Interplanetary acceleration of energetic particles at 1 and 5 AU

Energetic particle (0.1 to 100 MeV protons) acceleration is studied by using high resolution interplanetary magnetic field and plasma measurements at 1 AU (HEOS-2) and at 5 AU (Pioneer 10). Energy changes of a particle population are followed by computing test particle trajectories and the energy changes through the particle interaction with the time varying magnetic field. The results show that considerable particle acceleration takes place throughout the interplanetary medium, both in the corotating interaction regions (CIR) (5 AU), and in quiet regions (1 AU). Although shocks may contribute to acceleration we suggest statistical acceleration within the CIRs is sufficient to explain most energetic particle observations (e.g., McDonaldet al., 1975; Barnes and Simpson, 1976).The first and second order statistical acceleration coefficients which include transit time damping and Alfvén resonance interactions, are found to be well represented byD _T 8.5×10^–6 T ^0.5 MeV s^–1 andD _TT 4×10^–6 T ^1.5 MeV² s^–1 at 5 AU.By comparison, Fisk's estimates (1976), based on quasi-linear theory for transit-time damping, gaveD _TT 5×10^–7 T MeV² s^–1 at 1 AU.     

Power Spectrum of Cosmic-ray Fluctuations During Consecutive Solar Minimum and Maximum Periods

Power spectral analysis of cosmic-ray intensity recorded by eight stations was carried out over a wide range of frequencies from 2.3 × 10^–8 Hz to 5.8 × 10^–6 Hz (2–500 days) during the period 1964–1995. Spectrum results of large-scale fluctuations have revealed the existence of a broad peak near 250–285 days and a narrower peak at 45–50 days during the studied epochs as a stable feature in all neutron monitors covering a wide rigidity range. The cosmic-ray power spectrum displayed significant peaks of varying amplitude with the solar rotation period (changed inversely with the particle rigidities) and its harmonics. The amplitudes of 27-day and 13.5-day fluctuations are greater during the positive-polarity epochs of the interplanetary magnetic field (qA>0) than during the qA<0 epochs. The comparison of cosmic-ray power spectra during the four successive solar activity minima have indicated that at the low-rigidity particles the spectrum differences between the qA>0 and qA<0 epochs are significantly large. Furthermore, the spectrum for even solar maximum years are higher and much harder than the odd years. There are significant differences in the individual spectra of solar maxima for different cycles.     

Cosmic-ray perpendicular diffusion coefficient computed using Voyager data at 15 AU

Perpendicular diffusion due to either field line wandering or random gradient and curvature effects makes a substantial contribution to the radial transport of particles at distances of about 5 AU and beyond when lines of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) become almost azimuthal. Here test particle trajectories are followed in a field model which uses a magnetic field sample taken by Voyager 2 at 14.8 AU. Techniques previously developed (Moussas et al., 1982a) are employed to calculate the perpendicular diffusion coefficient for 100 MeV protons and arising from random gradient and curvature effects. The result K=(2.8±0.9)×10²¹ cm² s^–1 shows a substantial increase above the value determined previously at 5 AU and, assuming a power law radial dependence Kr , implies 0.8–1.1. This result is consistent with observations of the cosmic-ray radial gradient.     

Spectral properties of hydromagnetic fluctuations near 4 and 5 a.u.

Power spectra of vector components of interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations near 4–5 a.u. during quiet intervals show a frequency dependence very close to f^s over the frequency range 4 × 10^?5 to 9 × 10^?3 Hz (corresponding to periods of 7 h-2 min). While the spectra are generally very close to power law in frequency, variations in slope among the spectra exceed those expected from random errors and may represent true temporal variations. Mean slopes corrected for systematic error are s = ? 1.50±0.02 (Pioneer 10, mean heliocentric distance 5.3 a.u.) and s = ? 1.52±0.02 (Pioneer 11, mean heliocentric distance 3.9 a.u.) and are consistent with several determinations of spectral slope for magnetic fluctuations near 1 a.u. Radial evolution of the perturbations is investigated by choosing data samples in which Pioneer 10 and 11 and the sun are nearly colinear. The dependence on heliocentric distance of σ_c², the composite vector variance, and of σ_c/B_mag, where B_mag is the mean magnitude of the magnetic field, show that the radial variation of fluctuation amplitude is highly variable in time with a dependence on heliocentric distance typically in the range R^?1 to R^?1.5. These observations are compared with theoretical models of outward propagating Alfven waves of solar origin and of MHD turbulence. The mean slopes agree well with that expected for turbulence. The significant variability observed in spectral slopes and in the radial dependence of fluctuation amplitude in data selected specifically for conditions of relative magnetic quiet is noteworthy and urges caution in modeling heliospheric magnetic microstructure in studies of galactic cosmic ray modulation.     

