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Solar Energetic Particles (SEP) events are interesting from a scientific perspective as they are the product of a broad set of physical processes from the corona out through the extent of the heliosphere, and provide insight into processes of particle acceleration and transport that are widely applicable in astrophysics. From the operations perspective, SEP events pose a radiation hazard for aviation, electronics in space, and human space exploration, in particular for missions outside of the Earth’s protective magnetosphere including to the Moon and Mars. Thus, it is critical to imific understanding of SEP events and use this understanding to develop and improve SEP forecasting capabilities to support operations. Many SEP models exist or are in development using a wide variety of approaches and with differing goals. These include computationally intensive physics-based models, fast and light empirical models, machine learning-based models, and mixed-model approaches. The aim of this paper is to summarize all of the SEP models currently developed in the scientific community, including a description of model approach, inputs and outputs, free parameters, and any published validations or comparisons with data.

The solar wind (SW) and local interstellar medium (LISM) are turbulent media. Their interaction is governed by complex physical processes and creates heliospheric regions with significantly different properties in terms of particle populations, bulk flow and turbulence. Our knowledge of the solar wind turbulence \nature and dynamics mostly relies on near-Earth and near-Sun observations, and has been increasingly improving in recent years due to the availability of a wealth of space missions, including multi-spacecraft missions. In contrast, the properties of turbulence in the outer heliosphere are still not completely understood. In situ observations by Voyager and New Horizons, and remote neutral atom measurements by IBEX strongly suggest that turbulence is one of the critical processes acting at the heliospheric interface. It is intimately connected to charge exchange processes responsible for the production of suprathermal ions and energetic neutral atoms. This paper reviews the observational evidence of turbulence in the distant SW and in the LISM, advances in modeling efforts, and open challenges., 82 pages, 31 figures. Paper accepted by Space Science Reviews (collection: The Heliosphere in the Local Interstellar Medium: Into the Unknown), and presented at the ISSI Workshop on November 8-12, 2021

Interstellar neutrals (ISNs), pick-up ions (PUIs), and energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) are fundamental constituents of the heliosphere and its interaction with the neighboring interstellar medium. Here, we focus on selected aspects of present-day theory and modeling of these particles. In the last decades, progress in the understanding of the role of PUIs and ENAs for the global heliosphere and its interaction with very local interstellar medium is impressive and still growing. The increasing number of measurements allows for verification and continuing development of the theories and model attempts. We present an overview of various model descriptions of the heliosphere and the processes throughout it including the kinetic, fluid, and hybrid solutions. We also discuss topics in which interplay between theory, models, and interpretation of measurements reveals the complexity of the heliosphere and its understanding. They include model-based interpretation of the ISN, PUI, and ENA measurements conducted from the Earth’s vicinity. In addition, we describe selected processes beyond the Earth’s orbit up to the heliosphere boundary regions, where PUIs significantly contribute to the complex system of the global heliosphere and its interaction with the VLISM.

Although collisional electrostatic shock waves have been investigated extensively via theory, simulations, and experiments, there are comparatively few studies about collisional magnetized shock waves. We investigate collisional magnetized shocks by performing one-dimensional full particle-in-cell simulations that incorporate ion-ion, electron-electron, and ion-electron Coulomb collisions, for perpendicular and quasiparallel shock waves. The effect of Coulomb collisions is to drive a shock wave into a more laminar state. For a perpendicular shock, the magnetic overshoot becomes small because the electron pressure perpendicular to the magnetic field is isotropized and decreases due to electron-electron collisions. For the quasiparallel case, we find that ion-electron collisions severely suppress the standing whistler wave, which is present in the form of large amplitude waves in a collisionless shock wave.

The solar wind measured in situ by Parker Solar Probe in the very inner heliosphere is studied in combination with the remote-sensing observation of the coronal source region provided by the METIS coronagraph aboard Solar Orbiter. The coronal outflows observed near the ecliptic by Metis on 2021 January 17 at 16:30 UT, between 3.5 and 6.3 R ⊙ above the eastern solar limb, can be associated with the streams sampled by PSP at 0.11 and 0.26 au from the Sun, in two time intervals almost 5 days apart. The two plasma flows come from two distinct source regions, characterized by different magnetic field polarity and intensity at the coronal base. It follows that both the global and local properties of the two streams are different. Specifically, the solar wind emanating from the stronger magnetic field region has a lower bulk flux density, as expected, and is in a state of well-developed Alfvénic turbulence, with low intermittency. This is interpreted in terms of slab turbulence in the context of nearly incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. Conversely, the highly intermittent and poorly developed turbulent behavior of the solar wind from the weaker magnetic field region is presumably due to large magnetic deflections most likely attributed to the presence of switchbacks of interchange reconnection origin.

