of SEP events occurring in 1999–2000. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Interplanetary Shocks and Solar Wind Structure Approaching Solar Maximum: Helios,IMP-8 and Voyager Observations

We studied solar wind observations of five different spacecraft: Helios 1, Helios 2, IMP-8, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, from November 1977 to February 1978. In this period the large-scale dynamics of the solar wind near of the ecliptic plane was characterized by transient forward shocks (TFSs), ejecta, unstable corotating interaction regions (CIRs), and complex and variable magnetic sector structures. We identified 12 forward shock events of different origin. We did not find any clear tendency of the shock parameters with heliocentric distance nor longitudinal angle, but comparing the observations of each shock event we found local variations in the shock strength and the mean propagation velocities from one spacecraft to another. These unsystematic variations indicate that there were local deformations of the shock fronts, which we attribute to the inhomogenuos solar wind structure that affects the shock propagation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

CIR Associated Energetic Particles in the Inner and Middle Heliosphere

Energetic particles associated with Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) are observed throughout the inner and middle heliosphere, showing large positive (>100%/AU) radial intensity gradients. Their appearance at 1 AU is associated with the appearance of fast, recurrent solar wind streams. At several AU, CIR energetic particles are accelerated at shocks which propagate away from the interface of fast and slow solar wind streams. CIR energy spectra at 1 AU cover the range >35 keV to several MeV/amu; the spectra steepen above ∼1 MeV/amu, and show no turnover even at the lowest energies. The ion composition of CIRs is similar to solar material, but with significant differences that might be due to properties of the seed population and/or the acceleration process. This paper summarizes properties of energetic particles in CIRs as known through the early 1990s, prior to the launch of the Ulysses, and WIND spacecraft, whose new results are presented in Kunow, Lee et al. (1999) in this volume. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Non-relativistic solar electrons

This review summarizes both the direct spacecraft observations of non-relativistic solar electrons, and observations of the X-ray and radio emission generated by these particles at the Sun and in the interplanetary medium. These observations bear on three physical processes basic to energetic particle phenomena: (1) the acceleration of particles in tenuous plasmas; (2) the propagation of energetic charged particles in a disordered magnetic field, and (3) the interaction of energetic charged particles with tenuous plasmas to produce electromagnetic radiation. Because these electrons are frequently accelerated and emitted by the Sun, mostly in small and relatively simple flares, it is possible to define a detailed physical picture of these processes.In many small solar flares non-relativistic electrons accelerated during flash phase constitute the bulk of the total flare energy. Thus the basic flare mechanism in these flares essentially converts the available flare energy into fast electrons. Non-relativistic electrons exhibit a wide variety of propagation modes in the interplanetary medium, ranging from diffusive to essentially scatter-free. This variability in the propagation may be explained in terms of the distribution of interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations. Type III solar radio burst emission is generated by these electrons as they travel out to 1 AU and beyond. Recent in situ observations of these electrons at 1 AU, accompanied by simultaneous observations of the low frequency radio emission generated by them at 1 AU provide quantitative information on the plasma processes involved in the generation of type III bursts.     

CIR Morphology, Turbulence, Discontinuities, and Energetic Particles

Corotating interaction regions (CIRs) in the middle heliosphere have distinct morphological features and associated patterns of turbulence and energetic particles. This report summarizes current understanding of those features and patterns, discusses how they can vary from case to case and with distance from the Sun and possible causes of those variations, presents an analytical model of the morphological features found in earlier qualitative models and numerical simulations, and identifies aspects of the features and patterns that have yet to be resolved. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Integration of Neutron Monitor Data with Spacecraft Observations: a Historical Perspective

Beginning in the early 1950s, data from neutron monitors placed the taxonomy of cosmic ray temporal variations on a firm footing, extended the observations of the Sun as a transient source of high energy particles and laid the foundation of our early concepts of a heliosphere. The first major impact of the arrival of the Space Age in 1957 on our understanding of cosmic rays came from spacecraft operating beyond the confines of our magnetosphere. These new observations showed that Forbush decreases were caused by interplanetary disturbances and not by changes in the geomagnetic field; the existence of both the predicted solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field was confirmed; the Sun was revealed as a frequent source of energetic ions and electrons in the 10–100 MeV range; and a number of new, low-energy particle populations was discovered. Neutron monitor data were of great value in interpreting many of these new results. With the launch of IMP 6 in 1971, followed by a number of other spacecraft, long-term monitoring of low and medium energy galactic and anomalous cosmic rays and solar and interplanetary energetic particles, and the interplanetary medium were available on a continuous basis. Many synoptic studies have been carried out using both neutron monitor and space observations. The data from the Pioneer 10/11 and Voyagers 1/2 deep space missions and the journey of Ulysses over the region of the solar poles have significantly extended our knowledge of the heliosphere and have provided enhanced understanding of many effects that were first identified in the neutron monitor data. Solar observations are a special area of space studies that has had great impact on interpreting results from neutron monitors, in particular the identification of coronal holes as the source of high-speed solar wind streams and the recognition of the importance of coronal mass ejections in producing interplanetary disturbances and accelerating solar energetic particles. In the future, with the new emphasis on carefully intercalibrated networks of neutron monitors and the improved instrumentation for space studies, these symbionic relations should prove to be even more productive in extending our understanding of the acceleration and transport of energetic particles in our heliosphere. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

