R. Bučík

On the origin of the energetic ion events measured upstream of the Earth’s bow shock by STEREO, Cluster, and Geotail

[1] In 2007 during the declining phase of the solar cycle the energetic upstream ion events occurred mainly after a corotating interaction region passed the Earth’s magnetosphere. We study the relation between these upstream events observed from about 70 to 1750 RE away from the Earth and observations in the vicinity of the terrestrial bow shock (up to 30 RE). For this purpose, simultaneous measurements of energetic ions from STEREO A and STEREO B (far upstream region) and from Cluster and Geotail (near the bow shock) are used. In all cases the energetic ions far upstream are associated with the upstream ion events near the bow shock. The upstream events are observed simultaneously mainly when the magnetic field is pointing along the line joining those satellites in the far upstream region with those near the terrestrial bow shock. The upstream events near the bow shock often coincide with sunward directed electron bursts, increased AE index (>200 nT), nonexponential proton spectra, and most important the presence of O + ions, all of which imply at least partly a magnetospheric origin. In ∼57% of cases the upstream ion events near the bow shock are associated with electron bursts and/or with the presence of O + , and ∼40% of the latter events are associated with electron bursts at STEREO A. Although we present strong evidence that the events are partially of magnetospheric origin, we do not exclude the presence of the ions accelerated at the bow shock.

The source regions of solar energetic particles detected by widely separated spacecraft

We studied the source regions of 12 solar energetic particle (SEP) events seen between 2010 August and 2012 January at STEREO-A, B, and/or Earth (Advanced Composition Explorer/Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/GOES), when the two STEREO spacecraft were separated by about 180°. All events were associated with flares (C1 to X6) and fast coronal mass ejections and, except for one, accompanied by type II radio bursts. We have determined the arrival times of the SEPs at the three positions. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) waves, observed in the 195 A and 193 A channels of STEREO and the Solar Dynamics Observatory, are tracked across the Sun to determine their arrival time at the photospheric source of open field lines connecting to the spacecraft. There is a good correlation between the EUV wave arrival times at the connecting footpoints and the SEP onset times. The delay time between electron onset and the EUV wave reaching the connecting footpoint is independent of distance from the flare site. The proton delay time increases with distance from the flare site. In three of the events, secondary flare sites may have also contributed to the wide longitudinal spread of SEPs.

Multi-spacecraft Observations of Recurrent 3He-rich Solar Energetic Particles

We study the origin of 3He-rich solar energetic particles (<1 MeV/nucleon) that are observed consecutively on STEREO-B, ACE, and STEREO-A spacecraft when they are separated in heliolongitude by more than 90{\deg}. The 3He-rich period on STEREO-B and STEREO-A commences on 2011 July 1 and 2011 July 16, respectively. The ACE 3He-rich period consists of two sub-events starting on 2011 July 7 and 2011 July 9. We associate the STEREO-B July 1 and ACE July 7 3He-rich events with the same sizeable active region producing X-ray flares accompanied by prompt electron events, when it was near the west solar limb as seen from the respective spacecraft. The ACE July 9 and STEREO-A July 16 events were dispersionless with enormous 3He enrichment, lacking solar energetic electrons and occurring in corotating interaction regions. We associate these events with a small, recently emerged active region near the border of a low-latitude coronal hole that produced numerous jet-like emissions temporally correlated with type III radio bursts. For the first time we present observations of 1) solar regions with long-lasting conditions for 3He acceleration and 2) solar energetic 3He that is temporary confined/re-accelerated in interplanetary space.

STUDY OF SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE ASSOCIATIONS WITH CORONAL EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET WAVES

We study the relationship between large gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events and associated extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) wave properties in 16 events that occurred between 2010 August and 2013 May and were observed by SDO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and/or STEREO. We determine onset times, peak times, and peak fluxes of the SEP events in the SOHO/ERNE and STEREO/LET proton channels (6–10 MeV). The EUV wave arrival times and their speeds from the source sites to the spacecraft footpoints in the photosphere, which are magnetically connected to the spacecraft by Parker spiral and potential fields, are determined by spacetime plots from the full-Sun heliographic images created by combining STEREO-A and STEREO-B 195 A and SDO 193 A images. The SEP peak fluxes increase with the EUV wave speeds, and the SEP spectral indices become harder with the speeds. This shows that higher energetic particle fluxes are associated with faster EUV waves, which are considered as the lateral expansions of coronal-mass-ejection-driven shocks in the low corona.

Case studies of multi-day 3He-rich solar energetic particle periods

Context. Impulsive solar energetic particle events in the inner heliosphere show the long-lasting enrichment of 3He. Aims. We study the source regions of long-lasting 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events Methods. We located the responsible open magnetic field regions, we combined potential field source surface extrapolations (PFSS) with the Parker spiral, and compared the magnetic field of the identified source regions with in situ magnetic fields. The candidate open field regions are active region plages. The activity was examined by using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and STEREO together with radio observations from STEREO and WIND. Results. Multi-day periods of 3He-rich SEP events are associated with ion production in single active region. Small flares or coronal jets are their responsible solar sources. We also find that the 3He enrichment may depend on the occurrence rate of coronal jets.

