The coronal dynamics imagers for the KuaFu mission

The Space Weather Explorer – KuaFu mission will provide simultaneous, long-term, and synoptic observations of the complete chain of disturbances from the solar atmosphere to the geospace. KuaFu-A (located at the L1 liberation point) includes Coronal Dynamics Imagers composed of a Lyman-α coronagraph (from 1.15 to 2.7 solar radii) and a white light coronagraph (out to 15 solar radii), in order to identify the initial sources of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and their acceleration profiles. The difficulty of observing the lower corona should not be underestimated since instrumental stray light remains a critical issue in the visible because of the low contrast of the corona with respect to the Sun. Observing the corona in the Lyman-α line is a valid alternative to white light observations. This approach takes advantage of both the intrinsic higher contrast of the corona with respect to the solar disk in this line compared to the visible, and the absence of F-corona at 121.6 nm. Furthermore, it has been convincingly shown that the coronal structures seen in Lyman-α correspond to those seen in the visible and which result from Thomson scattering of the coronal ionized gas. This is because the plasma is still collisional in the lower corona so that the hydrogen neutral atoms are coupled to the protons. A classical, all-reflecting internally-occulted Lyot coronagraph is required so as to preserve the image quality down to the inner limit of the field-of-view. A narrow band interference filter located in a collimated beam allows isolating the Lyman-α line. The visible coronagraph will adopt the approach of a single instrument having a large field-of-view extending from 2.5 to 15 solar radii. Such a design is based on refractive externally-occulted coronagraphs built for recent past missions, essentially the LASCO-C2 and C3 instruments and the SECCHI/COR 2 of the STEREO mission, which is itself a combination of the C2 and C3 instruments.     

Scientific requirements for future spatially resolved white-light and broad-band high-cadence observations of the Sun

Several important issues are open in the field of solar variability and they wait their solution which up to now was attempted using critical ground-based instrumentations. However, accurate photometric data are attainable only from space. New observational material should be collected with high enough spatial and spectral resolution, covering the whole visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum as well infrared and ultraviolet to reconstruct the total solar irradiance: (1) the absolute contributions of different small-scale structural entities of the solar atmosphere from the white light flares and from micro-flares are still poorly known; (2) we do not know the absolute contributions of different structural elements of the solar atmosphere to the long-term and to the cyclic variations of the solar irradiance, including features of the polar regions of the Sun; (3) the variations of the chromospheric magnetic network are still poorly evaluated; (4) only scarce information is available about the spectral variations of different small-scale features in the high photosphere. Variability of the Sun in white light can be studied with higher spectral, spatial and time resolution using space-born telescopes, which are more appropriate for this purpose than ground based observatories because of better seeing conditions, no interference of the terrestrial atmosphere and a more precise calibration procedure. Scientific requirements for such observations and the possible experimental tools proposed for their solution. Suggested solar studies have broader astrophysical importance.     

On the association of quiet-time Pi2 pulsations with IMF variations

The association of quiet-time Pi2 pulsations with the variations of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) has been examined by using three reported events, occurring during extremely quiet intervals, of which the first was on 10 March 1997, the second 27 December 1997, and the third 11 May 1999. For the first event, the onset time of ground Pi2s maps to the IMF structure bearing a variation cycle of north-to-south and north again as seen by Wind in the upstream region and Geotail in the magnetosheath. Likewise, the second and the third events have respectively, four and three recurrent turnings propagating to the Earth sensed by multiple satellites. The comparison of geomagnetic perturbations, auroral brightenings, and energetic particle data in the magnetotail with the IMF observations shows successive substorm-like activations accompanied by ground Pi2 onsets. For a clear variation cycle, the first Pi2 burst appears 36 ± 8 min after southward turning of the IMF and the second one follows14 ± 4 min after a northward turning. Moreover, ground Pi2 onsets recur under low IMF clock angle conditions. These observational results can be interpreted with the prevailing models of externally triggered substorm. But the solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere under quiet conditions proceeds in a less efficient way than under substorm time conditions. Consequently, we suggest that recurrent quiet-time Pi2s can be associated with IMF variations and their cause can be the same as those for substorm times.     

The method for predicting solar proton events

Dynamic processes in the interplanetary space have been investigated using time variations in time parameters of the cosmic-ray rigidity spectrum. Change of heliosphere electromagnetic characteristics has been found out to precede sporadic phenomena on the Sun. In particular, it is shown that sporadic phenomena are followed by generation of local polarization electric fields, decrease of the magnetic-field strength in small-scale heliospheric structures, and increase of the potential difference between the pole and the plane of the ecliptic. These features allow prediction of solar proton events in advance (from several hours to several tens of hours) with a high degree of confirmation.     

Statistical properties of the most powerful solar and heliospheric disturbances

We present and discuss here the first version of a data base of extreme solar and heliospheric events. The data base contains now 87 extreme events mostly since 1940. An event is classified as extreme if one of the three critical parameters passed a lower limit. The critical parameters were the X-ray flux (parameter R), solar proton flux (parameter S) and geomagnetic disturbance level (parameter G). We find that the five strongest extreme events based on four variables (X-rays SEP, Dst, Ap) are completely separate except for the October 2003 event which is one the five most extreme events according to SEP, Dst and Ap. This underlines the special character of the October 2003 event, making it unique within 35 years. We also find that the events based on R and G are rather separate, indicating that the location of even extreme flares on the solar disk is important for geomagnetic effects. We also find that S = 3 events are not extreme in the same sense as R > 3 and G > 3 events, while S = 5 events are missing so far. This suggests that it might be useful to rescale the classification of SEP fluxes.     

