V. Bothmer

The structure and origin of magnetic clouds in the solar wind

A technical description is presented of the lowenergy ion and electron (LION) instrument on the SOHO spacecraft and its scientific goals are discussed. LION forms part of the comprehensive suprathermal and energetic particle analyzer (COSTEP), which is, in turn, a subset of the COSTEP/ERNE particle analyser collaboration (CEPAC).

EUVI: the STEREO-SECCHI extreme ultraviolet imager

The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUVI) is part of the SECCHI instrument suite currently being developed for the NASA STEREO mission. Identical EUVI telescopes on the two STEREO spacecraft will study the structure and evolution of the solar corona in three dimensions, and specifically focus on the initiation and early evolution of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The EUVI telescope is being developed at the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Lab. The SECCHI investigation is led by the Naval Research Lab. The EUVI’s 2048 x 2048 pixel detectors have a field of view out to 1.7 solar radii, and observe in four spectral channels that span the 0.1 to 20 MK temperature range. In addition to its view from two vantage points, the EUVI will provide a substantial improvement in image resolution and image cadence over its predecessor SOHO-EIT, while complying with the more restricted mass, power, and volume allocations on the STEREO mission.

Eruptive Prominences as Sources of Magnetic Clouds in the Solar Wind

Large amounts of coronal material are propelled outward into interplanetary space by Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). Thus one might expect to find evidence for expanding flux ropes in the solar wind as well. To prove this assumption magnetic clouds were analyzed and correlated with Hα-observations of disappearing filaments. When clouds were found to be directly associated with a disappearing filament, the magnetic structure of the cloud was compared with that of the associated filament. Additionally the expansion of magnetic clouds was examined over a wide range of the heliosphere and compared with the expansion observed for erupting prominences.

Identification of Solar Sources of Major Geomagnetic Storms between 1996 and 2000

This paper presents identification of solar coronal mass ejection (CME) sources for 27 major geomagnetic storms (defined by disturbance storm time index ≤ -100 nT) occurring between 1996 and 2000. Observations of CMEs and their solar surface origins are obtained from the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) and the EUV Imaging Telescope (EIT) instruments on the SOHO spacecraft. Our identification has two steps. The first step is to select candidate front-side halo (FSH) CMEs using a fixed 120 hr time window. The second step is to use solar wind data to provide further constraints, e.g., an adaptive time window defined based on the solar wind speed of the corresponding interplanetary CMEs. We finally find that 16 of the 27 (59%) major geomagnetic storms are identified with unique FSH CMEs. Six of the 27 events (22%) are associated with multiple FSH CMEs. These six events show complex solar wind flows and complex geomagnetic activity, which are probably the result of multiple halo CMEs interacting in interplanetary space. A complex event occurs when multiple FSH CMEs are produced within a short period. Four of the 27 (15%) events are associated with partial-halo gradual CMEs emerging from the east limb. The surface origin of these events is not known because of a lack of any EIT signature. We believe that they are longitudinally extended CMEs having a component moving along the Sun-Earth connection line. One of the 27 major geomagnetic storms is caused by a corotating interaction region. We find an asymmetry in the longitudinal distribution of solar source region for the CMEs responsible for major geomagnetic storms. They are more likely to originate from the western hemisphere than from the eastern hemisphere. In terms of latitude, most geoeffective CMEs originate within a latitude strip of ±30°. The average transit time for a solar CME to arrive at the near-Earth space is found to be 64 hr, while it takes 78 hr on average to reach the peak of the geomagnetic storm. There is a correlation between CME transit time from the Sun to the near-Earth space (T, in hours) and the CME initial velocity (V, in unit of kilometers per second) at the Sun, which can be simply described as T = 96 - (V/21). We also find that while these geoeffective CMEs are either full-halo CMEs (67%) or partial-halo CMEs (30%), there is no preference for them to be fast CMEs or to be associated with major flares and erupting filaments.

Solar and Heliospheric Phenomena in October-November 2003: Causes and Effects

We present new observational data on the phenomena of extremely high activity on the Sun and in the heliosphere that took place in October–November 2003. A large variety of solar and heliospheric parameters give evidence that the interval under consideration is unique over the entire observation time. Based on these data, comparing them with similar situations in the past and using available theoretical concepts, we discuss possible cause-and-effect connections between the processes observed. The paper includes the first results and conclusions derived by the collaboration “Solar Extreme Events-2003” organized in Russia for detailed investigations of these events. As a result of our consideration, it is beyond question that the physical causes of solar and heliospheric phenomena in October–November 2003 are not exclusively local and do not belong only to the active regions and solar atmosphere above them. The energy reservoirs and driving forces of these processes have a more global nature. In general, they are hidden from an observer, since ultimately their sources lie in the subphotospheric layers of the Sun, where changes that are fast and difficult to predict can sometimes take place (and indeed they do). Solar flares can serve as sufficiently good tracers of these sudden changes and reconstructions on the Sun, although one can still find other diagnostic indicators among the parameters of magnetic fields, motions of matter, and emission characteristics.

