Solar Wind Speed and Expansion Rate of the Coronal Magnetic Field in Solar Maximum and Minimum Phases

Relationships between solar wind speed and expansion rate of the coronal magnetic field have been studied mainly by in-ecliptic observations of artificial satellites and some off-ecliptic data by Ulysses. In this paper, we use the solar wind speed estimated by interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations in the whole heliosphere. Two synoptic maps of SWS estimated by IPS observations are constructed for two Carrington rotations CR 1830 and 1901; CR 1830 starting on the 11th of June, 1990 is in the maximum phase of solar activity cycle and CR 1901 starting on the 29th of September, 1995 is in the minimum phase. Each of the maps consist of 64800 (360×180) data points. Similar synoptic maps of expansion rate of the coronal magnetic field (RBR) calculated by the so-called potential model are also constructed under a radial field assumption for CR 1830 and CR1901. Highly significant correlation (r=–0.66) is found between the SWS and the RBR during CR1901 in the solar minimum phase; that is, high-speed winds emanate from photospheric areas corresponding to low expansion rate of the coronal magnetic field and low speed winds emanate from photospheric areas of high expansion rate. A similar result is found during CR 1830 in solar maximum phase, though the correlation is relatively low (r=–0.29). The correlation is improved when both the data during CR 1830 and CR 1901 are used together; the correlation coefficient becomes –0.67 in this case. These results suggest that the correlation analysis between the SWS and the RBR can be applied to estimate the solar wind speed from the expansion rate of the coronal magnetic field, though the correlation between them may depend on the solar activity cycle. We need further study of correlation analysis for the entire solar cycle to get an accurate empirical equation for the estimation of solar wind speed. If the solar wind speed is estimated successfully by an empirical equation, it can be used as an initial condition of a solar wind model for space weather forecasts.     

行星际闪烁(IPS)单站观测对太阳风速度的诊断

借助于弱散射理论和模式拟合方法，单站行星际闪烁观测可以诊断太阳风速度，本文讨论了太阳风参数和射电源角尺度对闪烁谱的影响，以及太阳风速度的积分效应，结果表明，闪烁谱的特征是与视线上距太阳最近处的太阳风速度直接相关的。     

Cross-correlation of solar wind parameters with sunspots (‘Long-term variations’) at 1 AU during cycles 21 and 22

Long-term variations of solar wind parameters at 1 AU are correlated with sunspots for the time interval 1973 to 1993 (solar cycles 21, 22). Using theNear-Earth Heliosphere Data OMNI the plasma density, the magnitude of the interplanetary magnetic field, the solar wind velocity and the solar wind temperature show consistent long-term variations in each cycle (21 and 22) — pointing to specifictime-lags in the coupling between sunspots (and the underlying convection zone), the solar corona and the solar wind parameters at 1 AU (ecliptic).     

Some results of the photospheric large-scale velocity research from Belgrade observations

On the basis of the possibility of sight-line velocity observations by a special equatorial solar spectrograph, a research programme for detection of photospheric large-scale velocities has been initiated. The first series of observations in the FeI 6302 Å absorption line has been limited to the central meridian.The combined limb effect assumed to incorporate an unresolved stationary photospheric motion, has been evaluated. The observed asymmetry of the obtained curve is mainly explained by dB ₀/dt.The remaining sight-line velocities along the central meridian, taken as random, gave an r.m.s. value of 32 m s^–1. In a few cases a certain kinematic situation in some areas along the central meridian lasted for 2 to 4 consecutive days. It is assumed that such velocity features belong to the kinematic picture of a large-scale photospheric motion which, as a whole, has not yet been clearly seen.     