Drift motion and perpendicular diffusion of energetic particles in interplanetary space based on spacecraft data

A realistic model of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is constructed based on measurements taken by Pioneer 10 magnetometer at 5 AU. Energetic particle (0.1–100 MeV) propagation in this field is studied by a computer simulation of its motion in order to calculateK , the perpendicular diffusion coefficient, and V _D the average drift velocity of an ensemble of particles. Determinations ofK lie in the range 3×10¹⁹–8×10²⁰ cm² s^–1 for the energies considered and they show that perpendicular diffusion may be an important process at these heliodistances when compared with parallel diffusion results obtained by similar techniques, contrary to what was previously thought. Drift velocity calculations are very close to predictions of guiding centre theory (within 30%) suggesting that this theory can be applied in the IMF. This result shows that gradient and curvature drifts can be present even in a highly perturbed field and thus they can have some influence in cosmic ray modulation.     

The cosmic-ray 1.68-year variation: A clue to understand the nature of the solar cycle?

Using the maximum entropy method (MEM), the cosmic-ray power spectral density in the frequency range 3 × 10^–9–2 × 10^–7 Hz has been estimated for the period 1947–1990. Cosmic-ray intensity data were integrated from the ion chamber at Huancayo and the neutron monitor at Deep River, following the method of Nagashima and Morishita (1980). The estimated spectrum shows power-law dependence (f ^–1.62), with several peaks superimposed. Periodicities of the different peaks are identified and related to solar activity phenomena; most of them were reported in the past. Once the 11-yr variation is eliminated, the most prominent feature in the spectrum is a variation, not reported before, with a period of 1.68 yr (604.8 d). This peak is correlated with fluctuations of similar periodicities found in the southern coronal hole area and in large active regions. The importance that this variation may have to elucidate the solar magnetic flux emergence and the activity cycle is discussed.Deceased 10 April, 1995.     

The Hypothesis of Additional Acceleration in the Motion of Comet Harrington–Abell from Jupiter

By processing 494 observations of Comet Harrington–Abell, we obtained a unified system of elements that includes its turn around the Sun during which it closely approached Jupiter to a minimum distance of 0.037 AU in 1974. A study of the cometary orbit before and after the approach showed that, probably, at the approach of the comet to Jupiter, apart from the well-known gravitational perturbations, its motion was affected by an additional force. An improvement of the cometary orbit by assuming that an additional acceleration inversely proportional to the square of the distance to Jupiter exists in its motion yielded the following values: (4.57 ± 0.42) × 10^–10 and (–7.20 ± 0.42) × 10^–10 AU day^–2 for the radial and transversal acceleration components, respectively. As a plausible explanation of the changes in the cometary orbit, we additionally considered a model based on the hypothesis of partial disintegration of the cometary nucleus. The parameter that characterizes the instant displacement of the center of inertia along the jovicentric radius vector was estimated to be –1.83 ± 0.75 km. Based on a unified numerical theory of cometary motion, we determined the nongravitational parameters using Marsden's model for two periods: A ₁ = (11.68 ± 1.74) × 10^–10 AU day^–2, A ₂ = (0.53 ± 0.0357) × 10^–10 AU day^–2 for 1975–1999 and A ₁ = (5.92 ± 5.86) × 10^–10 AU day^–2, A ₂ = (0.08 ± 0.028) × 10^–10 AU day^–2 for 1955–1969, under the assumption that the nongravitational acceleration changed at the approach of the comet to Jupiter.     