Owing to the ever-present solar wind, our vast solar system is full of plasmas. The turbulent solar wind, together with sporadic solar eruptions, introduces various space plasma processes and phenomena in the solar atmosphere all the way to the Earth's ionosphere and atmosphere and outward to interact with the interstellar media to form the heliopause and termination shock. Remarkable progress has been made in space plasma physics in the last 65 years, mainly due to sophisticated in-situ measurements of plasmas, plasma waves, neutral particles, energetic particles, and dust via space-borne satellite instrumentation. Additionally high technology ground-based instrumentation has led to new and greater knowledge of solar and auroral features. As a result, a new branch of space physics, i.e., space weather, has emerged since many of the space physics processes have a direct or indirect influence on humankind. After briefly reviewing the major space physics discoveries before rockets and satellites, we aim to review all our updated understanding on coronal holes, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which are central to space weather events at Earth, solar wind, storms and substorms, magnetotail and substorms, emphasizing the role of the magnetotail in substorm dynamics, radiation belts/energetic magnetospheric particles, structures and space weather dynamics in the ionosphere, plasma waves, instabilities, and wave-particle interactions, long-period geomagnetic pulsations, auroras, geomagnetically induced currents (GICs), planetary magnetospheres and solar/stellar wind interactions with comets, moons and asteroids, interplanetary discontinuities, shocks and waves, interplanetary dust, space dusty plasmas and solar energetic particles and shocks, including the heliospheric termination shock. This paper is aimed to provide a panoramic view of space physics and space weather., Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (2022)

Aims. An interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) event was observed by the Solar Orbiter at 0.8 AU on 2020 April 19 and by Wind at 1 AU on 2020 April 20. Futhermore, an interplanetary shock wave was driven in front of the ICME. Here, we focus on the transmission of the magnetic fluctuations across the shock and we analyze the characteristic wave modes of solar wind turbulence in the vicinity of the shock observed by both spacecraft. Methods. The observed ICME event is characterized by a magnetic helicity-based technique. The ICME-driven shock normal was determined by magnetic coplanarity method for the Solar Orbiter and using a mixed plasma and field approach for Wind. The power spectra of magnetic field fluctuations were generated by applying both a fast Fourier transform and Morlet wavelet analysis. To understand the nature of waves observed near the shock, we used the normalized magnetic helicity as a diagnostic parameter. The wavelet-reconstructed magnetic field fluctuation hodograms were used to further study the polarization properties of waves. Results. We find that the ICME-driven shock observed by Solar Orbiter and Wind is a fast, forward oblique shock with a more perpendicular shock angle at the Wind position. After the shock crossing, the magnetic field fluctuation power increases. Most of the magnetic field fluctuation power resides in the transverse fluctuations. In the vicinity of the shock, both spacecraft observe right-hand polarized waves in the spacecraft frame. The upstream wave signatures fall within a relatively broad and low frequency band, which might be attributed to low frequency MHD waves excited by the streaming particles. For the downstream magnetic wave activity, we find oblique kinetic Alfvén waves with frequencies near the proton cyclotron frequency in the spacecraft frame. The frequency of the downstream waves increases by a factor of ∼7–10 due to the shock compression and the Doppler effect.

A detailed study of solar wind turbulence throughout the heliosphere in both the upwind and downwind directions is presented. We use an incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence model that includes the effects of electrons, the separation of turbulence energy into proton and electron heating, the electron heat flux, and Coulomb collisions between protons and electrons. We derive expressions for the turbulence cascade rate corresponding to the energy in forward and backward propagating modes, the fluctuating kinetic and magnetic energy, the normalized cross-helicity, and the normalized residual energy, and calculate the turbulence cascade rate from 0.17 to 75 au in the upwind and downwind directions. Finally, we use the turbulence transport models to derive cosmic ray (CR) parallel and perpendicular mean free paths (mfps) in the upwind and downwind heliocentric directions. We find that turbulence in the upwind and downwind directions is different, in part because of the asymmetric distribution of new born pickup ions in the two directions, which results in the CR mfps being different in the two directions. This is important for models that describe the modulation of cosmic rays by the solar wind.

