Initiation and Evolution of Corotating Interaction Regions

Physics – Plasma Physics

Scientific paper

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[7524] Solar Physics, Astrophysics, And Astronomy / Magnetic Fields, [7800] Space Plasma Physics, [7851] Space Plasma Physics / Shock Waves, [7900] Space Weather

Scientific paper

A corotating interaction region (CIR), formed when a fast stream overtakes a preceding slow stream, is the predominant large-scale solar wind structure during the solar minimum. Using the in situ plasma and magnetic field measurement, we have surveyed more than 100 CIRs at 1 AU during 2007 - 2009. About 30% of them drive interplanetary shocks, sometimes pairs of forward-reverse shocks. Approximately 60% of the CIRs are associated with IMF sector boundary crossings, not much different from the solar-cycle average sector-boundary association rate for CIRs. During the 3 years in the heliocentric orbit, the twin STEREO spacecraft moved gradually apart reaching a longitudinal separation of 120o. Meanwhile, MESSENGER, Venus Express, and Ulysses spacecraft had multiple conjunctions with the 1 AU spacecraft (Wind/ACE, STEREO A/B). From the over 100 CIRs, we have chosen a few events for further study as representative cases. These include examples when the solar background is different, when the CIR features are different, and when the spacecraft are separated in different configurations. We study the coronal and solar wind observations in detail and compare them with the coronal and heliospheric model results obtained from the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) and the Predictive Science Inc., to examine the various source regions of the fast/slow wind, and to investigate the CIRs' formation and evolution in the inner heliosphere, including how they drive shocks and interact with the IMF sector boundary.

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