On the Source of Periodic Solar Wind Number Density Structures Using the Alpha to Proton Abundance Ratio

Details On the Source of Periodic Solar Wind Number Density Structures Using the Alpha to Proton Abundance Ratio On the Source of Periodic Solar Wind Number Density Structures Using the Alpha to Proton Abundance Ratio

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufmsh21a1573v&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #SH21A-1573

Other

2164 Solar Wind Plasma, 2169 Solar Wind Sources, 2199 General Or Miscellaneous, 3255 Spectral Analysis (3205, 3280)

Scientific paper

Solar wind elemental abundance ratios provide information regarding the source region of the solar wind plasma because they are not modified by propagation. We present an analysis of the alpha to proton abundance ratio during periods in the solar wind with significant long wavelength number density fluctuations. We discuss the implications of the abundance ratio variations on possible source regions of those periodic solar wind number density structures. In a recent study using 11 years (1995-2005) of solar wind number density observations taken on the Wind spacecraft, we analyzed the radial length-scales of periodic number density structures. We performed Fourier analysis on short (approximately equal to six hours) data windows and determined the wavelength (length-scale) of the number density structures. We found that particular length-scales occurred more often than others in the solar wind number density during those eleven years. For the slow wind, the most significant length-scales are approximately 73, 120, 136 and 180 Mm. For the fast wind, the most significant length-scales are approximately 187, 270 and 400 Mm. The outstanding question is the source of these periodic density structures. Using the alpha to proton abundance ratio during periodic solar wind number density events, we address whether periodic density structures are generated in the local interplanetary medium, or if they are more probably generated somewhere near the solar surface or solar corona, frozen into the solar wind, and convected out to Earth.

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