Interplanetary Physics Research in China During 2004 - 2005

This brief report summarized the latest advances of the interplanetary physics research in China during the period of 2004-2005, made independently by Chinese space physicists and through international collaboration. The report covers all aspects of the interplanetary physics, including theoretical studies, numerical simulation and data analysis.     

Interplanetary Physics Research in China： 2006-2008

This brief report summarized the latest advances of the interplanetary physics research in China during the period of 2006-2007,made independently by Chinese space physicists and through international collaboration.The report covers all aspects of the interplanetary physics,including theoretical studies,numerical simulation and data analysis.     

Advance of interplanetary physics study in China: 2008—2010

Interplanetary physics study is an important ingredient in space weather research. Considerable progress this aspect has been achieved by the space physics community of China in recent years. This brief report summarizes the latest advances of the interplanetary physics research in China during the period of 2008--2010. This report includes solar corona and solar wind, interplanetary transients, energetic particles, MHD simulation, space plasma, and prediction methods for physical phenomena originating from both solar corona and interplanetary space.     

Research Advances of Solar Corona and Interplanetary Physics in China: 2012–2014

Solar transients and their related interplanetary counterparts have severe effects on the space environments of the Earth. Therefore, the research of solar corona and interplanetary physics has become the focus of study for both solar and space scientists. Considerable progress has been achieved in these aspects by the solar and space physics community of China during 2012–2014, which will be given in this report. The brief report summarizes the research advances of solar corona and interplanetary physics into the following parts: solar wind origin and turbulence, coronal waves and seismology, solar eruptions, solar energetic particle and galactic cosmic ray, magnetic reconnection,Magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) models and their applications, waves and structures in solar wind,propagation of ICMEs/shocks and their arrival time predictions. These research achievements have been achieved by Chinese solar and space scientists independently or via international collaborations.     

Interplanetary Physics Research in China:2006—2008

This brief report summarized the latest advances of the interplanetary physics research in China during the period of 2006—2007,made independently by Chinese space physicists and through international collaboration.The report covers all aspects of the interplanetary physics,including theoretical studies,numerical simulation and data analysis.     

A Brief Review of Interplanetary Investigations in China from 2014 to 2016

Great progress has been made in the research of solar corona and interplanetary physics by the Chinese scientists during the past two years (2014-2016). Nearly 100 papers were published in this area. In this report, we will give a brief review to these progresses. The investigations include:solar corona, solar wind and turbulence, superhalo electron and energetic particle in the inner heliosphere, solar flares and radio bursts, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and their interplanetary counterparts, Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical modeling, CME/shock arrival time prediction, magnetic reconnection, solar variability and its impact on climate. These achievements help us to better understand the evolution of solar activities, solar eruptions, their propagations in the heliosphere, and potential geoeffectiveness. They were achieved by the Chinese solar and space scientists independently or via international collaborations.     

PROGRESS IN HELIOSPHERIC PHYSICS

This is an overview of progresses in heliospheric physics made in China in the period of June, 2000 to May, 2002. The report is focused on theoretical studies,modelling and observational analysis of interplanetary physical phenomena, and consists of five sections: the acceleration and heating of the solar wind, corona structures, coronal mass ejections, magnetic reconnection phenomena, and in terplanetary transient phenomena. The main achievements made recently by Chinese scientists in related areas are simply listed in corresponding sections without any priority, only certain editorial consideration.     

Research Progress of Interplanetary Physics in Mainland China

Significant progress has been made by Chinese scientists in research of interplanetary physics during the recent two years (2018-2020). These achievements are reflected at least in the following aspects:Activities in solar corona and lower solar atmosphere; solar wind and turbulence; filament/prominence, jets, flares, and radio bursts; active regions and solar eruptions; coronal mass ejections and their interplanetary counterparts; other interplanetary structures; space weather prediction methods; magnetic reconnection; Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical modeling; solar energetic particles, cosmic rays, and Forbush decreases; machine learning methods in space weather and other aspects. More than one hundred and forty papers in the academic journals have been published in these research directions. These fruitful achievements are obtained by Chinese scholars in solar physics and space physics either independently or through international collaborations. They greatly improve people's understanding of solar activities, solar eruptions, the corresponding space weather effects, and the Sun-Earth relations. Here we will give a very brief review on the research progress. However, it must be pointed out that this paper may not completely cover all achievements in this field due to our limited knowledge.     

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.     

Interplanetary Physics in Mainland China

During the past two years (2016-2018), great achievements have been made in the Chinese research of interplanetary physics, with nearly 100 papers published in the academic journals. The achievements are including but not limited to the following topics:solar corona; solar wind and turbulence; filament/prominence and jets; solar flare; radio bursts; particle acceleration at coronal shocks; magnetic flux ropes; instability; instrument; Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and their interplanetary counterparts; Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical modeling; solar energetic particles and cosmic rays. The progress further improves our understanding of the eruptions of solar activities, their evolutions and propagations in the heliosphere, and final geoeffects on our Earth. These results were achieved by the Chinese solar and space scientists independently or via international collaborations. This paper will give a brief review of these achievements.     

