H. Grünwaldt

Solar wind measurements with SOHO: The CELIAS/MTOF proton monitor

The proton monitor, a small subsensor in the Charge, Element, and Isotope Analysis System/Mass Time-of-Flight (CELIAS/MTOF) experiment on the SOHO spacecraft, was designed to assist in the interpretation of measurements from the high mass resolution main MTOF sensor. In this paper we demonstrate that the proton monitor data may be used to generate reasonably accurate values of the solar wind proton bulk speed, density, thermal speed, and north/south flow direction. Correlation coefficients based on comparison with the solar wind measurements from the SWE instrument on the Wind spacecraft range from 0.87 to 0.99. On the basis of the initial 12 months of observations, we find that the proton momentum flux is almost invariant with respect to the bulk speed, confirming a previously published result. We present observations of two interplanetary shock events, and of an unusual solar wind density depletion. This large density depletion, and the correspondingly large drop in the solar wind ram pressure, may have been the cause of a nearly simultaneous large increase in the flux of relativistic magnetospheric electrons observed at geosynchronous altitudes by the GOES 9 spacecraft. Extending our data set with a 10-year time span from the OMNIWeb data set, we find an average frequency of about one large density depletion per year. The origin of these events is unclear; of the 10 events identified, 3 appear to be corotating and at least 2 are probably CME related. The rapidly available, comprehensive data coverage from SOHO allows the production of near-real time solar wind parameters that are now accessible on the World Wide Web.

Isotopic composition of solar wind neon measured by CELIAS/MTOF on board SOHO

We present first results taken from the high-resolution mass time-of-flight spectrometer (MTOF) of the charge, element, and isotope analysis system (CELIAS) experiment on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft launched in December 1995, concerning the abundance ratios of neon isotopes in the solar wind. We obtain the isotopic ratios 20Ne/22Ne = (13.8 ± 0.7) and 20Ne/21Ne = (440 ± 110), which agree with the values obtained from the Apollo foil solar wind experiments and which have been derived from measurements of solar particles implanted in lunar and meteoritic samples.

Kinetic properties of solar wind minor ions and protons measured with SOHO/CELIAS

Using observations of the Charge Time-of-Flight(CTOF) charge and mass spectrometer of the Charge, Element and Isotope Analysis System (CELIAS), and of CELIAS/proton monitor on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), we present an overview of speeds and kinetic temperatures of minor ions and protons in the solar wind near solar minimum, covering the Carrington Rotations 1908 to 1912. In the case of a collision-dominated solar wind the speed of minor ions is expected to be lower or equal to the speed of the protons, and all species are expected to have equal temperatures. On the other hand, minor ions can be accelerated and heated by wave-particle interaction. In this case, equal thermal speeds of all species are expected. CTOF data allow the determination of the kinetic parameters of various ions with high accuracy and with high time resolution. The mean O6+ speed of the observed period is 390 km s−1. The speeds of Si7+ and Fe9+ correlate well with O6+, the linear correlation coefficient being 0.96 or higher. Our results also indicate that silicon and iron tend to lag behind oxygen with a speed difference of ∼20 km s−1 at 500 km s−1. At the same time, the kinetic temperature of the ions under investigation exhibit the well-known mass proportionality, which is attributed to wave-particle interactions. During the period of low solar activity in consideration, many cases are observed where the kinetic temperature is extraordinarily low (104 K for O6+).

Fractionation of Si, Ne, and Mg isotopes in the solar wind as measured by SOHO/CELIAS/MTOF

Using the high-resolution mass spectrometer CELIAS/MTOF on board SOHO we have measured the solar wind isotope abundance ratios of Si, Ne, and Mg and their variations in different solar wind regimes with bulk velocities ranging from 330 km/s to 650 km/s. Data indicate a small systematic depletion of the heavier isotopes in the slow solar wind on the order of (1.4±1.3)% per amu (2σ-error) compared to their abundances in the fast solar wind from coronal holes. These variations in the solar wind isotopic composition represent a pure mass-dependent effect because the different isotopes of an element pass the inner corona with the same charge state distribution. The influence of particle mass on the acceleration of minor solar wind ions is discussed in the context of theoretical models and recent optical observations with other SOHO instruments.

