Milan Maksimovic

Dust Detection by the Wave Instrument on STEREO: Nanoparticles Picked up by the Solar Wind?

The STEREO wave instrument (S/WAVES) has detected a very large number of intense voltage pulses. We suggest that these events are produced by impact ionisation of nanoparticles striking the spacecraft at a velocity of the order of magnitude of the solar wind speed. Nanoparticles, which are half-way between micron-sized dust and atomic ions, have such a large charge-to-mass ratio that the electric field induced by the solar wind magnetic field accelerates them very efficiently. Since the voltage produced by dust impacts increases very fast with speed, such nanoparticles produce signals as high as do much larger grains of smaller speeds. The flux of 10-nm radius grains inferred in this way is compatible with the interplanetary dust flux model. The present results may represent the first detection of fast nanoparticles in interplanetary space near Earth orbit.

SOLAR WIND ELECTRON SUPRATHERMAL STRENGTH AND TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS: ULYSSES OBSERVATIONS

We use observations from the Ulysses electron spectrometer to examine global trends of the electron suprathermal population and to study, for the first time, the electron core, halo, and total temperature gradients in the fast solar wind over the poles. We use a data set covering the period from the beginning of the mission (1990, day of year 322) to approximately the first completion of Ulysses out-of-ecliptic orbit around the Sun (1998, day 32). This allows us to characterize very well the two states of the solar wind: the high-speed wind, emanating from polar coronal holes, and the low-speed streams, emanating from equatorial regions. From a classical bi-Maxwellian (core and halo) model of electron velocity distribution functions, we define the electron suprathermal strength S as the ratio of the halo to core kinetic pressures: S=nhTh/ncTc. The fast wind has larger average values of S than the slow wind. This global correlation between S and the solar wind bulk speed is also observed on a smaller scale in the polar regions. We find that the small-scale variations of the solar wind bulk speed in the polar regions, typically ±50 km/s around an average value of 750 km/s, are correlated with small-scale variations of S. We present also the first observations of the electron core, halo, and total temperature gradients in time-stationary fast solar wind periods over the poles. We examine all the previous observations in the context of simple solar wind exospheric models. We find, for instance, that the total electron temperature can be well fitted by a law of the form Te = T0 + T1 r−4/3, as predicted by the exospheric approximation.

Alfvén vortex filaments observed in magnetosheath downstream of a quasi-perpendicular bow shock

Alfven vortex filaments observed in magnetosheath downstream of a quasi-perpendicular bow shock

On Spectral Breaks in the Power Spectra of Magnetic Fluctuations in Fast Solar Wind between 0.3 and 0.9?AU

We analyze the radial variation of the power spectra of the magnetic field from 0.3 to about 0.9?AU, using Helios 2 spacecraft measurements in the fast solar wind. The time resolution of the magnetic field data allows us to study the power spectra up to 2?Hz. Generally, the corresponding spectral break frequency fb and the Doppler-shifted frequencies, which are related to the proton gyroradius and inertial scales, are close to a frequency f of about 0.5?Hz at a distance of 1?AU from the Sun. However, studying the radial evolution of the power spectra offers us the possibility to distinguish between those scales. Recent Ulysses observations show that, while the proton scales vary, fb stays nearly constant with the heliocentric distance R. In our study we confirm that fb varies within a small interval of [0.2, 0.4]?Hz only, as R varies from 0.3 to 0.9?AU. Moreover, if we assume parallel propagating fluctuations (with respect to the solar wind flow or background magnetic field), we can show that none of the proton scales are coincident with the break scale. If, however, we take into account the two-dimensional nature of the turbulent fluctuations, then we can show that the spatial scale corresponding to fb (R) does follow the proton inertial scale, ? p (R), but not the proton gyroradius scale, ? p (R), as a function of heliocentric distance. These observations indicate that the spectral break at the proton inertial scale might be related to the Hall effect, or be controlled by the ion-cyclotron damping of obliquely propagating fluctuations or the formation of current sheets scaling like ? p , which could be responsible for ion heating through magnetic reconnection.

Cluster observations of finite amplitude Alfven waves and small-scale magnetic filaments downstream of a quasi-perpendicular shock

The Cluster satellites crossed the Earths bow shock several times on 31 March 2001. For all these crossings the bow shock was supercritical and quasi-perpendicular. We present here the results of a detailed analysis of the magnetic field fluctuations observed downstream of the shock. We use data from the four Cluster spacecraft to determine the behavior and the geometry of these fluctuations with good accuracy. Shortly after the ramp crossing, we observed a large-amplitude nonlinear Alfven wave, propagating along the downstream average magnetic field with a spectrum peaking at two frequencies below the proton and the alpha ion cyclotron frequencies. Farther downstream in the magnetosheath the magnetic field fluctuations took the form of three-dimensional structures which can be interpreted as cylindrical field-aligned current tubes. It is the first time that such current tubes have been observed downstream of a quasi-perpendicular shock, and they are closely associated with a quasi-monochromatic, finite amplitude Alfven wave. We suggest that a close relation exists between the nonlinear Alfven wave and the current tubes as a result of a filamentation instability which is expected to occur at β ≥ 1 and for frequencies comparable to the ion cyclotron frequencies.