Solar Wind Speed and Expansion Rate of the Coronal Magnetic Field during Carrington Rotation 1909

The synoptic map of the solar wind speed (SWS) estimated by the computer-assisted tomography (CAT) method with interplanetary scintillation observations is constructed for the 1909 Carrington rotation. A similar synoptic map of expansion rate (RBR) of the coronal magnetic field calculated by the so-called 'potential model' with the photospheric magnetic field is also constructed under the radial field assumption (RF model). These maps consist of 64800 (180×360) data points of equal area. We examine for the first time relations between the SWS estimated by the CAT technique and the RBR calculated by the RF model. A highly significant correlation is found between the SWS and the RBR. A simple correlation coefficient is about –0.72; that is, high-velocity winds emanate from photospheric areas corresponding to a low expansion rate of the coronal magnetic field, and low-velocity winds emanate from photospheric areas of high expansion rate. This result suggests that there is some acceleration mechanism relating to the coronal field expansion.     

Correlation between Expansion Rate of the Coronal Magnetic Field and Solar Wind Speed in a Solar Activity Cycle

Thirteen synoptic maps of expansion rate of the coronal magnetic field (CMF; RBR) calculated by the so-called ‘potential model’ are constructed for 13 Carrington rotations from the maximum phase of solar activity cycle 22 through the maximum phase of cycle 23. Similar 13 synoptic maps of solar wind speed (SWS) estimated by interplanetary scintillation observations are constructed for the same 13 Carrington rotations as the ones for the RBR. The correlation diagrams between the RBR and the SWS are plotted with the data of these 13 synoptic maps. It is found that the correlation is negative and high in this time period. It is further found that the linear correlation is improved if the data are classified into two groups by the magnitude of radial component of photospheric magnetic field, |B^pho_r|; group 1, 0.0 G ≦ |B_r^pho| < 17.8 G and group 2, 17.8 G ≦ |B_r^pho|. There exists a strong negative correlation between the RBR and the SWS for the group 1 in contrast with a weak negative correlation for the group 2. Group 1 has a double peak in the density distribution of data points in the correlation diagram; a sharp peak for high-speed solar wind and a low peak for low-speed solar wind. These two peaks are located just on the axis of maximum variance of data points in the correlation diagram. This result suggests that the solar wind consists of two major components and both the high-speed and the low-speed winds emanating from weak photospheric magnetic regions are accelerated by the same mechanism in the course of solar activity cycle. It is also pointed out that the SWS can be estimated by the RBR of group 1 with an empirical formula obtained in this paper during the entire solar activity cycle.     

Observations of Rapid Velocity Variations in the Slow Solar Wind

The technique of interplanetary scintillation (IPS) is the observation of rapid fluctuations of the radio signal from an astronomical compact source as the signal passes through the ever-changing density of the solar wind. Cross-correlation of simultaneous observations of IPS from a single radio source, received at multiple sites of the European Incoherent SCATter (EISCAT) radio antenna network, is used to determine the velocity of the solar wind material passing over the lines of sight of the antennas. Calculated velocities reveal the slow solar wind to contain rapid velocity variations when viewed on a time-scale of several minutes. Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) Heliospheric Imager (HI) observations of white-light intensity have been compared with EISCAT observations of IPS to identify common density structures that may relate to the rapid velocity variations in the slow solar wind. We have surveyed a one-year period, starting in April 2007, of the EISCAT IPS observing campaigns beginning shortly after the commencement of full science operations of the STEREO mission in a bid to identify common density structures in both EISCAT and STEREO HI datasets. We provide a detailed investigation and presentation of joint IPS/HI observations from two specific intervals on 23 April 2007 and 19 May 2007 for which the IPS P-Point (point of closest approach of the line of sight to the Sun) was between 72 and 87 solar radii out from the Sun’s centre. During the 23 April interval, a meso-scale (of the order of 10⁵ km or larger) transient structure was observed by HI-1A to pass over the IPS ray path near the P-Point; the observations of IPS showed a micro-scale structure (of the order of 10² km) within the meso-scale transient. Observations of IPS from the second interval, on 19 May, revealed similar micro-scale velocity changes, however, no transient structures were detected by the HIs during that period. We also pose some fundamental thoughts on the slow solar wind structure itself.     