10Be Production in the Atmosphere by Galactic Cosmic Rays

Galactic cosmic ray nuclei and energetic protons produced in solar flares and accelerated by coronal mass ejections are the main sources of high-energy particles of extraterrestrial origin in near-Earth space and inside the Earth’s atmosphere. The intensity of galactic cosmic rays inside the heliosphere is strongly influenced by the modulation of the interstellar source particles on their way through interplanetary space. Among others, this modulation depends on the activity of the Sun, and the resulting intensity of the energetic particles in the atmosphere is an indicator of the solar activity. Therefore, rare isotopes found in historical archives and produced by spallation reactions of primary and secondary hadrons of cosmic origin in the atmosphere, so-called cosmogenic nuclides, can be used to reconstruct the solar activity in the past. The production rate of ¹⁰Be, one of the cosmogenic nuclides most adequate to study the solar activity, is presented showing its variations with geographic latitude and altitude and the dependence on different production cross-sections present in literature. In addition, estimates for altitude integrated production rates of ¹⁰Be at different locations since the early nineteen sixties are shown.     

Modulation of Galactic Cosmic Rays at Solar Minimum

Cosmic ray particles respond to the heliospheric magnetic field in the expanding solar wind and its turbulence and therefore provide a unique probe for conditions in the changing heliosphere. During the last four years, concentrated around the solar minimum period of solar cycle 22, the exploration of the solar polar regions by the joint ESA/NASA mission Ulysses revealed the three-dimensional behavior of cosmic rays in the inner and middle heliosphere. Also during the last decades, the Pioneer and Voyager missions have greatly expanded our understanding of the structure and extent of the outer heliosphere. Simultaneously, numerical models describing the propagation of galactic cosmic rays are becoming sophisticated tools for interpreting and understanding these observations. We give an introduction to the subject of the modulation of galactic cosmic rays in the heliosphere during solar minimum. The modulation effects on cosmic rays of corotating interaction regions and their successors in the outer heliosphere are discussed in more detail by Gazis, McDonald et al. (1999) and McKibben, Jokipii et al. (1999) in this volume. Cosmic-ray observations from the Ulysses spacecraft at high heliographic latitudes are also described extensively in this volume by Kunow, Lee et al. (1999). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Relativistic solar proton events

Energetic solar flare particles contain rich information concerning mechanisms of particle acceleration on the Sun and subsequent transport through turbulent interplanetary space. Even the most energetic particles, in particular protons with kinetic energy above 500 MeV, may undergo coronal and interplanetary propagation effects, disturbing their accelerated injection spectrum after release from the solar flare. Relativistic solar proton events are recorded by neutron monitors at ground level. A detailed knowledge of the response of these ground-based detectors to the impact by a beam of protons on the top of the atmosphere is required to analyze these observations. The spectral index of arriving protons can be obtained from the response of the world-wide network of neutron monitors provided their directional anisotropy is known. The spectral index may also by determined from the relative enhancements in count rates of two similar detectors at different altitudes but similar asymptotic cones of acceptances, or from the relative enhancements of two detectors with different spectral sensitivities but at the same location of high latitude. Ground level enhancements from solar flare protons have been recorded at Sanae, Antarctica, since 1971 by two neutron monitors with different sensitivities to primary protons in the rigidity range from 1 GV to 5 GV. Spectral indexes of about 20 of these more energetic solar flare proton events have been determined from the two detector enhancements recorded at Sanae. These indexes do not show any increase (softening of the relativistic proton spectra) with increasing heliolongitude away from the preferred IMF connection region as was obtained for 20–80 MeV protons. Furthermore, most of the enhanced count rates show fluctuations larger than statistical, indicative of propagation in a mostly turbulent interplanetary magnetic field.     

