We present a technique for deriving the temperature anisotropy of solar wind protons observed by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission in the near-Sun solar wind. The radial proton temperature ...measured by the Solar Wind Electrons, Alphas, and Protons (SWEAP) Solar Probe Cup is compared with the orientation of local magnetic field measured by the FIELDS fluxgate magnetometer, and the proton temperatures parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field are extracted. This procedure is applied to different data products, and the results are compared and optimum timescales for data selection and trends in the uncertainty in the method are identified. We find that the moment-based proton temperature anisotropy is more physically consistent with the expected limits of the mirror and firehose instabilities, possibly because the nonlinear fits do not capture a significant non-Maxwellian shape to the proton velocity distribution function near the Sun. The proton beam has a small effect on total proton temperature anisotropy owing to its much smaller density relative to the core compared to what was seen by previous spacecraft farther from the Sun. Several radial trends in the temperature components and the variation of the anisotropy with parallel plasma beta are presented. Our results suggest that we may see stronger anisotropic heating as PSP moves closer to the Sun, and that a careful treatment of the shape of the proton distribution may be needed to correctly describe the temperature.
Context.
Recent studies of the solar wind sunward of 0.25 AU reveal that it contains quiescent regions, with low-amplitude plasma and magnetic field fluctuations, and a magnetic field direction ...similar to the Parker spiral. The quiescent regions are thought to have a more direct magnetic connection to the solar corona than other types of solar wind, suggesting that waves or instabilities in the quiescent regions are indicative of the early evolution of the solar wind as it escapes the corona. The quiescent solar wind regions are highly unstable to the formation of plasma waves near the electron cyclotron frequency (
f
ce
).
Aims.
We examine high time resolution observations of these waves in an effort to understand their impact on electron distribution functions of the quiescent near-Sun solar wind.
Methods.
High time resolution waveform captures of near-
f
ce
waves were examined to determine variations of their amplitude and frequency in time as well as their polarization properties.
Results.
We demonstrate that the near-
f
ce
wave intervals contain several distinct wave types, including electron Bernstein waves and extremely narrowband waves that are highly sensitive to the ambient magnetic field orientation. Using the properties of these waves, we suggest possible plasma wave mode classifications and possible instabilities that generate these waves. The results of this analysis indicate that these waves may modify the cold core of the electron distribution functions in the quiescent near-Sun solar wind.
Parker Solar Probe (PSP), NASA's latest and closest mission to the Sun, is on a journey to investigate fundamental enigmas of the inner heliosphere. This paper reports initial observations made by ...the Solar Probe Analyzer for Ions (SPAN-I), one of the instruments in the Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP) instrument suite. We address the presence of secondary proton beams in concert with ion-scale waves observed by FIELDS, the electromagnetic fields instrument suite. We show two events from PSP's 2nd orbit that demonstrate signatures consistent with wave-particle interactions. We showcase 3D velocity distribution functions (VDFs) measured by SPAN-I during times of strong wave power at ion-scales. From an initial instability analysis, we infer that the VDFs departed far enough away from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) to provide sufficient free energy to locally generate waves. These events exemplify the types of instabilities that may be present and, as such, may guide future data analysis characterizing and distinguishing between different wave-particle interactions.
The 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.
We survey the electron heat flux observed by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) in the near-Sun environment at heliocentric distances of 0.125-0.25 AU. We utilized measurements from the Solar Wind ...Electrons Alphas and Protons and FIELDS experiments to compute the solar wind electron heat flux and its components and to place these in context. The PSP observations reveal a number of trends in the electron heat flux signatures near the Sun. The magnitude of the heat flux is anticorrelated with solar wind speed, likely as a result of the lower saturation heat flux in the higher-speed wind. When divided by the saturation heat flux, the resulting normalized net heat flux is anticorrelated with plasma beta on all PSP orbits, which is consistent with the operation of collisionless heat flux regulation mechanisms. The net heat flux also decreases in very high beta regions in the vicinity of the heliospheric current sheet, but in most cases of this type the omnidirectional suprathermal electron flux remains at a comparable level or even increases, seemingly inconsistent with disconnection from the Sun. The measured heat flux values appear inconsistent with regulation primarily by collisional mechanisms near the Sun. Instead, the observed heat flux dependence on plasma beta and the distribution of suprathermal electron parameters are both consistent with theoretical instability thresholds associated with oblique whistler and magnetosonic modes.
