Troitskaya-Bolshakova effect as a manifestation of the solar wind wave turbulence

Abstract

The impact of changes in the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) on the amplitude of geomagnetic Pc3 pulsations (the Troitskaya-Bolshakova effect) is demonstrated using observations of several pulsation events. We show that the source of changes in the IMF cone angle is sometimes Alfvén waves propagating in the solar wind. For the analysis, measurements of geomagnetic pulsations at the mid-latitude Uzur magneto-telluric observatory and on three spacecraft outside the bow shock wave were used. The results show that the influence is exerted only by waves with a period of more than 40–60 min in a coordinate system fixed relative to the Earth. The Alfvén turbulence of a higher frequency is incoherent; the oscillations are of a chaotic nature, not coordinated in amplitude and phase either between satellites or with variations in the amplitude of Pc3. In some cases, the modulation of the pulsation amplitude is associated with the passage of the IMF sector boundary. An evaluation of the direction of propagation of Alfvén waves showed that they predominantly propagate from the Sun, but the normal of the wave fronts can deviate from the Sun-Earth line. This is quite consistent with earlier published results. The statistics of the basic properties of the oscillatory structures in the interplanetary medium, which we observed during the observation period, are given.