Observations of energetic particles between a pair of corotating interaction regions
- Institute of Space Sciences and School of Space Science and Physics, Shandong University at Weihai, Weihai 264209 (China)
- Department of Space Science and CSPAR, University of Alabama in Huntsville, AL 35899 (United States)
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78228 (United States)
- Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723 (United States)
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse (UPS) and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5277, Toulouse (France)
- Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 (United States)
We report observations of the acceleration and trapping of energetic ions and electrons between a pair of corotating interaction regions (CIRs). The event occurred in Carrington Rotation 2060. Observed by the STEREO-B spacecraft, the two CIRs were separated by less than 5 days. In contrast to other CIR events, the fluxes of the energetic ions and electrons in this event reached their maxima between the trailing edge of the first CIR and the leading edge of the second CIR. The radial magnetic field (B{sub r} ) reversed its sense and the anisotropy of the flux also changed from Sunward to anti-Sunward between the two CIRs. Furthermore, there was an extended period of counterstreaming suprathermal electrons between the two CIRs. Similar observations for this event were also obtained with the Advanced Composition Explorer and STEREO-A. We conjecture that these observations were due to a U-shaped, large-scale magnetic field topology connecting the reverse shock of the first CIR and the forward shock of the second CIR. Such a disconnected U-shaped magnetic field topology may have formed due to magnetic reconnection in the upper corona.
- OSTI ID:
- 22348189
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 781, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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