Characteristics of the Solar Wind in the Vicinity of Jupiter and its Impact on the Jovian Magnetopause Location

Mathematics – Probability

Scientific paper

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2162 Solar Cycle Variations (7536), 2164 Solar Wind Plasma, 2724 Magnetopause, Cusp, And Boundary Layers, 2784 Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Interactions

Scientific paper

We have previously reported that the jovian magnetopause location is described by a bimodal probability density function (Joy et al., 2000). Here we present our analysis of the solar wind characteristics in the vicinity of Jupiter that give rise to the observed bimodal distribution. Hourly samples of solar wind and IMF parameters, within 0.25 AU of Jupiter, obtained from the Coordinated Heliospheric Observations (COHO) database are analyzed and their statistical distributions are discussed. Data are separated into disturbed (CIR) regions, quiet regions (between CIRs), and by solar cycle phase. For many parameters (B, density, dynamic pressure, Mach number) the disturbed and quiet solar winds have clearly distinct and separate statistical distributions. The IMF strength varies by a factor of 4-5 between quiet and disturbed regions but varies by less than 20% over the solar cycle. The difference between the mean dynamic pressures in the disturbed versus the quiet solar winds at solar minimum is more than twice the difference observed at solar maximum. Plasma beta at solar minimum is nearly double the values observed during solar maximum while disturbed and quiet regions are within 20% of each other. And finally, the fraction of the solar rotation that is disturbed increases from 33% at solar minimum to 45% at solar maximum. This last result may describe the most significant component of the solar cycle variation with respect to its potential impact on the jovian system boundary locations. With the exception of plasma beta, the differences between the quiet and the disturbed solar wind (factors of 2-5) are more substantial than the differences between solar minimum and maximum (20-50%).

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