This letter exploits the radial alignment between the Parker Solar Probe and BepiColombo in late 2022 February, when both spacecraft were within Mercury’s orbit. This allows the study of the turbulent evolution, namely, the change in spectral and intermittency properties, of the same plasma parcel during its expansion from 0.11 to 0.33 au, a still unexplored region. The observational analysis of the solar wind turbulent features at the two different evolution stages is complemented by a theoretical description based on the turbulence transport model equations for nearly incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. The results provide strong evidence that the solar wind turbulence already undergoes significant evolution at distances less than 0.3 au from the Sun, which can be satisfactorily explained as due to evolving slab fluctuations. This work represents a step forward in understanding the processes that control the transition from weak to strong turbulence in the solar wind and in properly modeling the heliosphere.

International audience; The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft obtained unprecedented high-time resolution multipoint particle and field measurements of an interplanetary shock event on 8 January 2018. The spacecraft encountered the supercritical forward shock of a forward/reverse shock pair in the pristine solar wind upstream of the bow shock near the subsolar point as they neared apogee at 25 RE. The high-time resolution measurements from the four spacecraft, separated by only 20 km, allowed direct measurement of particle distributions revealing evidence of electron heating and near specularly reflected ions. The cross-shock potential is calculated directly from 3-D electric field measurements. This is the first reported direct high temporal resolution (

The first radial alignment between Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter spacecraft is used to investigate the evolution of solar wind turbulence in the inner heliosphere. Assuming ballistic propagation, two 1.5 hr intervals are tentatively identified as providing measurements of the same plasma parcels traveling from 0.1 to 1 au. Using magnetic field measurements from both spacecraft, the properties of turbulence in the two intervals are assessed. Magnetic spectral density, flatness, and high-order moment scaling laws are calculated. The Hilbert–Huang transform is additionally used to mitigate short sample and poor stationarity effects. Results show that the plasma evolves from a highly Alfvénic, less-developed turbulence state near the Sun, to fully developed and intermittent turbulence at 1 au. These observations provide strong evidence for the radial evolution of solar wind turbulence.

Recent studies of unusual or atypical energetic particle flux events (AEPEs) observed at 1 au show that another mechanism, different from diffusive shock acceleration, can energize particles locally in the solar wind. The mechanism proposed by Zank et al. is based on the stochastic energization of charged particles in regions filled with numerous small-scale magnetic islands (SMIs) dynamically contracting or merging and experiencing multiple magnetic reconnection in the super-Alfvénic solar wind flow. A first- and second-order Fermi mechanism results from compression-induced changes in the shape of SMIs and their developing dynamics. Charged particles can also be accelerated by the formation of antireconnection electric fields. Observations show that both processes often coexist in the solar wind. The occurrence of SMIs depends on the presence of strong current sheets like the heliospheric current sheet (HCS), and related AEPEs are found to occur within magnetic cavities formed by stream–stream, stream–HCS, or HCS–shock interactions that are filled with SMIs. Previous case studies comparing observations with theoretical predictions were qualitative. Here we present quantitative theoretical predictions of AEPEs based on several events, including a detailed analysis of the corresponding observations. The study illustrates the necessity of accounting for local processes of particle acceleration in the solar wind.

Aims. Solar Orbiter (SolO) was launched on February 9, 2020, allowing us to study the nature of turbulence in the inner heliopshere. We investigate the evolution of anisotropic turbulence in the fast and slow solar wind in the inner heliosphere using the nearly incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (NI MHD) turbulence model and SolO measurements. Methods. We calculated the two dimensional (2D) and the slab variances of the energy in forward and backward propagating modes, the fluctuating magnetic energy, the fluctuating kinetic energy, the normalized residual energy, and the normalized cross-helicity as a function of the angle between the mean solar wind speed and the mean magnetic field (θUB), and as a function of the heliocentric distance using SolO measurements. We compared the observed results and the theoretical results of the NI MHD turbulence model as a function of the heliocentric distance. Results. The results show that the ratio of 2D energy and slab energy of forward and backward propagating modes, magnetic field fluctuations, and kinetic energy fluctuations increases as the angle between the mean solar wind flow and the mean magnetic field increases from θUB = 0° to approximately θUB = 90° and then decreases as θUB → 180°. We find that solar wind turbulence is a superposition of the dominant 2D component and a minority slab component as a function of the heliocentric distance. We find excellent agreement between the theoretical results and observed results as a function of the heliocentric distance.