WHISTLER MODE WAVES AND THE ELECTRON HEAT FLUX IN THE SOLAR WIND: CLUSTER OBSERVATIONS

The nature of the magnetic field fluctuations in the solar wind between the ion and electron scales is still under debate. Using the Cluster/STAFF instrument, we make a survey of the power spectral density and of the polarization of these fluctuations at frequencies f in [1, 400] Hz, during five years (2001-2005), when Cluster was in the free solar wind. In ~10% of the selected data, we observe narrowband, right-handed, circularly polarized fluctuations, with wave vectors quasi-parallel to the mean magnetic field, superimposed on the spectrum of the permanent background turbulence. We interpret these coherent fluctuations as whistler mode waves. The lifetime of these waves varies between a few seconds and several hours. Here, we present, for the first time, an analysis of long-lived whistler waves, i.e., lasting more than five minutes. We find several necessary (but not sufficient) conditions for the observation of whistler waves, mainly a low level of background turbulence, a slow wind, a relatively large electron heat flux, and a low electron collision frequency. When the electron parallel beta factor β e∥ is larger than 3, the whistler waves are seen along the heat flux threshold of the whistler heat flux instability. The presence of such whistler waves confirms that the whistler heat flux instability contributes to the regulation of the solar wind heat flux, at least for β e∥ ≥ 3, in slow wind at 1 AU.

Spacecraft charging and ion wake formation in the near-Sun environment

A three-dimensional, self-consistent code is employed to solve for the static potential structure surrounding a spacecraft in a high photoelectron environment. The numerical solutions show that, under certain conditions, a spacecraft can take on a negative potential in spite of strong photoelectron currents. The negative potential is due to an electrostatic barrier near the surface of the spacecraft that can reflect a large fraction of the photoelectron flux back to the spacecraft. This electrostatic barrier forms if (1) the photoelectron density at the surface of the spacecraft greatly exceeds the ambient plasma density, (2) the spacecraft size is significantly larger than local Debye length of the photoelectrons, and (3) the thermal electron energy is much larger than the characteristic energy of the escaping photoelectrons. All of these conditions are present near the Sun. The numerical solutions also show that the spacecrafts negative potential can be amplified by an ion wake. The negative potential of the ion wake prevents secondary electrons from escaping the part of spacecraft in contact with the wake. These findings may be important for future spacecraft missions that go nearer to the Sun, such as Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe Plus.

Determination of accurate solar wind electron parameters using particle detectors and radio wave receivers

We present a new, simple, and semiempirical method for determining accurate solar wind electron macroscopic parameters from the raw electron moments obtained from measured electron distribution functions. In the solar wind these measurements are affected by (1) photoelectrons produced by the spacecraft illumination, (2) spacecraft charging, and (3) the incomplete sampling of the electron distribution due to a nonzero low-energy threshold of the energy sweeping in the electron spectrometer. Correcting fully for these effects is difficult, especially without the help of data from other experiments that can be taken as a reference. We take here advantage of the fact that high-resolution solar wind electron parameters are obtained on board Wind using two different instruments: the electron electrostatic analyzer of the three-dimensional Plasma experiment (3DP), which provides 3-D electron velocity distribution functions every 99 s as well as 3-s resolution computed onboard moments, and the thermal noise receiver (TNR), which yields unbiased electron density and temperature every 4.5 s from the spectroscopy of the quasi-thermal noise around the electron plasma frequency. The present correction method is based on a simplified model evaluating the electron density and temperature as measured by the electron spectrometer, by taking into account both the spacecraft charging and the low-energy cutoff effects: approximating the solar wind electron distributions by an isotropic Maxwellian, we derive simple analytical relations for the measured electron moments as functions of the real ones. These relations reproduce the qualitative behavior of the variation of the raw 3DP electron density and temperature as a function of the TNR ones. In order to set up a precise “scalar correction” of the raw 3DP electron moments, we use the TNR densities and temperatures as good estimates of the real ones; the coefficients appearing in the analytical relations are obtained by a best fit to the data from both instruments during a limited period of time, chosen as a reference. This set of coefficients is then used as long as the mode of operation of the electron spectrometer is unchanged. We show that this simple scalar correction of the electron density and temperature is reliable and can be applied routinely to the high-resolution 3DP low-order moments. As a by-product, an estimate of the spacecraft potential is obtained. The odd-order moments of the distribution function (electron bulk speed and heat flux) cannot be corrected by the model since the distribution is assumed to be an isotropic Maxwellian. We show, however, that a better estimate of the electron heat flux can be obtained by replacing the electron velocity by the proton velocity.

Solar wind electron parameters from quasi‐thermal noise spectroscopy and comparison with other measurements on Ulysses

Plasma thermal noise spectroscopy was used for the first time on a large scale on the Ulysses radio receiver data to measure the solar wind electron density and temperature in the ecliptic plane. The validity and limitations of the results obtained with this method are discussed. Nearly simultaneous measurements of the electron density and temperature from the radio receiver, the sounder, and the electron analyzer on Ulysses are intercompared. The thermal noise measurements are found to compare quite well with the other measurements, apart from some discrepancies, which are discussed. The uncertainties on the core temperature, derived from a least squares model fitting of the radio data, are shown to be statistically consistent and significant.

The FIELDS Instrument Suite for Solar Probe Plus

NASA’s Solar Probe Plus (SPP) mission will make the first in situ measurements of the solar corona and the birthplace of the solar wind. The FIELDS instrument suite on SPP will make direct measurements of electric and magnetic fields, the properties of in situ plasma waves, electron density and temperature profiles, and interplanetary radio emissions, amongst other things. Here, we describe the scientific objectives targeted by the SPP/FIELDS instrument, the instrument design itself, and the instrument concept of operations and planned data products.