Solar wind control of the terrestrial magnetotail as seen by STEREO

At the beginning of 2007 the twin STEREO spacecraft provided a unique opportunity to study the global solar wind control of the terrestrial magnetotail under typical solar activity minimum conditions. The STEREO-B (STB) spacecraft flew in the vicinity of the far terrestrial magnetotail, while the STEREO-A (STA) spacecraft was located in front of the Earth performing measurements in the undisturbed solar wind. In February, the STB spacecraft was located in the magnetosheath most of the time but experienced several incursions into the distant magnetotail. Comparison of STA and STB observations determines unambiguously whether solar wind events such as energetic particle enhancements observed by STB are of pure solar origin or due to the influence of the terrestrial magnetosphere. During this time period in 2007, there were solar minimum conditions with alternating fast and slow solar wind streams that formed corotating interaction regions, which were the dominating source of magnetospheric disturbances encountering the Earth almost every week. Under these conditions, STB experienced multiple bow shock and magnetopause crossings due to the induced highly dynamic behavior of the terrestrial magnetotail and detected bursts of tailward directed energetic ions in the range of 110–2200 keV accompanied by suprathermal electrons of ~700–1500 eV, which were not seen in the undisturbed solar wind by STA. The corotating interaction regions triggered these energetic particle enhancements, and we demonstrate their magnetosphere-related origin. Even after leaving the magnetosheath in March 2007, STB continued to observe antisunward directed energetic ion bursts until May up to a distance of ~ 800 RE behind Earth, the largest distance to which solar wind and magnetospheric interaction has been observed. These results show that Earth is a very significant source of energetic particles in its local interplanetary environment.

Abundances of Suprathermal Heavy Ions in CIRs During the Minimum of Solar Cycle 23

In this paper we examine the elemental composition of the 0.1 – 1 MeV nucleon−1 interplanetary heavy ions from H to Fe in corotating interaction regions (CIRs) measured by the SIT (Suprathermal Ion Telescope) instrument. We use observations taken on board the STEREO spacecraft from January 2007 through December 2010, which included the unusually long solar minimum following Solar Cycle 23. During this period instruments on STEREO observed more than 50 CIR events making it possible to investigate CIR ion abundances during solar minimum conditions with unprecedented high statistics. The observations reveal annual variations of relative ion abundances in the CIRs during the 2007 – 2008 period as indicated by the He/H, He/O and Fe/O elemental ratios. We discuss possible causes of the variability in terms of the helium focusing cone passage and heliolatitude dependence. The year 2009 was very quiet in CIR-event activity. In 2010 the elemental composition in CIRs were influenced by sporadic solar energetic particle (SEP) events. The 2010 He/H and He/O abundance ratios in CIRs show large event-to-event variations with values resembling the SEP-like composition. This finding suggests that the suprathermal SEPs could be the source population for CIR acceleration.

OBSERVATIONS OF EUV WAVES IN 3He-RICH SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENTS

Small 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events with their anomalous abundances, markedly different from solar system, provide evidence for a unique acceleration mechanism that operates routinely near solar active regions. Although the events are sometimes accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) it is believed that mass and isotopic fractionation is produced directly in the flare sites on the Sun. We report on a large-scale extreme ultraviolet (EUV) coronal wave observed in association with 3He-rich SEP events. In the two examples discussed, the observed waves were triggered by minor flares and appeared concurrently with EUV jets and type III radio bursts but without CMEs. The energy spectra from one event are consistent with so-called class-1 (characterized by power laws) while the other with class-2 (characterized by rounded 3He and Fe spectra) 3He-rich SEP events, suggesting different acceleration mechanisms in the two. The observation of EUV waves suggests that large-scale disturbances, in addition to more commonly associated jets, may be responsible for the production of 3He-rich SEP events.

3He-rich solar energetic particles in helical jets on the Sun

Particle acceleration in stellar flares is ubiquitous in the Universe, however, our Sun is the only astrophysical object where energetic particles and their source flares can both be observed. The acceleration mechanism in solar flares, tremendously enhancing (up to a factor of ten thousand) rare elements like 3He and ultra-heavy nuclei, has been puzzling for almost 50 years. Here we present some of the most intense 3He- and Fe-rich solar energetic particle events ever reported. The events were accompanied by non-relativistic electron events and type III radio bursts. The corresponding high-resolution, extreme-ultraviolet imaging observations have revealed for the first time a helical structure in the source flare with a jet-like shape. The helical jets originated in relatively small, compact active regions, located at the coronal hole boundary. A mini-filament at the base of the jet appears to trigger these events. The events were observed with the two Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatories STEREO on the backside of the Sun, during the period of increased solar activity in 2014. The helical jets may be a distinct feature of these intense events that is related to the production of high 3He and Fe enrichments.

Observations of the longitudinal spread of solar energetic particle events in solar cycle 24

With the twin STEREO spacecraft, significantly separated from L1-based satellites such as ACE, simultaneous multi-point measurements of solar energetic particle (SEP) events can be made for H-Fe ions from a few hundred keV/nuc to over 100 MeV/nuc and for electrons from tens to hundreds of keV. These observations allow studies of the longitudinal characteristics of SEP events to advance beyond statistical analysis of single point measurements. Although there have been few large SEP events thus far in cycle 24, there have been a number of smaller events that have been detected by more than one spacecraft. The composition of these SEP events, as indicated by the H/He and Fe/O abundance ratios, shows a dependence on longitudinal distance from the solar source in some events, at times with ratios varying by an order of magnitude. However, these variations are not organized by either the speed or width of the associated coronal mass ejections.