MAGNETIC FLUX DENSITY MEASURED IN FAST AND SLOW SOLAR WIND STREAMS
- Wigner Research Centre for Physics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-1525 Budapest, POB 49 (Hungary)
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ (United Kingdom)
The radial component of the heliospheric magnetic field vector is used to estimate the open magnetic flux density of the Sun. This parameter has been calculated using observations from the Ulysses mission that covered heliolatitudes from 80 Degree-Sign S to 80 Degree-Sign N, from 1990 to 2009 and distances from 1 to 5.4 AU, the Advanced Composition Explorer mission at 1 AU from 1997 to 2010, the OMNI interplanetary database from 1971, and the Helios 1 and 2 missions that covered the distance range from 0.3 to 1 AU. The flux density was found to be much affected by fluctuations in the magnetic field which make its calculated value dependent on heliospheric location, type of solar wind (fast or slow), and the level of solar activity. However, fluctuations are distributed symmetrically perpendicular to the average Parker direction. Therefore, distributions of the field vector in the two-dimensional plane defined by the radial and azimuthal directions in heliospheric coordinates provide a way to reduce the effects of the fluctuations on the measurement of the flux density. This leads to a better defined flux density parameter; the distributions modified by removing the effects of fluctuations then allow a clearer assessment of the dependence of the flux density on heliospheric location, solar wind type, and solar activity. This assessment indicates that the flux density normalized to 1 AU is independent of location and solar wind type (fast or slow). However, there is a residual dependence on solar activity which can be studied using the modified flux density measurements.
- OSTI ID:
- 22039405
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 753, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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