An interference filter for observing the photospheric network

Photographs of the Sun, recently obtained with a violet interference filter ( 3840 Å), show the photospheric network (or photospheric faculae) with a contrast of typically 20% across the entire solar disk. Since this network is cospatial with photospheric magnetic fields, one is able to determine thepositions (not polarity) of these magnetic fields with fairly modest equipment. Furthermore, numerous dark structures and a faint dark network can be seen through the violet filter.     

On the reality of potential magnetic fields in the solar corona

Global magnetic field calculations, using potential field theory, are performed for Carrington rotations 1601–1610 during the Skylab period. The purpose of these computations is to quantitatively test the spatial correspondence between calculated open and closed field distributions in the solar corona with observed brightness structures. The two types of observed structures chosen for this study are coronal holes representing open geometries and theK-coronal brightness distribution which presumably outlines the closed field regions in the corona. The magnetic field calculations were made using the Adams-Pneuman fixed-mesh potential field code based upon line-of-sight photospheric field data from the KPNO 40-channel magnetograph. Coronal hole data is obtained from AS&E's soft X-ray experiment and NRL's Heii observations and theK-coronal brightness distributions are from HAO'sK-coronameter experiment at Mauna Loa, Hawaii.The comparison between computed open field line locations and coronal holes shows a generally good correspondence in spatial location on the Sun. However, the areas occupied by the open field seem to be somewhat smaller than the corresponding areas of X-ray holes. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed. It is noted that the locations of open field lines and coronal holes coincide with the locations ofmaximum field strength in the higher corona with the closed regions consisting of relatively weaker fields.The general correspondence between bright regions in theK-corona and computed closed field regions is also good with the computed neutral lines lying at the top of the closed loops following the same general warped path around the Sun as the maxima in the brightness. One curious feature emerging from this comparison is that the neutral lines at a given longitude tend systematically to lie somewhat closer to the poles than the brightness maxima for all rotations considered. This discrepancy in latitude increases as the poles are approached. Three possible explanations for this tendency are given: perspective effects in theK -coronal observations, MHD effects due electric currents not accounted for in the analysis, and reported photospheric field strengths near the poles which are too low. To test this latter hypothesis, we artificially increased the line-of-sight photospheric field strengths above 70° latitude as an input to the magnetic field calculations. We found that, as the polar fields were increased, the discrepancy correspondingly decreased. The best agreement between neutral line locations and brightness maxima is obtained for a polar field of about 30 G.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

On Long-Term Periodicities In The Solar-Wind Ion Density and Speed Measurements During The Period 1973–2000

The ultra-low frequency power spectra (from 1 nHz to 10 Hz) for the solar wind ion density (N) and speed (SWS) measurements taken near 1 AU, have been examined during the period 1973–2000. Although the spectrum shows remarkable peaks at the wavelengths 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 1.3 years, additional significant peaks of 2.6 yr and 5.6 yr for N and 9.6 yr for SWS are also found. Possible causes are discussed. The 9.6-yr period is not related to the period of the solar activity cycle, but there is some indication of an association with the coronal hole variations in the southern hemisphere of the Sun. The averages of solar wind ion density showed a periodic variation with three nearly equal peaks at intervals of 5.1±0.2 yr. The long-term enhancements in SWS reflect nearly stable variations and a continuously-existing feature in the heliosphere. The observed long periodicities in both N and SWS spectra may be strongly related to, or organized by, the observed variations in the coronal hole areas between northern and southern hemispheres of the Sun. The timing of the maximum peaks in solar ion densities and speeds spectrum is predicted.     

VLBI observations of turbulence in the inner solar wind

I discuss the use of Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) phase scintillations to probe the conditions of plasma turbulence in the solar wind. Specific results from 5.0 and 8.4 GHz observations with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) are shown. There are several advantages of phase scintillation measurements. They are sensitive to fluctuations on scales of hundreds to thousands of kilometers, much larger than those probed by IPS intensity scintillations. In addition, with the frequency versatility of the VLBA one can measure turbulence from the outer corona 5–10R to well past the perihelion approach of the Helios spacecraft. This permits tests of the consistency of radio propagation and direct in-situ measurements of turbulence. Such a comparison is made in the present paper. Special attention is dedicated to measuring the dependence of the normalization coefficient of the density power spectrum,C _N ² on distance from the sun. Our results are consistent with the contention published several years ago by Aaron Roberts, that there is insufficient turbulence close to the sun to account for the heating and acceleration of the solar wind. In addition, an accurate determination of theC _N ² (R) relationship could aid the detection of transients in the solar wind.     

