87 research outputs found
Correcting Parker Solar Probe Electron Measurements for Spacecraft Magnetic and Electric Fields
The spacecraft body of the Parker Solar Probe may interfere with electron measurements in two ways. The first is the presence of several permanent magnets near the Solar Probe Analyzers (SPAN) instruments. The second is the widely varying spacecraft potential. We estimate the effect of these interferences by performing particle tracing simulations on electrons of various energies using a simplified model of the spacecraft potential and measurements of the magnetic fields. From this we can (1) estimate the individual and combined fields of view of the SPANâE instruments, (2) identify regions of phase space that may be highly distorted, and (3) simulate measurements of the velocity distribution function. We compute density, temperature, and bulk velocity moments of the measured distribution functions and find that a correction table derived from the particle tracing results can be incorporated in the computation to greatly decrease the errors caused by the spacecraft potential and magnetic fields. Similar tables could be computed for a wide range of spacecraft potentials and applied during the processing of actual SPAN data.Key PointsSpacecraftâproduced electrostatic and magnetic fields likely interfere with the collection of PSP SPANâE dataThese fields are modeled in order to estimate how electron measurements might be affectedA technique for correcting electron measurements using these results is presentedPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151982/1/jgra55211.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151982/2/jgra55211_am.pd
Multi-point Assessment of the Kinematics of Shocks (MAKOS): A Heliophysics Mission Concept Study
Collisionless shocks are fundamental processes that are ubiquitous in space
plasma physics throughout the Heliosphere and most astrophysical environments.
Earth's bow shock and interplanetary shocks at 1 AU offer the most readily
accessible opportunities to advance our understanding of the nature of
collisionless shocks via fully-instrumented, in situ observations. One major
outstanding question pertains to the energy budget of collisionless shocks,
particularly how exactly collisionless shocks convert incident kinetic bulk
flow energy into thermalization (heating), suprathermal particle acceleration,
and a variety of plasma waves, including nonlinear structures. Furthermore, it
remains unknown how those energy conversion processes change for different
shock orientations (e.g., quasi-parallel vs. quasi-perpendicular) and driving
conditions (upstream Alfv\'enic and fast Mach numbers, plasma beta, etc.).
Required to address these questions are multipoint observations enabling direct
measurement of the necessary plasmas, energetic particles, and electric and
magnetic fields and waves, all simultaneously from upstream, downstream, and at
the shock transition layer with observatory separations at ion to
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) scales. Such a configuration of spacecraft with
specifically-designed instruments has never been available, and this white
paper describes a conceptual mission design -- MAKOS -- to address these
outstanding questions and advance our knowledge of the nature of collisionless
shocks.Comment: White paper submitted to the Decadal Survey for Solar and Space
Physics (Heliophysics) 2024-2033; 9 pages, 3 figures, 5 table
Proton and Alpha Driven Instabilities in an Ion Cyclotron Wave Event
Ion scale wave events or "wave storms" in the solar wind are characterised by
enhancements in magnetic field fluctuations as well as coherent magnetic field
polarisation signatures at or around the local ion cyclotron frequencies. In
this paper we study in detail one such wave event from Parker Solar Probe's
(PSP) fourth encounter, consisting of an initial period of left-handed (LH)
polarisation abruptly transitioning to a strong period of right-handed (RH)
polarisation, accompanied by clear core-beam structure in both the alpha and
proton velocity distribution functions. A linear stability analysis shows that
the LH polarised waves are anti-Sunward propagating Alfv\'en/ion cyclotron
(A/IC) waves primarily driven by a proton cyclotron instability in the proton
core population, and the RH polarised waves are anti-Sunward propagating fast
magnetosonic/whistler (FM/W) waves driven by a firehose-like instability in the
secondary alpha beam population. The abrupt transition from LH to RH is caused
by a drop in the proton core temperature anisotropy. We find very good
agreement between the frequencies and polarisations of the unstable wave modes
as predicted by linear theory and those observed in the magnetic field spectra.