The ionization state of oxygen ions in anomalous cosmic rays: Results from the ANURADHA experiment in Spacelab-3

We report the first results on the determination of the ionization states of oxygen ions in the anomalous cosmic rays (ACR) from the measurements of their flux in the cosmic-ray experiment in Spacelab-3 (SL-3) mission of NASA flown at 350 km altitude during 29 April–6 May, 1985. The detectors used were specially prepared CR-39 plastics of very high sensitivity for recording tracks of ions withZ>2. The measured orbit averaged flux of ACR oxygen is (2.9±1.3)×10^–4 particles m^–2sr^–1s^–1 (MeV N^–1) at an energy of 23 MeV N^–1. We made an independent estimate of the expected ACR oxygen flux at SL-3 orbit from interplanetary data and compared this with the measured flux to infer the ionization states of ACR oxygen ions. The flux and energy spectra of ACR oxygen at 1 AU outside the magnetosphere is obtained from the data of Voyager-2, during the same epoch as the SL-3 flight, and using the measured radial intensity gradient of 15%/AU for ACR oxygen between 1–17 AU. We calculate the geomagnetic transmission factors for ACR oxygen ions of charge states O⁺¹, O⁺², etc., from the known cut-off rigidities in the world grid and using the SL-3 trajectories for 116 orbits in the 6-day mission to obtain the expected flux at SL-3 for different charge states. When these flux values are compared with our measured flux, the averge ionization state of ACR oxygen ions in the energy interval of 20–26 MeV N^–1 is obtained as O⁺¹.     

Influence of finite injections and of interplanetary propagation on time-intensity and time-anisotropy profiles of solar cosmic rays

For an observer in space the intensities and anisotropies of solar cosmic-ray events are governed by the duration and the functional shape of the injection processes near the Sun and by the propagation along the interplanetary magnetic field from the Sun to the observer. We study the influence of four different types of solar injections (Gaussian, exponential, step-function and coronal diffusion), and of a purely diffusive interplanetary propagation, where the diffusion coefficient has a power law dependence on the radial distance from the Sun, =Mr on both the time-intensity and the time-anisotropy profiles at 1 AU. The main results are as follows: A slow quasi-exponential decay of the intensity can be modelled in some cases; all finite injections produce high anisotropies during the main phase of an event; an effective solar injection length can be determined from simultaneous inspection of the intensities and anisotropies; the intensities and anisotropies do to first order not depend on the analytic shape of the various injection profiles. The model is applied to the November 18, 1968 solar event as observed by Pioneer 9 in the 7.5–21.5 MeV and 21.5–60 MeV energy channels. We obtain local diffusion coefficients in the range M= (2.5–5) × 10²¹ cm² s^–1 and injection periods of the order of 10–20 hr. Closer inspection reveals the change of interplanetary propagation conditions during the event.     

Solar radio burst and in situ determination of interplanetary electron density

We review and discuss a few interplanetary electron density scales which have been derived from the analysis of interplanetary solar radio bursts, and we compare them to a model derived from 1974–1980 Helios 1 and 2 in situ density observations made in the 0.3–1.0 AU range. The Helios densities were normalized to 1976 with the aid of IMP and ISEE data at 1 AU, and were then sorted into 0.1 AU bins and logarithmically averaged within each bin. The best fit to these 1976-normalized, bin averages is N(R _AU) = 6.1R ^-2.10 cm^-3. This model is in rather good agreement with the solar burst determination if the radiation is assumed to be on the second harmonic of the plasma frequency. This analysis also suggests that the radio emissions tend to be produced in regions denser than the average where the density gradient decreases faster with distance than the observed R ^-2.10.NAS/NRC Postdoctoral Research Associate on leave from Laboratory Associated with CNRS No. 264, Paris Observatory, France.     