The interpretation of total line intensities from optically thin gases

We describe a general method for inferring, from the line emission of an optically thin medium, the physical state of the gas along the column in the line of sight which is sampled by the observations. Since it is not possible to infer the distribution of the physical state parameters with position in the line of sight - any arbitrary rearrangement of material giving equivalent line emission - we seek instead to specify the state in another way. A unique specification is found in terms of the bivariate distribution function (n, T), describing the partitioning of the matter in the gas over the density and temperature. We show that, given sufficient observational data, it is in principle possible to determine both (n, T), and the chemical composition. With less complete data the acuity of the analysis is correspondingly reduced.The method is devised for application to the astronomical case, especially for studies of the solar corona, the chromosphere-corona transition region, planetary nebulae and other optically thin sources. We illustrate the formulation for the situation encountered in the solar corona.Presently on leave of absence from the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellow, 1970.Of the National Bureau of Standards and the University of Colorado.     

A model of photospheric faculae deduced from white light high resolution pictures

High resolution pictures (about 0.3) of photospheric faculae near the solar limb have been obtained with the Pic du Midi 50 cm refractor; their granular structure then clearly appears. The microphotometric study of these facular granules shows that the ratio of their intensity to the photospheric intensity, I ^f/I ^ph (cos) reaches a maximum near cos = 0.3 and then decreases towards the limb. The values of this ratio have been corrected with a most likely spread function. Then a temperature model of a facular granule is obtained: with respect to the neighbouring photosphere, this granule appears as a photospheric hot cloud which does not extend high in the solar atmosphere (thickness 100 km above ₅₀₀₀ = 1). The temperature excess is 750K at maximum. This hot region is located over a layer which is cooler than the normal photosphere at the same level. Another hot region might extend above the photospheric hot cloud, possibly up to the chromosphere. This photospheric facula model which is confined to the lower photosphere seems to indicate that this phenomenon is different from the photospheric network which is visible up to the lower chromosphere.     

A bimodal model of the solar wind speed

Until the ULYSSES spacecraft reached high latitude, the only means for measuring the solar wind velocity in the polar regions was from radio scattering observations (IPS), and these remain the only way to measure the velocity near the sun. However, IPS, like many remote sensing observations, is a line-of-sight integrated measurement. This integration is particularly troublesome when the line-of-sight passes through a fast stream but that stream does not occupy the entire scattering region. Observations from the HELIOS spacecraft have shown that the solar wind has a bimodal character which becomes more pronounced near the sun. Recent observations from ULYSSES have confirmed that this structure is clear at high latitudes even at relatively large solar distances. We have developed a method of separating the fast and slow contributions to an IPS observation which takes advantage of this bimodal structure. In this paper I will describe the technique and its application to IPS observations made using the receiving antennas of the EISCAT incoherent backscatter radar observatory in northern Scandinavia.     

Tracking Back the Solar Wind to Its Photospheric Footpoints from Wind Observations – A Statistical Study

It is of great importance to track the solar wind back to its photospheric source region and identify the related current sheets; this will provide key information for investigating the origin and predictions of the solar wind. We report a statistical study relating the photospheric footpoint motion and in-situ observation of current sheets in the solar wind. We used the potential force-free source–surface (PFSS) model and the daily synoptic charts to trace the solar wind back from 1 AU, as observed by the Wind spacecraft, to the solar surface. As the footpoints move along the solar surface we obtain a time series of the jump times between different points. These jumps can be within a cell and between adjacent cells. We obtained the distribution of the jump times and the distribution for a subset of the jump times in which only jumps between adjacent cells were counted. For both cases, the distributions clearly show two populations. These distributions are compared with the distribution of in-situ current sheets reported in an earlier work of Miao, Peng, and Li (Ann. Geophys. 29, 237, 2011). Its implications on the origin of the current sheets are discussed.     