Given the ubiquity of ion scale wave signatures observed by PSP, this work
gives insight into which exact instabilities may be active and mediating energy
transfer in wave-particle interactions in the inner heliosphere, as well as
highlighting the role a secondary alpha population may play as a rarely
considered source of free energy available for producing wave activity
Radial Evolution of Thermal and Suprathermal Electron Populations in the Slow Solar Wind from 0.13 to 0.5 au: Parker Solar Probe Observations
We develop and apply a bespoke fitting routine to a large volume of solar wind electron distribution data measured by Parker Solar Probe (PSP) over its first five orbits, covering radial distances from 0.13 to 0.5 au. We characterise the radial evolution of the electron core, halo and strahl populations in the slow solar wind during these orbits. The fractional densities of these three electron populations provide evidence for the growth of the combined suprathermal halo and strahl populations from 0.13 to 0.17 au. Moreover, the growth in the halo population is not matched by a decrease of the strahl population at these distances, as has been reported for previous observations at distances greater than 0.3 au. We also find that the halo is negligible at small heliocentric distances. The fractional strahl density remains relatively constant ~1% below 0.2 au, suggesting that the rise in the relative halo density is not solely due to the transfer of strahl electrons into the halo
Turbulence Transport Modeling and First Orbit Parker Solar Probe (PSP) Observations
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) achieved its first orbit perihelion on November 6,
2018, reaching a heliocentric distance of about 0.165 au (35.55 R).
Here, we study the evolution of fully developed turbulence associated with the
slow solar wind along the PSP trajectory between 35.55 R and 131.64
R in the outbound direction, comparing observations to a theoretical
turbulence transport model. Several turbulent quantities, such as the
fluctuating kinetic energy and the corresponding correlation length, the
variance of density fluctuations, and the solar wind proton temperature are
determined from the PSP SWEAP plasma data along its trajectory between 35.55
R and 131.64 R. The evolution of the PSP derived turbulent
quantities are compared to the numerical solutions of the nearly incompressible
magnetohydrodynamic (NI MHD) turbulence transport model recently developed by
Zank et al. (2017). We find reasonable agreement between the theoretical and
observed results. On the basis of these comparisons, we derive other
theoretical turbulent quantities, such as the energy in forward and backward
propagating modes, the total turbulent energy, the normalized residual energy
and cross-helicity, the fluctuating magnetic energy, and the correlation
lengths corresponding to forward and backward propagating modes, the residual
energy, and the fluctuating magnetic energy
Testing the Solar Probe Cup, an Instrument Designed to Touch the Sun
Solar Probe Plus will be the first, fastest, and closest mission to the sun, providing the first direct sampling of the sub-Alfvenic corona. The Solar Probe Cup (SPC) is a unique re-imagining of the traditional Faraday Cup design and materials for immersion in this high temperature environment. Sending an instrument of this type into a never-seen particle environment requires extensive characterization prior to launch to establish sufficient measurement accuracy and instrument response. To reach this end, a slew of tests for allowing SPC to see ranges of appropriate ions and electrons, as well as a facility that reproduces solar photon spectra and fluxes for this mission. Having already tested the SPC at flight like temperatures with no significant modification of the noise floor, we recently completed a round of particle testing to see if the deviations in Faraday Cup design fundamentally change the operation of the instrument. Results and implications from these tests will be presented, as well as performance comparisons to cousin instruments such as those on the WIND spacecraft
Electron-driven instabilities in the solar wind
The electrons are an essential particle species in the solar wind. They often exhibit non-equilibrium features in their velocity distribution function. These include temperature anisotropies, tails (kurtosis), and reflectional asymmetries (skewness), which contribute a significant heat flux to the solar wind. If these non-equilibrium features are sufficiently strong, they drive kinetic micro-instabilities. We develop a semi-graphical framework based on the equations of quasi-linear theory to describe electron-driven instabilities in the solar wind. We apply our framework to resonant instabilities driven by temperature anisotropies. These include the electron whistler anisotropy instability