Some requirements of a colliding comet source of gamma ray bursts

Colliding comets in the Solar System may be an important source of gamma ray bursts. The spherical gamma ray comet cloud required by the results of the Venera Satellites (Mazets and Golenetskii, 1987) and the BATSE detector on the Compton Satellite (Meeganet al., 1992a, b) is neither the Oort Cloud nor the Kuiper Belt. To satisfy observations ofN(>P _max) vsP _max for the maximum gamma ray fluxes,P _max > 10^–5 erg cm^–2 s^–1 (about 30 bursts yr^–1), the comet density,n, should increase asn a ¹ from about 40 to 100 AU wherea is the comet heliocentric distance. The turnover above 100 AU requiresn a ^–1/2 to 200 AU to fit the Venera results andn a ^1/4 to 400 AU to fit the BATSE data. Then the masses of comets in the 3 regions are from: 40–100 AU, about 9 earth masses,m _E; 100–200 AU about 25m _E; and 100–400 AU, about 900m _E. The flux of 10^–5 erg cm^–2 s^–1 corresponds to a luminosity at 100 AU of 3 × 10²⁶ erg s^–1. Two colliding spherical comets at a distance of 100 AU, each with nucleus of radiusR of 5 km, density of 0.5 g cm^–3 and Keplerian velocity 3 km s^–1 have a combined kinetic energy of 3 × 10²⁸ erg, a factor of about 100 greater than required by the burst maximum fluxes that last for one second. Betatron acceleration in the compressed magnetic fields between the colliding comets could accelerate electrons to energies sufficient to produce the observed high energy gamma rays. Many of the additional observed features of gamma ray bursts can be explained by the solar comet collision source.     

A fourier spectrum analysis of long samples of solar line oscillations

Sequences of the oscillations of solar lines up to 2 hours 20 min long have been recorded at the same point on the sun. The power spectra show several peaks separated by 0.85 × 10^–3 cps on average from each other. A sharp main peak at 3.3 × 10^–3 cps (300 sec period) is almost always present.These results suggest that the lifetime of the phase of the oscillation is much longer than that of the amplitude and is likely to exceed one hour. We actually observe the modulation of a wave in smaller wave trains about 11 min long and 20 min apart (average values).Observations with low spatial resolution also suggest that the area of coherence is much greater for the phase than for the amplitude.Kitt Peak National Observatory Contribution No. 425.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Jovian electron jets in interplanetary space

The COSPIN/KET experiment onboard Ulysses has been monitoring the flux of 3–20 MeV electrons in interplanetary space since the launch of Ulysses in October 1990. The origin of these electrons has been known for a long time to be the Jovian magnetosphere. Propagation models assuming interplanetary diffusion of these electrons in the ideal Parker magnetic field were successfully developed in the past. The average electron flux measured by our experiment agrees with these models for most of the times before and after the Jovian flyby of February 1992, i.e. in and out of the ecliptic down to 28° S of heliographic latitude for the last data presented here (end of March 1993).However, in addition to this average flux level well accounted for by diffusion in an ideal Parker field, we have found very short duration electron events which we call “jets”, characterized by: (i) a sharp increase and decrease of flux; (ii) a spectrum identical to the electron spectrum in the Jovian magnetosphere; and (iii) a strong first-order anisotropy. These jets only occur when the magnetic field at Ulysses lies close to the direction of Jupiter, and most of the time (86% of the events) points outwards from Jupiter, i.e. has the same polarity after the flyby as the Jovian dipole (North to South). These events are interpreted as crossings by Ulysses of magnetic flux tubes or sheets directly connected to the location of the Jovian magnetosphere from which electrons escape into interplanetary space. The average thickness of these sheets is 10¹¹cm or 14 Jovian radii. These jets are clearly identified up to 0.4 a.u. before the Jupiter flyby in the ecliptic plane, and up to 0.9 a.u. out of the ecliptic.Moreover, the characteristic rocking of the electron spectrum in the Jovian magnetosphere with a 10 h periodicity is found to be present during the jets, and predominantly during them. In the past, this modulation has been reported to be present in interplanetary space as far as 1 a.u. upwind of Jupiter, a fact which cannot be accounted for by diffusion in the average Parker magnetic field. Our finding gives a simple explanation to this phenomenon, the 10 h modulation being carried by the “jet” electrons which travel with no appreciable diffusion along magnetic field lines with a direction far from the ideal Parker spiral.     

