Acceleration Of Solar Energetic Particles Research Articles

An Extreme Ultraviolet Wave Associated with a Solar Filament Activation

Abstract Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) waves are impressive coronal propagating disturbances. They are closely associated with various eruptions and can be used for global coronal seismology and the acceleration of solar energetic particles. Hence, the study of EUV waves plays an important role in solar eruptions and space weather. Here we present an EUV wave associated with a filament activation that did not evolve into any eruption. Due to the continuous magnetic flux emergence and cancellation around its one end, the filament rose with untwisting motion, and the filament mass flowed toward another end along the rising fields. Intriguingly, following the filament activation, an EUV wave formed with a fast constant speed (∼500 km s−1) ahead of the mass flow, and the overlying coronal loops expanded in both lateral and radial directions. Excluding the possibility of a remote flare and an absent coronal mass ejection, we suggest that the EUV wave was only closely associated with the filament activation. Furthermore, their intimate spatial and temporal relationship indicates that the EUV wave was likely directly triggered by the lateral expansion of overlying loops. We propose that the EUV wave can be interpreted as a linear fast-mode wave, and the most vital key for the successful generation of the EUV wave is the impulsive early phase lateral expansion of overlying loops that was driven by the activated filament mass flow without any eruption.

3He-rich Solar Energetic Particle Observations at the Parker Solar Probe and near Earth

Abstract The Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS) instrument suite on the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft is making in situ observations of energetic ions and electrons closer to the Sun than any previous mission. Using data collected during its first two orbits, which reached perihelion distances of 0.17 au, we have searched for -rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events under very quiet solar minimum conditions. On 2019-110–111 (April 20–21), -rich SEPs were observed at energies near 1 MeV nucleon–1 in association with energetic protons, heavy ions, and electrons. This activity was also detected by the Ultra-Low-Energy Isotope Spectrometer and the Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor instruments on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft located near Earth, 0.99 au from the Sun. At that time, PSP and ACE were both magnetically connected to locations near the west limb of the Sun. Remote sensing measurements showed the presence of type III radio bursts and also helical jets from this region of the Sun. This combination of observations is commonly associated with -rich SEP acceleration on the Sun. AR 12738, which was located at Carrington coordinates from which numerous X-ray flares were observed over a period of more than 6 months, was identified as the source of the -rich events. This region was also the source of several other SEP events detected at PSP or ACE. Aside from the period in 2019 April, IS⊙IS did not observe any other -rich SEPs during orbits 1 and 2.

Element Abundances of Solar Energetic Particles and the Photosphere, the Corona, and the Solar Wind

From a turbulent history, the study of the abundances of elements in solar energetic particles (SEPs) has grown into an extensive field that probes the solar corona and physical processes of SEP acceleration and transport. Underlying SEPs are the abundances of the solar corona, which differ from photospheric abundances as a function of the first ionization potentials (FIPs) of the elements. The FIP-dependence of SEPs also differs from that of the solar wind; each has a different magnetic environment, where low-FIP ions and high-FIP neutral atoms rise toward the corona. Two major sources generate SEPs: The small “impulsive” SEP events are associated with magnetic reconnection in solar jets that produce 1000-fold enhancements from H to Pb as a function of mass-to-charge ratio A/Q, and also 1000-fold enhancements in 3He/4He that are produced by resonant wave-particle interactions. In large “gradual” events, SEPs are accelerated at shock waves that are driven out from the Sun by wide, fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs). A/Q dependence of ion transport allows us to estimate Q and hence the source plasma temperature T. Weaker shock waves favor the reacceleration of suprathermal ions accumulated from earlier impulsive SEP events, along with protons from the ambient plasma. In strong shocks, the ambient plasma dominates. Ions from impulsive sources have T ≈ 3 MK; those from ambient coronal plasma have T = 1 – 2 MK. These FIP- and A/Q-dependences explore complex new interactions in the corona and in SEP sources.