and the propagating electron firehose instability. We then describe resonant instabilities driven by reflectional asymmetries in the electron distribution function. These include the electron/ion-acoustic, kinetic Alfv\'en heat-flux, Langmuir, electron-beam, electron/ion-cyclotron, electron/electron-acoustic, whistler heat-flux, oblique fast-magnetosonic/whistler, lower-hybrid fan, and electron-deficit whistler instability. We briefly comment on non-resonant instabilities driven by electron temperature anisotropies such as the mirror-mode and the non-propagating firehose instability. We conclude our review with a list of open research topics in the field of electron-driven instabilities in the solar wind
The Persistent Mystery of Collisionless Shocks
Collisionless shock waves are one of the main forms of energy conversion in
space plasmas. They can directly or indirectly drive other universal plasma
processes such as magnetic reconnection, turbulence, particle acceleration and
wave phenomena. Collisionless shocks employ a myriad of kinetic plasma
mechanisms to convert the kinetic energy of supersonic flows in space to other
forms of energy (e.g., thermal plasma, energetic particles, or Poynting flux)
in order for the flow to pass an immovable obstacle. The partitioning of energy
downstream of collisionless shocks is not well understood, nor are the
processes which perform energy conversion. While we, as the heliophysics
community, have collected an abundance of observations of the terrestrial bow
shock, instrument and mission-level limitations have made it impossible to
quantify this partition, to establish the physics within the shock layer
responsible for it, and to understand its dependence on upstream conditions.
This paper stresses the need for the first ever spacecraft mission specifically
designed and dedicated to the observation of both the terrestrial bow shock as
well as Interplanetary shocks in the solar wind.Comment: White paper submitted to the Decadal Survey for Solar and Space
Physics (Heliophysics) 2024-2033; 9 pages, 4 figure
Testing the Solar Probe Cup, An Instrument Designed to Touch The Sun
Abstract: Solar Probe Plus will be the first, fastest, and closest mission to the Sun, providing the first direct sampling of the sub-Alfvnic corona. The Solar Probe Cup (SPC) is a unique re-imagining of the traditional Faraday Cup design and materials for immersion in this high temperature environment. Sending an instrument of this type into a never-seen particle environment requires extensive characterization prior to launch to establish sufficient measurement accuracy and instrument response. To reach this end, a slew of tests are created for allowing SPC to see ranges of appropriate ions and electrons, as well as a facility that reproduces solar photon spectra and fluxes for this mission. Having already tested the SPC at flight-like temperatures with no significant modification of the noise floor, we recently completed a round of particle testing to see if the deviations in Faraday Cup design fundamentally change the operation of the instrument. Results and implications from these tests will be presented, as well as performance comparisons to cousin instruments such as those on the WIND spacecraft
Small-scale Magnetic Flux Ropes in the First two Parker Solar Probe Encounters
Small-scale magnetic flux ropes (SFRs) are a type of structures in the solar
wind that possess helical magnetic field lines. In a recent report (Chen & Hu
2020), we presented the radial variations of the properties of SFR from 0.29 to
8 au using in situ measurements from the Helios, ACE/Wind, Ulysses, and Voyager
spacecraft. With the launch of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP), we extend our
previous investigation further into the inner heliosphere. We apply a
Grad-Shafranov-based algorithm to identify SFRs during the first two PSP
encounters. We find that the number of SFRs detected near the Sun is much less
than that at larger radial distances, where magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)
turbulence may act as the local source to produce these structures. The
prevalence of Alfvenic structures significantly suppresses the detection of
SFRs at closer distances. We compare the SFR event list with other event
identification methods, yielding a dozen well-matched events. The cross-section
maps of two selected events confirm the cylindrical magnetic flux rope
configuration. The power-law relation between the SFR magnetic field and
heliocentric distances seems to hold down to 0.16 au.Comment: Accepted by ApJ on 2020 Sep 1
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