Abstract
We present results from an analysis of Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) observations of energetic particles in the 0.047-4.78 MeV range associated with shocks and discontinuities in the solar wind. Previous work found a strong correlation between coherent structures and energetic particles measured by ACE/EPAM. Coherent structures are identified using the Partial Variance of Increments (PVI) method, which is essentially a normalized vector increment. The correlation was based on a superposed epoch analysis using over 12 years of data. Here, we examine many individual high-PVI events to better understand this association emphasizing intervals selected from data with shock neighborhoods removed. We find that in many cases the local maximum in PVI is in a region of rising or falling energetic particle intensity, which suggests that magnetic discontinuities may act as barriers inhibiting the motion of energetic particles across them.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 68 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
Volume | 812 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 10 2015 |
Keywords
- acceleration of particles
- magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)
- plasmas
- shock waves
- solar wind
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science