Parker Solar Probe's first encounters with the Sun revealed the presence of ubiquitous localised magnetic deflections in the inner heliosphere; these structures, often called switchbacks, are ...particularly striking in solar wind streams originating from coronal holes. We report the direct evidence for magnetic reconnection occuring at the boundaries of three switchbacks crossed by Parker Solar Probe (PSP) at a distance of 45 to 48 solar radii of the Sun during its first encounter. We analyse the magnetic field and plasma parameters from the FIELDS and SWEAP instruments. The three structures analysed all show typical signatures of magnetic reconnection. The ion velocity and magnetic field are first correlated and then anti-correlated at the inbound and outbound edges of the bifurcated current sheets with a central ion flow jet. Most of the reconnection events have a strong guide field and moderate magnetic shear but one current sheet shows indications of quasi anti-parallel reconnection in conjunction with a magnetic field magnitude decrease by \(90\%\). Given the wealth of intense current sheets observed by PSP, reconnection at switchbacks boundaries appears to be rare. However, as the switchback boundaries accomodate currents one can conjecture that the geometry of these boundaries offers favourable conditions for magnetic reconnection to occur. Such a mechanism would thus contribute in reconfiguring the magnetic field of the switchbacks, affecting the dynamics of the solar wind and eventually contributing to the blending of the structures with the regular wind as they propagate away from the Sun.
Treatment of Ru(PPh3)(C6H4PPh2)2HLi(THF)2 with AlMe2Cl and SnMe3Cl leads to elimination of LiCl and CH4 and formation of the heterobimetallic complexes Ru(C6H4PPh2)2{PPh2C6H4AlMe(THF)}H 5 and ...Ru(PPh3)(C6H4PPh2)(PPh2C6H4SnMe2) 6, respectively. The pathways to 5 and 6 have been probed by variable temperature NMR studies, together with input from DFT calculations. Complete reaction of H2 occurs with 5 at 60 °C and with 6 at room temperature to yield the spectroscopically characterized trihydride complexes Ru(PPh2)2{PPh2C6H4AlMe}H3 7 and Ru(PPh2)2{PPh2C6H4SnMe2}H3 8. In the presence of CO, 6 forms the acylated phosphine complex, Ru(CO)2(C(O)C6H4PPh2)(PPh2C6H4SnMe2) 9, through a series of intermediates that were identified by NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with 13CO labeling. Complex 6 undergoes addition and substitution reactions with the N-heterocyclic carbene 1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazol-2-ylidene (IMe4) to give Ru(IMe4)2(PPh2C6H4)(PPh2C6H4SnMe2) 10, which converted via rare N-Me group C–H activation to Ru(IMe4)(PPh3)(IMe4)′(PPh2C6H4SnMe2) 11 upon heating at 60 °C and to a mixture of Ru(IMe4)2(IMe4)′(PPh2C6H4SnMe2) 12 and Ru(PPh3)(PPh2C6H4)(IMe4-SnMe2)′ 13 at 120 °C.
Data from the first two orbits of the Sun by Parker Solar Probe reveal that the solar wind sunward of 50 solar radii is replete with plasma waves and instabilities. One of the most prominent plasma ...wave power enhancements in this region appears near the electron cyclotron frequency (fce). Most of this wave power is concentrated in electric field fluctuations near 0.7 fce and fce, with strong harmonics of both frequencies extending above fce. At least two distinct, often concurrent, wave modes are observed, preliminarily identified as electrostatic whistler-mode waves and electron Bernstein waves. Wave intervals range in duration from a few seconds to hours. Both the amplitudes and number of detections of these near-fce waves increase significantly with decreasing distance to the Sun, suggesting that they play an important role in the evolution of electron populations in the near-Sun solar wind. Correlations are found between the detection of these waves and properties of solar wind electron populations, including electron core drift, implying that these waves play a role in regulating the heat flux carried by solar wind electrons. Observation of these near-fce waves is found to be strongly correlated with near-radial solar wind magnetic field configurations with low levels of magnetic turbulence. A scenario for the growth of these waves is presented, which implies that regions of low-turbulence near-radial magnetic field are a prominent feature of the solar wind structure near the Sun.
A solar energetic particle event was detected by the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS IS) instrument suite on Parker Solar Probe (PSP) on 2019 April 4 when the spacecraft was inside of ...0.17 au and less than 1 day before its second perihelion, providing an opportunity to study solar particle acceleration and transport unprecedentedly close to the source. The event was very small, with peak 1 MeV proton intensities of ∼0.3 particles (cm2 sr s MeV)−1, and was undetectable above background levels at energies above 10 MeV or in particle detectors at 1 au. It was strongly anisotropic, with intensities flowing outward from the Sun up to 30 times greater than those flowing inward persisting throughout the event. Temporal association between particle increases and small brightness surges in the extreme-ultraviolet observed by the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory, which were also accompanied by type III radio emission seen by the Electromagnetic Fields Investigation on PSP, indicates that the source of this event was an active region nearly 80° east of the nominal PSP magnetic footpoint. This suggests that the field lines expanded over a wide longitudinal range between the active region in the photosphere and the corona.
We draw a comparison between a solar energetic particle event associated with the release of a slow coronal mass ejection close to the sun, and the energetic particle population produced in high ...current density field-aligned current structures associated with auroral phenomena in planetary magnetospheres. We suggest that this process is common in CME development and lift-off in the corona, and may account for the electron populations that generate Type III radio bursts, as well as for the prompt energetic ion and electron populations typically observed in interplanetary space.
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