Vector velocity profiles of the solar wind within expanding magnetic clouds at 1 AU: Some surprises

Details Vector velocity profiles of the solar wind within expanding magnetic clouds at 1 AU: Some surprises Vector velocity profiles of the solar wind within expanding magnetic clouds at 1 AU: Some surprises

Dec 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufmsh21a0513w&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #SH21A-0513

Physics

2111 Ejecta, Driver Gases, And Magnetic Clouds, 2134 Interplanetary Magnetic Fields, 2139 Interplanetary Shocks, 2149 Mhd Waves And Turbulence

Scientific paper

We investigated the average vector velocity profile of 36 carefully chosen WIND interplanetary magnetic clouds occurring over about a 7 year period since spacecraft launch, to see if a differential pattern of solar wind flow exists. Particular cases were chosen of clouds whose axes were generally within 45 degrees of the ecliptic plane and of relatively well determined characteristics obtained from cloud-parameter (cylindrically symmetric force free) fitting. This study was motivated by the desire to understand the manner in which magnetic clouds expand, a well know phenomenon revealed by most cloud speed-profiles at 1 AU. One unexpected and major result was that, even though cloud expansion was confirmed, it was primarily along the Xgse axis; i.e., neither the Ygse or Zgse velocity components reveal any noteworthy pattern. After splitting the full set of clouds into a north-passing set (spacecraft passing above the cloud, where Nn = 21) and south-passing set (Ns = 15), to study the plasma expansion of the clouds with respect to the position of the observer, it was seen that the Xgse component of velocity differs for these two sets in a rather uniform and measurable way for most of the average cloud's extent. This does not appear to be the case for the Ygse or Zgse velocity components where little measurable differences exists, and clearly no pattern, across the average cloud between the north and south positions. It is not clear why such a remarkably non-axisymmetric plasma flow pattern within the "average magnetic cloud" at 1 AU should exist. The study continues from the perspective of magnetic cloud coordinate representation. ~ ~ ~

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