Numeric simulations of in situ observations of interacting ejecta near 1 AU

We use a simple numerical model (González-Esparza, J.A., Santillán, A., Ferrer, J. A numerical study of the interaction between two ejecta in the interplanetary medium: one and two dimensional hydrodynamic simulations, Ann. Geophys. 22, 3741–3749, 2004) to study the evolution of three events in the solar wind reported by Wang et al. (Wang, Y.M., Ye, P.Z., Wang, S. Multiple magnetic clouds: several examples during March–April 2001. J. Geophys. Res. 108, 1370, 2003, doi:10.1029/2003JA009850), where two interacting ejecta detected in situ by ACE near 1 AU were related to CMEs observed previously by SOHO-LASCO. The study is based on a 1-D hydrodynamic model using the ZEUS code (Stone, J.M., Norman, M. ZEUS 2-D: A radiation magnetohydrodynamics code for astrophysical flows in two dimensions, I, the hydrodynamics algorithms and tests, Astrophys. J. 80, 753, 1992). Although this model cannot address either the magnetic field dynamics or the complex geometrical effects intrinsic in the three-dimensional nature of the phenomena, it illuminates the transferring of momentum and evolution of interacting large-scale solar wind disturbances in those cases where there is no merging (magnetic reconnection) between the two ejecta. This model can reproduce, in some cases, characteristics of the events such as transit times and flow signatures as inferred from the two-point measurements from spacecraft.     

Dynamic processes in the outer heliosphere: voyager observations and models

We review recent Voyager 2 observations in the vicinity of 70 AU. The character of the solar wind plasma data between 2002 and 2003 changed to a regime in which the speed, density and magnetic field magnitude are positively correlated. The average speed of the solar wind at Voyager 2 increased between early 2003 and mid-2004, which we attribute to a return of fast coronal hole flow. We use solar wind data at Earth as input to numerical models which include the effect of pickup ions to model the radial evolution of the solar wind. The model reproduces the basic features of the observations. As a specific example, we investigate the propagation of the Halloween (Oct.–Nov.), 2003 storms in the outer heliosphere. The model predictions are in reasonable agreement with Voyager 2 observations.     

Propagation and interaction of interplanetary transient disturbances. Numerical simulations

We study the heliocentric evolution of ICME-like disturbances and their associated transient forward shocks (TFSs) propagating in the interplanetary (IP) medium comparing the solutions of a hydrodynamic (HD) and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models using the ZEUS-3D code [Stone, J.M., Norman, M.L., 1992. Zeus-2d: a radiation magnetohydrodynamics code for astrophysical flows in two space dimensions. i – the hydrodynamic algorithms and tests. Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 80, 753–790]. The simulations show that when a fast ICME and its associated IP shock propagate in the inner heliosphere they have an initial phase of about quasi-constant propagation speed (small deceleration) followed, after a critical distance (deflection point), by an exponential deceleration. By combining white light coronograph and interplanetary scintillation (IPS) measurements of ICMEs propagating within 1 AU [Manoharan, P.K., 2005. Evolution of coronal mass ejections in the inner heliosphere: a study using white-light and scintillation images. Solar Physics 235 (1–2), 345–368], such a critical distance and deceleration has already been inferred observationally. In addition, we also address the interaction between two ICME-like disturbances: a fast ICME 2 overtaking a previously launched slower ICME 1. After interaction, the leading ICME 1 accelerates and the tracking ICME 2 decelerates and both ICMEs tend to arrive at 1 AU having similar speeds. The 2-D HD and MHD models show similar qualitative results for the evolution and interaction of these disturbances in the IP medium.     

Overview of the Solar Polar Orbit Telescope Project for Space Weather Mission

The Solar Polar ORbit Telescope (SPORT) project for space weather mission has been under intensive scientific and engineering background studies since it was incorporated into the Chinese Space Science Strategic Pioneer Project in 2011.SPORT is designed to carry a suite of remote-sensing and in-situ instruments to observe Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs),energetic particles,solar high-latitude magnetism,and the fast solar wind from a polar orbit around the Sun. The first extended view of the polar regions of the Sun and the ecliptic enabled by SPORT will provide a unique opportunity to study CME propagation through the inner heliosphere,and the solar high-latitude magnetism giving rise to eruptions and the fast solar wind.Coordinated observations between SPORT and other spaceborne/ground-based facilities within the International Living With a Star (ILWS) framework can significantly enhance scientific output.SPORT is now competing for official selection and implementation during China's 13th Five-Year Plan period of 2016-2020.     