Energetic neutral atom (ENA) models typically require post-processing routines to convert the distributions of plasma and H atoms into ENA maps. Here we investigate how two different kinetic-MHD models of the heliosphere (the BU and Moscow models) manifest in modeled ENA maps using the same prescription and how they compare with Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) observations. Both MHD models treat the solar wind as a single-ion plasma for protons, which include thermal solar wind ions, pick-up ions (PUIs), and electrons. Our ENA prescription partitions the plasma into three distinct ion populations (thermal solar wind, PUIs transmitted and ones energized at the termination shock) and models the populations with Maxwellian distributions. Both kinetic-MHD heliospheric models produce a heliotail with heliosheath plasma organized by the solar magnetic field into two distinct north and south columns that become lobes of high mass flux flowing down the heliotail, though in the BU model the ISM flows between the two lobes at distances in the heliotail larger than 300 AU. While our prescription produces similar ENA maps for the two different plasma and H atom solutions at the IBEX-Hi energy range (0.5 - 6 keV), the modeled ENA maps require a scaling factor of ~2 to be in agreement with the data. This problem is present in other ENA models with the Maxwellian approximation of multiple ion species and indicates that a higher neutral density or some acceleration of PUIs in the heliosheath is required., Comment: 29 pages, 3 tables, 9 figures, accepted to ApJ

Density irregularities are responsible for the scattering of radio waves in the solar wind and astrophysical plasmas. These irregularities significantly affect the inferred physical properties of radio sources, such as size, direction, and intensity. We present here a theory of angular broadening due to the scattering of radio waves by density irregularities that improves the existing formalism used to investigate radio wave scattering in the outer heliosphere and the very local interstellar medium. The model includes an inner scale and both latitudinal and radial dependencies for the density fluctuation spectra and propagation paths for the radiation both near and out of the ecliptic plane. Based on the pickup-ion-mediated solar wind model (PUI model) of Zank et al., we estimate the turbulence and solar wind quantities for the high-latitude fast solar wind. The predictions include the density variance, inner/dissipation scale, velocity correlation length, mean magnetic field, and proton temperature. The density turbulence amplitude is estimated in two ways. First, a simple scaling technique is used to extend the theoretical predictions of the PUI model for the high-latitude wind beyond the heliospheric termination shock. Second, the solar wind and turbulence quantities are calculated near the ecliptic plane using plasma and magnetometer data from the Voyager 2 spacecraft over the period 1977–2018. Based on the turbulence models and observations, we calculate the scattering angle of the radio sources in the high-latitude and near-ecliptic wind. Finally, we compare the numerical results with the analytic predictions from Cairns and Armstrong et al. and the observed source sizes.

We investigate kinetic entropy-based measures of the non-Maxwellianity of distribution functions in plasmas, i.e., entropy-based measures of the departure of a local distribution function from an associated Maxwellian distribution function with the same density, bulk flow, and temperature as the local distribution. First, we consider a form previously employed by Kaufmann and Paterson [{\it J.~Geophys.~Res.,} {\bf 114}, A00D04 (2009)], assessing its properties and deriving equivalent forms. To provide a quantitative understanding of it, we derive analytical expressions for three common non-Maxwellian plasma distribution functions. We show that there are undesirable features of this non-Maxwellianity measure including that it can diverge in various physical limits and elucidate the reason for the divergence. We then introduce a new kinetic entropy-based non-Maxwellianity measure based on the velocity-space kinetic entropy density, which has a meaningful physical interpretation and does not diverge. We use collisionless particle-in-cell simulations of two-dimensional anti-parallel magnetic reconnection to assess the kinetic entropy-based non-Maxwellianity measures. We show that regions of non-zero non-Maxwellianity are linked to kinetic processes occurring during magnetic reconnection. We also show the simulated non-Maxwellianity agrees reasonably well with predictions for distributions resembling those calculated analytically. These results can be important for applications, as non-Maxwellianity can be used to identify regions of kinetic-scale physics or increased dissipation in plasmas., Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures

Recent studies of particle acceleration in the heliosphere have revealed a new mechanism that can locally energize particles up to several MeV/nuc. Stream-stream interactions as well as the heliospheric current sheet – stream interactions lead to formation of large magnetic cavities, bordered by strong current sheets (CSs), which in turn produce secondary CSs and dynamical small-scale magnetic islands (SMIs) of ~0.01AU or less owing to magnetic reconnection. It has been shown that particle acceleration or re-acceleration occurs via stochastic magnetic reconnection in dynamical SMIs confined inside magnetic cavities observed at 1 AU. The study links the occurrence of CSs and SMIs with characteristics of intermittent turbulence and observations of energetic particles of keV-MeV/nuc energies at ~5.3 AU. We analyze selected samples of different plasmas observed by Ulysses during a widely discussed event, which was characterized by a series of high-speed streams of various origins that interacted beyond the Earth’s orbit in January 2005. The interactions formed complex conglomerates of merged interplanetary coronal mass ejections, stream/corotating interaction regions and magnetic cavities. We study properties of turbulence and associated structures of various scales. We confirm the importance of intermittent turbulence and magnetic reconnection in modulating solar energetic particle flux and even local particle acceleration. Coherent structures, including CSs and SMIs, play a significant role in the development of secondary stochastic particle acceleration, which changes the observed energetic particle flux time-intensity profiles and increases the final energy level to which energetic particles can be accelerated in the solar wind.

