Browsing by Author "Parashar, T. N."
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Item Cosmic-Ray Diffusion Coefficients throughout the Inner Heliosphere from a Global Solar Wind Simulation(IOP, 2017-06-16) Chhiber, R.; Subedi, P.; Usmanov, A. V.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Ruffolo, D.; Goldstein, Melvyn; Parashar, T. N.We use a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the solar wind to calculate cosmic-ray diffusion coefficients throughout the inner heliosphere (2R⊙ - 3au). The simulation resolves large-scale solar wind flow, which is coupled to small-scale fluctuations through a turbulence model. Simulation results specify background solar wind fields and turbulence parameters, which are used to compute diffusion coefficients and study their behavior in the inner heliosphere. The parallel mean free path (mfp) is evaluated using quasi-linear theory, while the perpendicular mfp is determined from nonlinear guiding center theory with the random ballistic interpretation. Several runs examine varying turbulent energy and different solar source dipole tilts. We find that for most of the inner heliosphere, the radial mfp is dominated by diffusion parallel to the mean magnetic field; the parallel mfp remains at least an order of magnitude larger than the perpendicular mfp, except in the heliospheric current sheet, where the perpendicular mfp may be a few times larger than the parallel mfp. In the ecliptic region, the perpendicular mfp may influence the radial mfp at heliocentric distances larger than 1.5 au; our estimations of the parallel mfp in the ecliptic region at 1 au agree well with the Palmer "consensus" range of 0.08–0.3 au. Solar activity increases perpendicular diffusion and reduces parallel diffusion. The parallel mfp mostly varies with rigidity (P) as P.³³ and the perpendicular mfp is weakly dependent on P. The mfps are weakly influenced by the choice of long-wavelength power spectra.Item Measures of Scale-dependent Alfvénicity in the First PSP Solar Encounter(AAS, 2020-02-03) Parashar, T. N.; Goldstein, Melvyn; Maruca, B. A.; Matthaeus, W. H.; et alThe solar wind shows periods of highly Alfvénic activity, where velocity fluctuations and magnetic fluctuations are aligned or antialigned with each other. It is generally agreed that solar wind plasma velocity and magnetic field fluctuations observed by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) during the first encounter are mostly highly Alfvénic. However, quantitative measures of Alfvénicity are needed to understand how the characterization of these fluctuations compares with standard measures from prior missions in the inner and outer heliosphere, in fast wind and slow wind, and at high and low latitudes. To investigate this issue, we employ several measures to quantify the extent of Alfvénicity—the Alfvén ratio rA, the normalized cross helicity σc, the normalized residual energy σr, and the cosine of angle between velocity and magnetic fluctuations $\cos {\theta }_{{vb}}$. We show that despite the overall impression that the Alfvénicity is large in the solar wind sampled by PSP during the first encounter, during some intervals the cross helicity starts decreasing at very large scales. These length scales (often >1000di) are well inside inertial range, and therefore, the suppression of cross helicity at these scales cannot be attributed to kinetic physics. This drop at large scales could potentially be explained by large scale shears present in the inner heliosphere sampled by PSP. In some cases, despite the cross helicity being constant down to the noise floor, the residual energy decreases with scale in the inertial range. These results suggest that it is important to consider all these measures to quantify Alfvénicity.Item Observations of Energetic-particle Population Enhancements along Intermittent Structures near the Sun from the Parker Solar Probe(AAS, 2020-02-03) Bandyopadhyay, Riddhi; Matthaeus, W. H.; Parashar, T. N.; Chhiber, R.; Goldstein, Melvyn; et alObservations at 1 au have confirmed that enhancements in measured energetic-particle (EP) fluxes are statistically associated with "rough" magnetic fields, i.e., fields with atypically large spatial derivatives or increments, as measured by the Partial Variance of Increments (PVI) method. One way to interpret this observation is as an association of the EPs with trapping or channeling within magnetic flux tubes, possibly near their boundaries. However, it remains unclear whether this association is a transport or local effect; i.e., the particles might have been energized at a distant location, perhaps by shocks or reconnection, or they might experience local energization or re-acceleration. The Parker Solar Probe (PSP), even in its first two orbits, offers a unique opportunity to study this statistical correlation closer to the corona. As a first step, we analyze the separate correlation properties of the EPs measured by the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS) instruments during the first solar encounter. The distribution of time intervals between a specific type of event, i.e., the waiting time, can indicate the nature of the underlying process. We find that the IS⊙IS observations show a power-law distribution of waiting times, indicating a correlated (non-Poisson) distribution. Analysis of low-energy (∼15 – 200 keV/nuc) IS⊙IS data suggests that the results are consistent with the 1 au studies, although we find hints of some unexpected behavior. A more complete understanding of these statistical distributions will provide valuable insights into the origin and propagation of solar EPs, a picture that should become clear with future PSP orbits.Item Observations of Heating along Intermittent Structures in the Inner Heliosphere from PSP Data(AAS, 2020-02-03) Qudsi, R. A.; Maruca, B. A.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Parashar, T. N.; Goldstein, Melvyn; et alThe solar wind proton temperature at 1 au has been found to be correlated with small-scale intermittent magnetic structures, i.e., regions with enhanced temperature are associated with coherent structures, such as current sheets. Using Parker Solar Probe data from the first encounter, we study this association using measurements of the radial proton temperature, employing the partial variance of increments (PVI) technique to identify intermittent magnetic structures. We observe that the probability density functions of high PVI events have higher median temperatures than those with lower PVI. The regions in space where PVI peaks were also locations that had enhanced temperatures when compared with similar regions, suggesting a heating mechanism in the young solar wind that is associated with intermittency developed by a nonlinear turbulent cascade in the immediate vicinity.Item Shear-Driven Transition to Isotropically Turbulent Solar Wind Outside the Alfv´en Critical Zone(AAS, 2020-09-15) Ruffolo, D.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Chhiber, R.; Usmanov, A. V.; Yang, Y.; Bandyopadhyay, R.; Parashar, T. N.; Goldstein, Melvyn; DeForest, C. E.; Wan, M.; Chasapis, A.; Maruca, B. A.; Velli, M.; Kasper, J. C.Motivated by prior remote observations of a transition from striated solar coronal structures to more isotropic ``flocculated'' fluctuations, we propose that the dynamics of the inner solar wind just outside the Alfvén critical zone, and in the vicinity of the first β=1 surface, is powered by the relative velocities of adjacent coronal magnetic flux tubes. We suggest that large amplitude flow contrasts are magnetically constrained at lower altitude but shear-driven dynamics are triggered as such constraints are released above the Alfvén critical zone, as suggested by global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations that include self-consistent turbulence transport. We argue that this dynamical evolution accounts for features observed by {\it Parker Solar Probe} ({\it PSP}) near initial perihelia, including magnetic ``switchbacks'', and large transverse velocities that are partially corotational and saturate near the local Alfvén speed. Large-scale magnetic increments are more longitudinal than latitudinal, a state unlikely to originate in or below the lower corona. We attribute this to preferentially longitudinal velocity shear from varying degrees of corotation. Supporting evidence includes comparison with a high Mach number three-dimensional compressible MHD simulation of nonlinear shear-driven turbulence, reproducing several observed diagnostics, including characteristic distributions of fluctuations that are qualitatively similar to {\it PSP} observations near the first perihelion. The concurrence of evidence from remote sensing observations, {\it in situ} measurements, and both global and local simulations supports the idea that the dynamics just above the Alfvén critical zone boost low-frequency plasma turbulence to the level routinely observed throughout the explored solar system.