Orientations of LASCO Halo CMEs and their connection to the flux rope structure of interplanetary CMEs

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) observed near the Sun via LASCO coronographic imaging are the most important solar drivers of geomagnetic storms. ICMEs, their interplanetary, near-Earth counterparts, can be detected in situ, for example, by the Wind and ACE spacecraft. An ICME usually exhibits a complex structure that very often includes a magnetic cloud (MC). They can be commonly modelled as magnetic flux ropes and there is observational evidence to expect that the orientation of a halo CME elongation corresponds to the orientation of the flux rope. In this study, we compare orientations of elongated CME halos and the corresponding MCs, measured by Wind and ACE spacecraft. We characterize the MC structures by using the Grad–Shafranov reconstruction technique and three MC fitting methods to obtain their axis directions. The CME tilt angles and MC fitted axis angles were compared without taking into account handedness of the underlying flux rope field and the polarity of its axial field. We report that for about 64% of CME–MC events, we found a good correspondence between the orientation angles implying that for the majority of interplanetary ejecta their orientations do not change significantly (less than 45 deg rotation) while travelling from the Sun to the near-Earth environment.     

A new parameter to define interplanetary coronal mass ejections

The interplanetary manifestations of coronal mass ejections, ICMEs, have many signatures in the solar wind but none of these signatures in the velocity, density, temperature, magnetic field, plasma composition or energetic particles uniquely and unambiguously identifies the occurrence of an ICME. Different investigators identify different events when confronted with the same data. Herein, we present a single physical parameter that combines information from multiple plasma components and that holds the promise of defining a beginning and an end of the region of influence ICME and an indication of the location of the encounter with the ICME relative to its central meridian. This parameter is the total plasma pressure perpendicular to the magnetic field, consisting of the sum of the magnetic pressure and plasma kinetic or thermal pressure. It provides a vehicle for classifying the nature of the ICME encounter and, in many cases, provides an unambiguous start and stop time of the event. However, it does not provide a start and stop time for any embedded flux rope. This identification depends on examination of the magnetic field.     

Viewing radiation signatures of solar energetic particles in interplanetary space

A current serious limitation on the studies of solar energetic particle (SEP) events is that their properties in the inner heliosphere are studied only through in situ spacecraft observations. Our understanding of spatial distributions and temporal variations of SEP events has come through statistical studies of many such events over several solar cycles. In contrast, flare SEPs in the solar corona can be imaged through their radiative and collisional interactions with solar fields and particles. We suggest that the heliospheric SEPs may also interact with heliospheric particles and fields to produce signatures which can be remotely observed and imaged. A challenge with any such candidate signature is to separate it from that of flare SEPs. The optimum case for imaging high-energy (E > 100 MeV) heliospheric protons may be the emission of π⁰-decay γ-rays following proton collisions with solar wind (SW) ions. In the case of E > 1 MeV electrons, gyrosynchrotron radio emission may be the most readily detectible remote signal. In both cases we may already have observed one or two such events. Another radiative signature from nonthermal particles may be resonant transition radiation, which has likely already been observed from solar flare electrons. We discuss energetic neutrons as another possible remote signature, but we rule out γ-ray line and 0.511 MeV positron annihilation emission as observable signatures of heliospheric energetic ions. We are already acquiring global signatures of large inner-heliospheric SW density features and of heliosheath interactions between the SW and interstellar neutral ions. By finding an appropriate observable signature of remote heliospheric SEPs, we could supplement the in situ observations with global maps of energetic SEP events to provide a comprehensive view of SEP events.     

太阳质子事件与太阳耀斑的关系

通过对0°W-39°W,40°W-70°W,71°W-90°W经度范围内太阳质子事件与太阳耀斑的相关性计算分析,发现太阳质子事件与太阳耀斑的相关系数依赖于经度.太阳耀斑积分与地球磁链接区域（40°W-70°W）太阳质子事件强度的相关系数最大.相关系数的这种特点与耀斑加速粒子的最大流量只出现在磁链接区域的特征相吻合.计算结果表明,太阳耀斑对太阳质子事件具有贡献,即耀斑对E ≥ 10MeV的质子加速有贡献.耀斑和CME在磁链接区域对太阳质子事件的贡献相同,这说明太阳质子事件是混合型事件.     

子午面太阳风结构及其对日冕抛射物运动的影响

本文提出了一种求解二维理想磁流体力学方程组的组合格式-网格方法。该方法在保证一定精度的前提下稳定性好,计算量小。文中使用该方法算得了子午面太阳风的盔状流动解。以该解作为初态,研究了盔状冕旒位形对日冕抛射物运动的影响,发现该位形使得抛射物向低纬赤道方向偏转,较好地解释了观测结果。