International audience; The magnetometer instrument on the Solar Orbiter mission is designed to measure the magnetic field local to the spacecraft continuously for the entire mission duration. The need to characterise not only the background magnetic field but also its variations on scales from far above to well below the proton gyroscale result in challenging requirements on stability, precision, and noise, as well as magnetic and operational limitations on both the spacecraft and other instruments. The challenging vibration and thermal environment has led to significant development of the mechanical sensor design. The overall instrument design, performance, data products, and operational strategy are described.

An observation-based Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) spectral model for heavy nuclei is developed. Zhao and Qin [J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 118, 1837 (2013)] proposed an empirical elemental GCR spectra model for nuclear charge 5 ≤ z ≤ 28 over the energy range ~30 to 500 MeV/nuc, which is proved to be successful in predicting yearly averaged GCR heavy nuclei spectra. Based on the latest highly statistically precise measurements from ACE/CRIS, a further elemental GCR model with monthly averaged spectra is presented. The model can reproduce the past and predict the future GCR intensity monthly by correlating model parameters with the continuous sunspot number (SSN) record. The effects of solar activity on GCR modulation are considered separately for odd and even solar cycles. Compared with other comprehensive GCR models, our modeling results are satisfyingly consistent with the GCR spectral measurements from ACE/SIS and IMP-8, and have comparable prediction accuracy as the Badhwar & O’Neill 2014 model. A detailed error analysis is also provided. Finally, the GCR carbon and iron nuclei fluxes for the subsequent two solar cycles (SC 25 and 26) are predicted and they show a potential trend in reduced flux amplitude, which is suspected to be relevant to possible weak solar cycles.

Context. Aims. We systematically search for magnetic flux rope structures in the solar wind to within the closest distance to the Sun of ~0.13 AU, using data from the third and fourth orbits of the Parker Solar Probe. Methods. We extended our previous magnetic helicity-based technique of identifying magnetic flux rope structures. The method was improved upon to incorporate the azimuthal flow, which becomes larger as the spacecraft approaches the Sun. Results. A total of 21 and 34 magnetic flux ropes are identified during the third (21-day period) and fourth (17-day period) orbits of the Parker Solar Probe, respectively. We provide a statistical analysis of the identified structures, including their relation to the streamer belt and heliospheric current sheet crossing.

The statistical properties of fast Alfv&eacute, nic solar wind turbulence have been analyzed by means of empirical mode decomposition and the associated Hilbert spectral analysis. The stringent criteria employed for the data selection in the Wind spacecraft database, has made possible to sample multiple k‖ field-aligned intervals of the three magnetic field components. The results suggest that the spectral anisotropy predicted by the critical balance theory is not observed in the selected database, whereas a Kolmogorov-like scaling (E(k‖)&sim, k&minus, 5/3) and a weak or absent level of intermittency are robust characteristics of the Alfv&eacute, nic slab component of solar wind turbulence.

A shock tube problem is solved numerically by using one-dimensional full particle-in-cell simulations under the condition that a relatively tenuous and weakly magnetized plasma is continuously pushed by a relatively dense and strongly magnetized plasma having supersonic relative velocity. A forward and a reverse shock and a contact discontinuity are self-consistently reproduced. The spatial width of the contact discontinuity increases as the angle between the discontinuity normal and ambient magnetic field decreases. The inner structure of the discontinuity shows different profiles between magnetic field and plasma density, or pressure, which is caused by a non-MHD effect of the local plasma. The region between the two shocks is turbulent. The fluctuations in the relatively dense plasma are compressible and propagating away from the contact discontinuity, although the fluctuations in the relatively tenuous plasma contain both compressible and incompressible components. The source of the compressible fluctuations in the relatively dense plasma is in the relatively tenuous plasma. Only compressible fast mode fluctuations generated in the relatively tenuous plasma are transmitted through the contact discontinuity and propagate in the relatively dense plasma. These fast mode fluctuations are steepened when passing the contact discontinuity. This wave steepening and probably other effects may cause the broadening of the wave spectrum in the very local interstellar medium plasma. The results are discussed in the context of the heliospheric boundary region or heliopause., Comment: 14 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