Intermediate-term periodicities in relativistic solar electron fluences during solar cycles 22 and 23

In this paper, we have investigated the intermediate-term periodicities of the relativistic (E > 10 MeV) solar electron flares measured by IMP-8 satellite of NASA for the time period of 1986–2001. This period of investigation includes the entire solar cycle 22; ascending, maximum and a part of descending phase of the current solar cycle 23. To determine accurately the occurrence rate of electron flux, we have employed three different spectral decomposition techniques, viz. fast Fourier transformation (FFT); maximum entropy method (MEM) and Lomb–Scargle periodogram analysis method. For solar cycle 22, in the low frequency range, power spectrum analysis exhibits statistically significant periodicities at ∼706, ∼504 and ∼392 days. In the intermediate frequency range, we have found a series of significant periodicities ∼294, ∼221, ∼153, ∼86, ∼73 and ∼66 days. For short term, periodicities of ∼21–23, ∼31 and ∼37 days were found in power spectrum. When solar cycle 23 is considered the significant periodicities are ∼20, ∼23, ∼29, ∼39, ∼54, ∼63, ∼118, ∼133 and ∼154 days. These results provide evidence that the best known Rieger period (∼153 days), appeared in the high energetic electron flux data for cycle 22 and also likely during maxima of cycle 23. The existence of these periodicities has been discussed in the light of earlier results.     

Solar cycle effect on temporal and spatial variation of topside ion density measured by SROSS C2 and ROCSAT 1 over the Indian longitude sector

We investigated the diurnal, seasonal and latitudinal variations of ion density Ni over the Indian low and equatorial topside ionosphere within 17.5°S to 17.5°N magnetic latitudes by combining the data from SROSS C2 and ROCSAT 1 for the 9 year period from 1995 to 2003 during solar cycle 23. The diurnal maximum density is found in the local noon or in the afternoon hours and the minimum occurs in the pre sunrise hours. The density is higher during the equinoxes as compared to that in the June and December solstice. The local time spread of the daytime maximum ion density increases with increase in solar activity. A north south asymmetry with higher ion density over northern hemisphere in the June solstice and over southern hemisphere in December solstice has been observed in moderate and high solar activity years. The crest to crest distance increases with increase in solar flux. Ion density bears a nonlinear relationship with F_10.7 cm solar flux and EUV flux in general. The density increases linearly with solar flux up to ∼150 sfu (1 sfu = 10⁻²²Wm⁻²Hz⁻¹) and EUV flux up to ∼50 units (10⁹ photons cm⁻² s⁻¹). But beyond this the density saturates. Inverse saturation and linear relationship have been observed in some season or latitude also. Inter-comparison of the three solar activity indices F_10.7 cm flux, EUV flux and F_10.7P (= (F_10.7 + F_10.7A)/2, where F_10.7A is the 81 day running average value of F_10.7) shows that the ion density correlates better with F_10.7P and F_10.7 cm fluxes. The annual average daytime total ion density from 1995 to 2003 follows a hysteresis loop as the solar cycle reverses. The ion density at 500 km over the Indian longitude sector as obtained by the international reference ionosphere is in general lower than the measured densities during moderate and high solar activity years. In low solar activity years the model densities are equal or higher than measured densities. The IRI EIA peaks are symmetric (±10°) in equinox while densities are higher at 10°N in June solstice and at 10°S in the December solstice. The model density follows F_10.7 linearly up to about F_10.7 > ∼150 sfu and then saturates.     

Time variations of cosmic-ray helium isotopes with BESS-Polar I

The Balloon-borne Experiment with a Superconducting Spectrometer (BESS) is configured with a solenoidal superconducting magnet and a suite of precision particle detectors, including time-of-flight hodoscopes based on plastic scintillators, a silica-aerogel Cherenkov detector, and a high resolution tracking system with a central jet-type drift chamber. The charges of incident particles are determined from energy losses in the scintillators. Their magnetic rigidities (momentum/charge) are measured by reconstructing each particle trajectory in the magnetic field, and their velocities are obtained by using the time-of-flight system. Together, these measurements can accurately identify helium isotopes among the incoming cosmic-ray helium nuclei up to energies in the GeV per nucleon region. The BESS-Polar I instrument flew for 8.5 days over Antarctica from December 13th to December 21st, 2004. Its long-duration flight and large geometric acceptance allow the time variations of isotopic fluxes to be studied for the first time. The time variations of helium isotope fluxes are presented here for rigidities from 1.2 to 2.5 GV and results are compared to previously reported proton data and neutron monitor data.     

On the measurements of the moon’s infrared temperature and its relation to the phase angle

Radiometric measurements of the thermal radiation originating from the moon’s surface were obtained using an infrared detector operating at wavelengths between 8 and 14 μm. The measurements cover a full moon cycle. The variation of the moon’s temperature with the lunar phase angle was established. The lunar temperatures were 391 ± 2.0 K for the full moon, 240 ± 3.5 K for the first quarter, and 236 ± 3 K for the last quarter. For the rest of the phase angles, the lunar temperature varied between 170 and 380 K. Our results are comparable with those obtained previously at these phase angles. For the new moon phase, the obtained temperature was between 120 and 133 K. With the exception of the new moon phase, our measurements at all the phase angles were consistent with those obtained using Earth-based data and those obtained by the Diviner experiment and the Clementine spacecraft. At the new phase, our measurements were comparable with those obtained from the ground but were significantly higher than those obtained by the Diviner and Clementine data. We attribute this inconsistency to either the calibration curve of our detector, which does not perform well at very low temperatures, or to infrared emission from the atmosphere. A simple linear model to predict the lunar temperature as a function of the phase angle was proposed. The experimental errors that affect the measured temperatures are discussed.