CHARACTERISTICS OF KINEMATICS OF A CORONAL MASS EJECTION DURING THE 2010 AUGUST 1 CME–CME INTERACTION EVENT

We study the interaction of two successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) during the 2010 August 1 events using STEREO/SECCHI COR and heliospheric imager (HI) data. We obtain the direction of motion for both CMEs by applying several independent reconstruction methods and find that the CMEs head in similar directions. This provides evidence that a full interaction takes place between the two CMEs that can be observed in the HI1 field of view. The full de-projected kinematics of the faster CME from Sun to Earth is derived by combining remote observations with in situ measurements of the CME at 1 AU. The speed profile of the faster CME (CME2; similar to 1200 km s(-1)) shows a strong deceleration over the distance range at which it reaches the slower, preceding CME (CME1; similar to 700 km s(-1)). By applying a drag-based model we are able to reproduce the kinematical profile of CME2, suggesting that CME1 represents a magnetohydrodynamic obstacle for CME2 and that, after the interaction, the merged entity propagates as a single structure in an ambient flow of speed and density typical for quiet solar wind conditions. Observational facts show that magnetic forces may contribute to the enhanced deceleration of CME2. We speculate that the increase in magnetic tension and pressure, when CME2 bends and compresses the magnetic field lines of CME1, increases the efficiency of drag.

The basic characteristics of EUV post-eruptive arcades and their role as tracers of coronal mass ejection source regions

The Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) space- craft provides unique observations of dynamic processes in the low corona. The EIT 195 A data taken from 1997 to the end of 2002 were investigated to study the basic physical properties of post-eruptive arcades (PEAs) and their relationship with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) as detected by SOHO/LASCO (Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph). Over the investigated time period, 236 PEA events have been identified in total. For each PEA, its EUV lifetime as derived from the emission time at 195 A, its heliographic position and length, and its corresponding photospheric source region inferred from SOHO/MDI (Michelson Doppler Imager) data has been studied, as well as the variation of these parameters over the investigated phase of solar cycle 23. An almost one to one correspondence is found between EUV PEAs and white-light CMEs. Based on this finding, PEAs can be considered as reliable tracers of CME events even without simultaneous coronagraph observations. A detailed comparison of the white-light, soft X-ray and EUV observation for some of the events shows, that PEAs form in the aftermath of CMEs likely in the course of the magnetic restructurings taking place at the coronal source sites. The average EUV emission life-time for the selected events ranged from 2 to 20 h, with an average of 7 h. The heliographic length of the PEAs was in the range of 2 to 40 degrees, with an average of 15 degrees. The length increased by a factor of 3 to 4 in the latitude range of 20 to 40 degrees in the northern and southern hemispheres, with longer PEAs being observed preferentially at higher latitudes. The PEAs were located mainly in the activity belts in both hemispheres, with the southern hemispheric ones being shifted by about 15 degree in latitude further away from the solar equator during 1997−2002. The decrease in latitude of the PEA positions was 10 to 15 degrees in the northern and southern hemispheres over this period. The axes of the PEAs were overlying magnetic polarity inversion lines when traced back to the MDI synoptic charts of the photospheric field. The magnetic polarities on both sides of the inversion lines agreed with the dominant magnetic pattern expected in cycle 23, i.e. being preferentially positive to the West of the PEA axes in the North and negative in the South. One third (31%) of the PEA events showed reversed polarities. The origin of PEAs is found not just in single bipolar regions (BPRs), but also in between pairs of neighboring BPRs.

Cosmic Ray and Solar Particle Investigations Over the South Polar Regions of the Sun

Observations of galactic cosmic radiation and anomalous component nuclei with charged particle sensors on the Ulysses spacecraft showed that heliospheric magnetic field structure over the south solar pole does not permit substantially more direct access to the local interstellar cosmic ray spectrum than is possible in the equatorial zone. Fluxes of galactic cosmic rays and the anomalous component increased as a result of latitude gradients by less than 50% from the equator to -80�. Thus, the modulated cosmic ray nucleon, electron, and anomalous component fluxes are nearly spherically symmetric in the inner solar system. The cosmic rays and the anomalous nuclear component underwent a continuous, -26 day recurrent modulation to -80.2�, whereas all recurring magnetic field compressions and recurring streams in the solar wind disappeared above ∼55�S latitude.

The solar origin of corotating interaction regions and their formation in the inner heliosphere, Report of Working Group 1

Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) form as a consequence of the compression of the solar wind at the interface between fast speed streams and slow streams. Dynamic interaction of solar wind streams is a general feature of the heliospheric medium; when the sources of the solar wind streams are relatively stable, the interaction regions form a pattern which corotates with the Sun. The regions of origin of the high speed solar wind streams have been clearly identified as the coronal holes with their open magnetic field structures. The origin of the slow speed solar wind is less clear; slow streams may well originate from a range of coronal configurations adjacent to, or above magnetically closed structures. This article addresses the coronal origin of the stable pattern of solar wind streams which leads to the formation of CIRs. In particular, coronal models based on photospheric measurements are reviewed; we also examine the observations of kinematic and compositional solar wind features at 1 AU, their appearance in the stream interfaces (SIs) of CIRs, and their relationship to the structure of the solar surface and the inner corona; finally we summarise the Helios observations in the inner heliosphere of CIRs and their precursors to give a link between the optical observations on their solar origin and the in-situ plasma observations at 1 AU after their formation. The most important question that remains to be answered concerning the solar origin of CIRs is related to the origin and morphology of the slow solar wind.

Understanding coronal heating and solar wind acceleration: Case for in situ near‐Sun measurements

The solar wind has been measured directly from 0.3 AU outward, and the Suns atmosphere has been imaged from the photosphere out through the corona. These observations have significantly advanced our understanding of the influence of the Suns varying magnetic field on the structure and dynamics of the corona and the solar wind. However, how the corona is heated and accelerated to produce the solar wind remains a mystery. Answering these fundamental questions requires in situ observations near the Sun, from a few solar radii (R_S) out to ∼20 R_S, where the internal, magnetic, and turbulent energy in the coronal plasma is channeled into the bulk energy of the supersonic solar wind. A mission to make such observations has long been a top priority of the solar and space physics community. The recent Solar Probe study has proven that such a mission is technically feasible and can be accomplished within reasonable resources.