Coronal emission line polarization

A discussion of a program for the computation of coronal emission line polarization is presented. The starting point is a general formulation of the scattering function for magnetic dipole transitions between any two total angular momentum levels, J J, J ± 1. Illustration of the behavior of the scattering function for different transitions is given. The integration of the scattering function over the solar disk and along the line of sight accounting for arbitrary distribution of magnetic fields as well as an inhomogeneous temperature and density structure of the corona is considered next.Sample results are presented for the numerical computation of the angle of maximum polarization and the degree of maximum polarization to be expected from idealized magnetic field configurations such as radial and dipole. A computation is included for a realistic field configuration predicted to exist at the time of the 1966 eclipse. The magnetic field input to the scattering calculation is based upon the potential field extension of photospheric magnetic fields. It is the purpose of the sample calculations to demonstrate how the measurement of emission polarization measurements can be interpreted in terms of the direction of coronal magnetic fields. Factors which lend ambiguity to such interpreations are clearly illustrated from the examples. These include the Hanle-effect depolarization and the depolarization at the Van Vleck angle.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Substorm recovery phase

The recovery phase of the magnetospheric substorm is studied numerically by means of a two-dimensional time-dependent nonlinear resistive MHD code. The initial configuration was chosen from the earlier numerical model in which the magnetospheric substorm was driven by the solar wind plasmas. In order to study the recovery phase, the entering solar wind energy flux was reduced when the magnetospheric substorm was in its expansive phase. The system was found to respond instantly to this change and the result showed many characteristic features related to the recovery phase including the tailward motion of thex-point of the reconnected magnetic field lines and the restoration of a tail-like configuration of the magnetic field. Thex-point moved at almost the same speed of the plasma flow in the upstream region, which was considerably smaller than the speed of the plasma jetting or the speed of the plasmoid. As the recovery phase progressed, the plasma jetting across thex-point was reduced very much in the Earthside region. Although the plasma flow was generally in the Earthward direction in the Earthside region of thex-point, the tailward flow was also found near thex-point. The current density was reduced near thex-point and the neutral sheet was broadened in the recovered region. The plasma sheet also became thick in this region. During the recovery of the substorm, the energy conversion rate, both in the form of plasma acceleration and the Joule heating, was reduced. These results on the recovery phase together with the earlier simulation result on the expansive phase indicate that driven reconnection can be a viable mechanism for the magnetospheric substorm including the recovery phase.     

Solar wind velocity and normalized scintillation index from single-station IPS observations

The recently refurbished Ooty Radio Telescope in southern India was used in a two-month campaign of interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations in collaboration with the Cambridge IPS array in England during April–May 1992. The unique feature of this campaign was that, for the first time, scintillation enhancements were predicted in real time by observing solar events on 7–8 May, 1992 and then detected at both Ooty and Cambridge. Also, for the first time, high spatial resolution ( 100 sources sr^–1) solar wind all-sky velocity maps were obtained at Ooty. Good consistency is found between the IPS observations from both observatories andin-situ shocks detected at Earth by IMP-8.Yohkoh soft X-ray images were used to infer the generation of a coronal mass ejection on 7 May, 1992.     

Coronal force-free magnetic field: Source-surface model

Models of the magnetic field in the solar chromosphere and corona are still mainly based on theoretical extrapolations of photospheric measurements. For the practical calculation of the global field, the so-called source-surface model has been introduced, in which the influence of the solar wind is described by the requirement that the field be radial at some exterior (source) surface. Then the assumption that the field is current-free in the volume between the photosphere and this surface allows for its determination from the photospheric measurement. In the present paper a generalization of the source-surface model to force-free fields is proposed. In the generalized model the parameter( = ×B·B/B ²)must be non-constant (or vanish identically) and currents are restricted to regions with closed field lines. A mathematical algorithm for computing the field from boundary data is devised.