The mean coronal magnetic field determined from HELIOS Faraday rotation measurements

Coronal Faraday rotation of the linearly polarized carrier signals of the HELIOS spacecraft was recorded during the regularly occurring solar occultations over almost a complete solar cycle from 1975 to 1984. These measurements are used to determine the average strength and radial variation of the coronal magnetic field at solar minimum at solar distances from 3–10 solar radii, i.e., the range over which the complex fields at the coronal base are transformed into the interplanetary spiral. The mean coronal magnetic field in 1975–1976 was found to decrease with radial distance according to r ^–, where = 2.7 ± 0.2. The mean field magnitude was 1.0 ± 0.5 × 10 ^–5 tesla at a nominal solar distance of 5 solar radii. Possibly higher magnetic field strengths were indicated at solar maximum, but a lack of data prevented a statistical determination of the mean coronal field during this epoch.     

Numerical evaluation of statistical acceleration for energetic particles in the interplanetary medium at 2.5 and 5.0 AU

Numerical integration of particle trajectories is performed to evaluate the statistical acceleration coefficients D _TT for 1 to 100 MeV protons in a solar wind corotating interaction region (CIR) seen at 2.5 and 5.0 AU. Acceleration is followed in the solar wind reference frame and is due to random wave-particle interactions and to random drift motion in moderate scale field gradients. D _TT due to the first effect reaches a peak value of 4 × 10 ^–7 MeV² s^–1 post shock at 10 MeV at 2.5 AU consistent with estimates based both upon cyclotron resonance and transit time damping theory. D _TT from the second effect is less well established but is of the order of 10^–7 MeV² s^–1 at 10 MeV, 5 AU. A comparison is made between the time constant for statistical acceleration within this CIR and estimates for diffuse shock acceleration and adiabatic deceleration. All three time constants are of the same order, but deceleration is faster than shock acceleration which in turn is faster than statistical acceleration.     

Wavelet Analysis of solar,solar wind and geomagnetic parameters

The sunspot number, solar wind plasma, interplanetary magnetic field, and geomagnetic activity index A _p have been analyzed using a wavelet technique to look for the presence of periods and the temporal evolution of these periods. The global wavelet spectra of these parameters, which provide information about the temporal average strength of quasi periods, exhibit the presence of a variety of prominent quasi periods around 16 years, 10.6 years, 9.6 years, 5.5 years, 1.3 years, 180 days, 154 days, 27 days, and 14 days. The wavelet spectra of sunspot number during 1873–2000, geomagnetic activity index A _p during 1932–2000, and solar wind velocity and interplanetary magnetic field during 1964–2000 indicate that their spectral power evolves with time. In general, the power of the oscillations with a period of less than one year evolves rapidly with the phase of the solar cycle with their peak values changing from one cycle to the next. The temporal evolution of wavelet power in R _z, v _sw, n, B _y, B _z, |B|, and A _p for each of the prominent quasi periods is studied in detail.     

The Bastille day Magnetic Clouds and Upstream Shocks: Near-Earth Interplanetary Observations

The energetic charged particle, interplanetary magnetic field, and plasma characteristics of the `Bastille Day' shock and ejecta/magnetic cloud events at 1 AU occurring over the days 14–16 July 2000 are described. Profiles of MeV (WIND/LEMT) energetic ions help to organize the overall sequence of events from the solar source to 1 AU. Stressed are analyses of an outstanding magnetic cloud (MC2) starting late on 15 July and its upstream shock about 4 hours earlier in WIND magnetic field and plasma data. Also analyzed is a less certain, but likely, magnetic cloud (MC1) occurring early on 15 July; this was separated from MC2 by its upstream shock and many heliospheric current sheet (HCS) crossings. Other HCS crossings occurred throughout the 3-day period. Overall this dramatic series of interplanetary events caused a large multi-phase magnetic storm with min Dst lower than −300 nT. The very fast solar wind speed (≥ 1100 km s⁻¹) in and around the front of MC2 (for near average densities) was responsible for a very high solar wind ram pressure driving in the front of the magnetosphere to geocentric distances estimated to be as low as ≈ 5 R _E, much lower than the geosynchronous orbit radius. This was consistent with magnetic field observations from two GOES satellites which indicated they were in the magnetosheath for extended times. A static force-free field model is used to fit the two magnetic cloud profiles providing estimates of the clouds' physical and geometrical properties. MC2 was much larger than MC1, but their axes were nearly antiparallel, and their magnetic fields had the same left-handed helicity. MC2's axis and its upstream shock normal were very close to being perpendicular to each other, as might be expected if the cloud were driving the shock at the time of observation. The estimated axial magnetic flux carried by MC2 was 52×10²⁰ Mx, which is about 5 times the typical magnetic flux estimated for other magnetic clouds in the WIND data over its first 4 years and is 17 times the flux of MC1. This large flux is due to both the strong axially-directed field of MC2 (46.8 nT on the axis) and the large radius (R ₀=0.189 AU) of the flux tube. MC2's average speed is consistent with the expected transit time from a halo-CME to which it is apparently related.     