Cosmic Rays Through the Solar Hale Cycle

The Ulysses spacecraft had been the first to orbit the Sun over its poles and to explore the heliosphere at these high heliolatitudes. It has now completed three fast latitude scans, two at solar minimum and one at solar maximum. Since its launch in October 1990, this mission has led to several surprising discoveries concerning energetic particles, cosmic rays, Jovian electrons, the solar wind, the heliospheric magnetic field and the global features of the heliosphere. This review addresses the propagation and modulation of cosmic rays and other charged particles from an observational point of view with emphasis on what has been learned from exploring the inner heliosphere to high heliolatitudes.     

Martian Radiation EnvIronment Experiment (MARIE)

Measurements of radiation levels at Mars including the contributions of protons, neutrons, and heavy ions, are pre-requisites for human exploration. The MARIE experiment on the Mars-01 Odyssey spacecraft consists of a spectrometer to make such measurements in Mars orbit. MARIE is measuring the galactic cosmic ray energy spectra during the maximum of the 24^th solar cycle, and studying the dynamics of solar particle events and their radial dependence in orbit of Mars. The MARIE spectrometer is designed to measure the energy spectrum from 15 to 500 MeV/n, and when combined other space based instruments, such as the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), would provide accurate GCR spectra. Similarly, observations of solar energetic particles can be combined with observations at different points in the inner heliosphere from, for example, the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), to gain information on the propagation and radial dependence in the Earth-Mars space. Measurements can be compared with the best available radiation environment and transport models in order to improve these models for subsequent use, and to provide key inputs for the engineering of spacecraft to better protect the human crews exploring Mars.     

Muon Observations

Muon observations are complementary to neutron monitor observations but there are some important differences in the two techniques. Unlike neutron monitors, muon telescope systems use coincidence techniques to obtain directional information about the arriving particle. Neutron monitor observations require simple corrections for pressure variations to compensate for the varying mass of atmospheric absorber over a site. In contrast, muon observations require additional corrections for the positive and negative temperature effects. Muon observations commenced many years before neutron monitors were constructed. Thus, muon data over a larger number of solar cycles is available to study solar modulation on anisotropies and other cosmic ray variations. The solar diurnal and semi-diurnal variations have been studied for many years. Using the techniques of Bieber and Chen it has been possible to derive the radial gradient, parallel mean-free path and symmetric latitude gradient of cosmic rays for rigidities <200 GV. The radial gradient varies with the 11-year solar activity cycle whereas the parallel mean-free path appears to vary with the 22-year solar magnetic cycle. The symmetric latitudinal gradient reverses at each solar polarity reversal. These results are in general agreement with predictions from modulation models. In undertaking these analyses the ratio of the parallel to perpendicular mean-free path must be assumed. There is strong contention in the literature about the correct value to employ but the results are sufficiently robust for this to be, at most, a minor problem. An asymmetric latitude gradient of highly variable nature has been found. These observations do not support current modulation models. Our view of the sidereal variation has undergone a revolution in recent times. Nagashima, Fujimoto and Jacklyn proposed a narrow Tail-In source anisotropy and separate Loss-Cone anisotropy as being responsible for the observed variations. A new analysis technique, more amenable to such structures, was developed by Japanese and Australian researchers. They confirmed the existence of the two anisotropies. However, they found that the Tail-In anisotropy is asymmetric and that both anisotropies had different positions from the prediction. Most 27-day modulations are observed at neutron monitor rigidities but not so readily at higher rigidities. An exception to this is the Isotropic Intensity Wave modulation observed in the early 1980s and again in 1991. This modulation is very strongly related to the heliospheric sector structure and implies a significantly different cosmic ray density on either side of the neutral sheet. The interpretation of most cosmic ray modulation phenomena requires good latitude coverage in both hemispheres. The closure of many muon observatories is a matter of concern. In the northern hemisphere a few new instruments are being constructed and spatial coverage is barely adequate. In the southern hemisphere the situation is far worse with the possibility that within a decade only the Mawson observatory in Antarctica will still be in operation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cosmic Ray Transport in a Heliospheric Magnetic Field with Non-Polar Coronal Holes

The simple tilted dipole picture of Corotating Interaction Regions which prevailed during the first polar pass of Ulysses no longer applies since the Sun entered a more active phase. Recent observations show that CIRs still persist, though the large polar coronal holes of solar minimum shrink to smaller areas and move to lower latitudes. We present 3-D simulations for the cosmic-ray intensity variations in a model with non-polar high speed streams. Latitudinal and recurrent time-variations are discussed, but more detailed and realistic simulations are required before quantitative comparisons with observations can be made. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Voyager 2 Observations of Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) in the Outer Heliosphere

We review observations from Voyager 2 of CIRs and merged CIRs in the outer heliosphere. The rather simple characteristics of the CIR-associated changes in plasma, magnetic field, and particles become more complex as observations are made at greater and greater distances. Pickup ions from charge exchange undoubtedly play an important role in the structure, but the full details are not yet understood. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.