Oxygen freeze‐in temperatures measured with SOHO/CELIAS/CTOF

We use the charge time-of-flight (CTOF) mass and charge spectrometer of the charge, element, and isotope analysis system (CELIAS) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) to determine the solar wind oxygen freeze-in temperature T76 from the O7+ and O6+ abundance ratios in the period from days 92 to 229 of 1996 (Carrington Rotations 1908 to 1912). The freeze-in temperature is a conserved property of the solar wind because the charge states do not change after a distance of a few solar radii. Therefore it is an ideal in situ diagnostic for remote sensing of the inner solar corona. We determine the mean freeze-in temperature during the selected period to be 1.6 × 106 K. We use it to map coronal regions of different temperatures and to determine the separation between such regions based on our observation of abrupt transitions of the freeze-in temperature. We find a upper limit for the separation in the inner corona of 1000 km.

Iron freeze‐in temperatures measured by SOHO/CELIAS/CTOF

The CELIAS particle experiment on SOHO contains the Charge Time Of Flight (CTOF) mass spectrometer which measures the ionic and elemental composition of minor ions in the solar wind. In this paper we present iron freeze-in temperatures derived with a time resolution of 5 min. They indicate that some of the filamentary structures of the inner corona observed in Hα survive in the interplanetary medium as far as 1 AU.

The Fe/O elemental abundance ratio in the solar wind as observed with SOHO CELIAS CTOF

Using data of the Charge Time-of-Flight (CTOF) mass spectrometer of the Charge, Element, and Isotope Analysis System (CELIAS) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) from ∼80 days of observation around solar minimum we derive a value for the Fe/O abundance ratio for the inecliptic solar wind of 0.11 ± 0.03. Since Fe has a low first ionization potential (FIP) and O is a high-FIP element, their relative abundance is diagnostic for the FIP fractionation process. The unprecedented time resolution of the CELIAS CTOF sensor allows a fine-scaled study of the Fe/O ratio as a function of the solar wind bulk speed. On average, the Fe/O abundance ratio shows a continuous decrease by a factor of 2 with increasing solar wind speed between 350 and 500 km/s. This corresponds to the well-known FIP effect dependence. Our value at ∼500 km/s agrees with the previously observed Fe/O ratio in the fast solar wind emerging from polar coronal holes whereas the value for speeds below 350 km/s is consistent with a remote abundance determination in the leg of a coronal streamer. The variability of the Fe/O abundance ratio is much larger in the slow than in the fast solar wind.

Elemental composition of the January 6, 1997, CME

Using solar wind particle data from the CELIAS/MTOF sensor on the SOHO mission, we studied the abundance of the elements O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ca, and Fe for the time period around the January 6, 1997, coronal mass ejection event (CME). In the interstream and coronal hole regions before and after this event we found elemental abundances consistent with the expected abundance patterns of the respective flow regimes. However, during the passage of the CME and during the passage of the erupted filament, which followed the CME, we found that the elemental composition differed markedly from the interstream and coronal hole regions before and after this event. During the passage of the CME and the passage of the erupted filament we found a mass-dependent element fractionation, with a monotonic increase toward heavier elements. We observed Si/O and Fe/O abundance ratios of about one half during these time periods, which is significantly higher than for typical solar wind.

Venus tail ray observation near Earth

In June, 1996, Venus passed through a very close inferior conjunction with the Sun. At that time the CTOF detector of the CELIAS mass spectrometer experiment on the SOHO spacecraft near Earths L1 Lagrangian point was measuring heavy ions in the solar wind ∼4.5 × 107 km downstream of Venus. Close to the time predicted by simple geometric arguments for passage of SOHO through the Venus wake, CTOF made three encounters with unusual fluxes of O+ and C+ ions. Their energy distributions resembled those of tail rays originating in the Venus ionosphere or ionopause region rather than of ions produced in the corona of neutral atoms that surrounds the planet. The C+ abundance was ≈ 10% of O+. The observed O+ speed was very close to the simultaneous solar wind speed and the O+ temperature was a cool 5600 K/amu. The flux densities for the three events were (2.4–4.4) × 10³ cm−2s−1.

Observation of suprathermal helium at 1 AU: Charge states in CIRs

We report on measurements of the He charge states as observed in recurring energetic particle events during the recent solar minimum in 1996. The time-of-flight mass spectrometer CELIAS/STOF on board the SOHO satellite has the capability of detecting energetic ions between 35 and 630 keV/q and determine the mass, energy and charge of each particle. Typically we observe a He+/He2+ ratio of 0.16 to 0.31 in the range of 25 to 150 keV/nuc. We discuss the implications of these observations on the existing models of particle acceleration in corotating interaction regions (CIRs), i.e. the location of the acceleration process of corotating particle events as observed near 1 AU.