A study of non-thermal radio emission features using fine spectral BAO and high-sensitivity RATAN observations of a solar active region

Based on spectral observations of active region NOAA 8545 on 19 May 1999, we describe the processes responsible for non-thermal long-lasting radio emission and for narrow-band non-drifting bursts observed at the same time. Non-thermal long-lasting radio emission consisted of two components: short-duration (1–2 s) microbursts with fluxes about 0.001 s.f.u. and continuum emission with growing spectrum in the range of 1000–2000 MHz. Energetic electrons continuously existed in the active region for more than 2.2 hours. The nature and parameters of microbursts were discussed by Bogod, Mercier, and Yasnov (2001). Here we consider the continuum source nature. It is shown that the model, taking into account the cyclotron loss-cone instability of hot electrons and the generation of plasma waves at the upper hybrid frequency, may explain the observed continuum source parameters. For the narrow-band non-drifting bursts we consider two models: the first taking into account an excitation of weak shock waves across the magnetic field and the second with an excitation of the upper hybrid waves under the double plasma resonance. Continuum source parameters are close to the last model. Our estimations for the magnetic field strength are as follows: H=120–126 G, which is valid for the region where the electron density of background plasmas n=(1.4–1.9) ×10⁹ cm^–3; H=180–190 G for the region where n=(3.0–4.3) ×10⁹ cm^–3; H=290 G for the region where n _e=2.5×10¹⁰ cm^–3; and H=350 G for the region where n _e=3.5×10¹⁰ cm^–3. The speed of the fast electrons is about 0.10–0.14 c.     

Interplanetary propagation of relativistic solar protons

Particle fluxes and pitch angle distributions of relativistic solar protons at Earth's orbit have been determined by Monte Carlo calculations. The analysis covers two hours after the release of the particles from the Sun and total of 8 × 10⁶ particle trajectories were simulated. The pitch angle scattering was assumed to be isotropic and the scattering mean free path was varied from 0.1 to 4 AU.The intensity-time profiles after a delta-like injection from the Sun show that the interplanetary propagation is clearly non-diffusive at scattering mean-free paths above 0.5 AU. All pitch angle distributions have a steady minimum at 90 °, and they become similar about 20 min after the arrival of first particles.As an application, the solar injection profile and the interplanetary scattering mean-free path of particles that gave rise to the GLE on 7 May, 1978 were determined. In contrast to the values of 3–5 AU published by other authors, the average scattering mean-free path was found to be about 1 AU.     

Solar flare injection and propagation of low-energy protons and electrons in the event of 7–9 July, 1966

Simultaneous observations of the 7–9 July 1966 solar particle event by energetic particle detectors on three satellites, IMP-III, OGO-III and Explorer 33 are utilized to show that large spatial gradients are present in the fluxes of 0.5–20 meV protons and 45 keV electrons. The event is divided into three parts: the ordinary diffusive component, the halo, and the core. The core corotates with the interplanetary field, and therefore it and the surrounding halo are interpreted as spatial features which are connected by the interplanetary magnetic field lines to the vicinity of the flare region. Upper limits to the interplanetary transverse diffusion coefficient for 4–20 meV protons at 1 AU are derived from the width of the halo. These are at least two orders of magnitude less than the parallel diffusion coefficient for the same energy particles.It is argued that the observed flux variations cannot be explained by an impulsive point source injection for any physically reasonable diffusion model. Instead, since the interplanetary transverse-diffusion coefficient is small for these low-energy particles, the observed spatial features are interpreted as the projection to 1 AU by the interplanetary field lines of an extensive injection profile at the sun. The geometry of the injection mechanism is discussed and it is suggested that some temporary storage of the flare particles occurs near the sun.Now at NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., U.S.A.