Interpretation of Flat Energy Spectra Upstream of Fast Interplanetary Shocks

Interplanetary shocks are large-scale heliospheric structures often caused by eruptive phenomena at the Sun, and represent one of the main sources of energetic particles. Several interplanetary (IP) shock crossings by spacecraft at 1 au have revealed enhanced energetic-ion fluxes that extend far upstream of the shock. Surprisingly, in some shock events ion fluxes with energies between 100 keV and about 2 MeV acquire similar values (which we refer to as “overlapped” fluxes), corresponding to flat energy spectra in that range. In contrast, closer to the shock the fluxes are observed to depend on energy. In this work, we analyze three IP-shock-related energetic particle events observed by the Advanced Composition Explorer spacecraft where flat ion energy spectra were observed upstream of the shock. We interpret these observations via a velocity-filter mechanism for particles in a given energy range. In particular, ions with velocity parallel to the local magnetic field larger than the speed of the upstream plasma, in the reference frame of the shock, can easily propagate back upstream, while lower-energy ions tend to be confined to the shock front, thus reducing their fluxes far upstream and giving rise to flat energy spectra. The velocity-filter mechanism has been corroborated from observations of particle flux anisotropy by the Solid-State Telescope of Wind/3DP.