Elemental and isotopic fractionation in 3He-rich solar energetic particle events

Using data from the Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS) on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) mission, heavy ion composition measurements have been made in 26^3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events that occurred between 1998 and 2004. Relative abundances of 13 elements from C through Ni have been investigated, as have the isotopic compositions of the elements Ne and Mg. We find a general tendency for the abundances to follow trends similar to those found in gradual SEP events, in which fractionation can be represented in the form of a power-law in Q/M. However several deviations from this pattern are noted that may provide useful diagnostics of the acceleration process occurring in solar flares

Heavy-ion Fractionation in the Impulsive Solar Energetic Particle Event of 2002 August 20: Elements, Isotopes, and Inferred Charge States

Measurements of heavy-ion elemental and isotopic composition in the energy range ~12-60 MeV nucleon^(–1) are reported from the Advanced Composition Explorer/Solar Isotope Spectrometer (ACE/SIS) instrument for the solar energetic particle (SEP) event of 2002 August 20. We investigate fractionation in this particularly intense impulsive event by examining the enhancements of elemental and isotopic abundance ratios relative to corresponding values in the solar wind. The elemental enhancement pattern is similar to those in other impulsive events detected by ACE/SIS and in compilations of average impulsive-event composition. For individual elements, the abundance of a heavy isotope (mass M_2) is enhanced relative to that of a lighter isotope (M_1) by a factor ~(M_(1)/M_2)^α with α ≃ 15. Previous studies have reported elemental abundance enhancements organized as a power law in Q/M, the ratio of estimated ionic charge to mass in the material being fractionated. We consider the possibility that a fractionation law of this form could be responsible for the isotopic fractionation as a power law in the mass ratio and then explore the implications it would have for the ionic charge states in the source material. Assuming that carbon is fully stripped (Q_C = 6), we infer mean values of the ionic charge during the fractionation process, Q_Z , for a variety of elements with atomic numbers 7 ≤ Z ≤ 28. We find that Q_(Fe) ≃ 21-22, comparable to the highest observed values that have been reported at lower energies in impulsive SEP events from direct measurements near 1 AU. The inferred charge states as a function of Z are characterized by several step increases in the number of attached electrons, Z – Q_Z . We discuss how this step structure, together with the known masses of the elements, might account for a variety of features in the observed pattern of elemental abundance enhancements. We also briefly consider alternative fractionation laws and the relationship between the charge states we infer in the source material and those derived from in situ observations

A novel technique to infer ionic charge states of solar energetic particles

In some large solar energetic particle (SEP) events, the intensities of higher energy SEPs decay more rapidly than at lower energies. This energy dependence varies with particle species, as would be expected if the decay timescale depended on a rigidity-dependent diffusion mean free path. By comparing the decay timescales of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, and iron, mean charge states are inferred for these (and other) elements in three SEP events between 1997 and 2002 at energies between 10 and 200 MeV nucleon−1. In a fourth event, upper limits for the charge states are inferred. The charge states of many different particle species are all consistent with a single source temperature; in two events in 1997 and 2002, the best-fit temperature is much higher than that of the corona, which could imply a contribution from solar flare material. However, comparison with lower energy iron charge states for the 1997 event implies that the observed high-energy charge state could also be understood as the result of stripping during shock acceleration in the corona

Evolution of suprathermal seed particle and solar energetic particle abundances

We report on a survey of the composition of solar-wind suprathermal tails and solar energetic particles (SEPs) including data from 1998 to 2010, with a focus on 2007 to 2010. The start of solar cycle 24 included several SEP events that were unusually He-poor. We conclude that these He-poor events are more likely related to Q/M-dependent spectral variations than to seed-particle composition changes. We also find that the quiet-time suprathermal Fe/O ratio during the 2008-2009 solar-minimum was dramatically lower (Fe/O ≤ 0.01) than earlier due in part to very low solar activity, but also suggesting contributions from an oxygen-rich source of suprathermal ions of unknown origin

Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP): A New NASA Mission

The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) is a revolutionary mission that simultaneously investigates two of the most important overarching issues in Heliophysics today: the acceleration of energetic particles and interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium. While seemingly disparate, these are intimately coupled because particles accelerated in the inner heliosphere play critical roles in the outer heliospheric interaction. Selected by NASA in 2018, IMAP is planned to launch in 2024. The IMAP spacecraft is a simple sun-pointed spinner in orbit about the Sun-Earth L1 point. IMAP’s ten instruments provide a complete and synergistic set of observations to simultaneously dissect the particle injection and acceleration processes at 1 AU while remotely probing the global heliospheric interaction and its response to particle populations generated by these processes. In situ at 1 AU, IMAP provides detailed observations of solar wind electrons and ions; suprathermal, pickup, and energetic ions; and the interplanetary magnetic field. For the outer heliosphere interaction, IMAP provides advanced global observations of the remote plasma and energetic ions over a broad energy range via energetic neutral atom imaging, and precise observations of interstellar neutral atoms penetrating the heliosphere. Complementary observations of interstellar dust and the ultraviolet glow of interstellar neutrals further deepen the physical understanding from IMAP. IMAP also continuously broadcasts vital real-time space weather observations. Finally, IMAP engages the broader Heliophysics community through a variety of innovative opportunities. This paper summarizes the IMAP mission at the start of Phase A development

STEREO and ACE Observations of Energetic Particles from Corotating Interaction Regions

Since early 2007, significant particle enhancements due to corotating interaction regions (CIRs) have regularly appeared at 1 AU without any appreciable contamination from solar energetic particles (SEPs). In 2009 the prevalence of CIRs diminished as the maximum speed of the high speed solar wind streams in the ecliptic decreased along with the tilt of the heliospheric current sheet. Observations of CIR time profiles at different longitudes from STEREO show delays between the Behind and Ahead spacecraft that are often roughly as expected from the corotation time lag, although small differences in the spacecraft latitudes introduce significant scatter in the time delays. In some cases different features seen at Ahead and Behind suggest that transient disturbances in the solar wind may alter connection to or transport from the shock, or that temporal changes occur in the CIR shock itself. H and He data from STEREO/LET at 1.8–6 MeV/nucleon show that 1) the CIR spectral index at these energies is ~−4, independent of intensity but with considerable variability, 2) the He/H ratio is ~0.03 for larger CIRs but varies systematically with energy and event intensity, and 3) although the correlation between the CIR MeV particle increases and solar wind speed is generally good, many times a high-speed stream is not associated with MeV particles, while at other times a recurring series of CIR particle increases appears only at higher energies and may be associated with current sheet crossings and low speed solar wind

Observations of Anomalous Cosmic Rays at 1 AU

Anomalous cosmic rays (ACRs) provide a sensitive probe of the access of energetic particles to the inner heliosphere, varying in intensity by more than two orders of magnitude during the course of the solar cycle. New data which are becoming available from the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) can provide a detailed record of ACR intensity and spectral changes on short (~ 1 day) time scales during the approach to solar maximum, which will help address issues of ACR modulation and transport. The elemental and isotopic composition of ACRs provides important information on the source or sources of these particles, while their ionic charge state composition and its energy dependence serves as a diagnostic of their acceleration time scale. We review measurements of the ACR elemental, isotopic, and charge state composition and spectra as determined at 1 AU by SAMPEX, ACE, Wind, and other spacecraft. These results are important input to models of the acceleration, modulation, and transport of ACRs

Variable fractionation of solar energetic particles according to first ionization potential

The average composition of solar energetic particles (SEPs), like the solar corona, is known to be depleted in elements with first ionization potential (FIP) more than ~10 eV by a factor of approximately four. We examine evidence for event to event variations in the FIP-related fractionation of SEPs, following up a 1994 study by Garrard and Stone. In a survey of 46 SEP events from 1974 to 1999 the deduced FIP-fractionation varies by a factor of ~2 from event to event, with no apparent relation to charge-to-mass dependent fractionation patterns in these same events. These results are compared to similar variations observed in the solar wind

The Solar Energetic Particle Event of 6 May 1998

The abundances of elements from helium to iron have been measured in more than a dozen moderate to large solar energetic particle (SEP) events using the Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS) on-board the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE). Time variations within some of these events and from event to event have been reported previously. This paper presents an analysis of the event of 6 May 1998, for which relatively time-independent abundance ratios are found. This event has been considered to be an example of an impulsive event, a gradual event, and as a hybrid of the two. Difficulties with classifying this event are discussed

Solar Coronal Abundances of Rare Elements Based on Solar Energetic Particles

Although solar energetic particle (SEP) abundances vary from event to event, it has been shown that by accounting for these variations it is possible to use SEP data to obtain reliable estimates of elemental abundances for the solar corona. We analyze ~20 to 65 MeV/nucleon measurements from the Solar Isotope Spectrometer on ACE in large SEP events observed from November 1997 to January 2001 to obtain new values of the average SEP composition of rare species, P, Cl, K, Ti, Mn, Cr, Co, Cu, and Zn, which have had limited statistical accuracy in SEPs in the past. The measured SEP abundances are compared with other sources of solar-system composition data