Excess H, Suppressed He, and the Abundances of Elements in Solar Energetic Particles

Recent studies of the abundances of H and He relative to those of heavier ions in solar energetic particle (SEP) events suggest new features in the underlying physics. Impulsive SEP events, defined by uniquely large enhancements of Fe/O, emerge from magnetic reconnection in solar jets. In small, “pure,” shock-free, impulsive SEP events, protons with mass-to-charge ratio A/Q = 1 fit the power-law dependence of element abundance enhancements versusA/Q extrapolated from the heavier elements 6 leq Z leq 56. Sometimes these events have order-of-magnitude suppressions of He, even though H fits with heavier elements, perhaps because of the slower ionization of He during a rapid rise of plasma from the chromosphere. In larger impulsive SEP events, He fits, but there are large proton excesses relative to the power-law fit of Z > 2 ions, probably because associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) drive shock waves fast enough to reaccelerate the impulsive SEPs but also to sample protons from the ambient solar plasma. In contrast, gradual SEP events are accelerated by wide, fast CME-driven shock waves, but those with smaller, weaker shocks, perhaps quasi-perpendicular, favor impulsive suprathermal residue left by many previous jets, again supplemented with excess protons from ambient coronal plasma. In the larger, more common gradual SEP events, faster, stronger shock waves sample the ambient coronal plasma more deeply, overwhelming any impulsive-ion component, so that proton abundances again fit the same power-law distribution as all other elements. Thus, studies of the power-law behavior in A/Q of SEP element abundances give compelling new information on the varying physics of SEP acceleration and properties of the underlying corona.

Acceleration of Energetic Ions in Corotating Interaction Region near 1.5 au: Evidence from MAVEN

Abstract The dearth of observations between 1 and 3 au limits our understanding of energetic particle acceleration processes in interplanetary space. We present first-of-their-kind observations of the energetic particle acceleration in a corotating interaction region (CIR) using data from two vantage points, 1 au (near Earth) and 1.5 au (near Mars). The CIR event of 2015 June was observed by the particle detectors aboard the Advanced Composition Explorer satellite as well as the Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) instrument aboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft situated near 1.5 au. We find that a CIR shock can accelerate a significant number of particles even at 1.5 au. During this event the acceleration by the shocks associated with the CIR could cause an enhancement of around two orders of magnitude in the SEP energetic ion fluxes in the ∼500 keV to 2 MeV range when the observations near 1 and 1.5 au are compared. To demonstrate the differences between SEP acceleration in CIR and other impulsive events, we show the energetic ion flux observations during an intense coronal mass ejection period in March 2015, in which case the enhanced SEP fluxes are seen even at 1 au. These observations provide evidence that CIR shock can accelerate particles in the region between Earth and Mars—that is, only within the short heliocentric distance of 0.5 au—in interplanetary space.

Early-stage Solar Energetic Particle Acceleration by Coronal Mass Ejection-driven Shocks with Realistic Seed Spectra. I. Low Corona

Abstract An outstanding problem in heliospheric physics is understanding the acceleration of solar energetic particles (SEPs) in coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and flares. A fundamental question is whether the acceleration occurs in interplanetary space or near the Sun. Recent work has shown that CME-driven shocks may produce SEPs while still below five solar radii. In this work we explore SEP acceleration during the onset of CMEs and shocks even lower in the corona, using realistic suprathermal spectra, for a selection of events. We have calculated quiet-time, pre-event suprathermal particle spectra from 1 au observations, and scaled them back to the low corona to serve as seed spectra. For each event, AIA observations and the CASHeW framework were used to model the compressive/shock wave kinematics and its interaction with the corona. The proton acceleration was then modeled using an analytic diffusive shock acceleration model as the shock waves propagate between ∼1.05 and ∼1.3 solar radii. We demonstrate the capability of low coronal shock-related extreme ultraviolet waves to accelerate protons to multi-MeV energies in a matter of minutes, in the very early stages of the associated solar eruptions. We find that strong proton energization occurs for high values of the density jump, Alfvén Mach number, and shock speed. In future work the results of this early-stage shock acceleration will be used to model the continued acceleration higher in the corona.

The Acceleration of High-energy Protons at Coronal Shocks: The Effect of Large-scale Streamer-like Magnetic Field Structures

Abstract Recent observations have shown that coronal shocks driven by coronal mass ejections can develop and accelerate particles within several solar radii in large solar energetic particle (SEP) events. Motivated by this, we present an SEP acceleration study that including the process in which a fast shock propagates through a streamer-like magnetic field with both closed and open field lines in the low corona region. The acceleration of protons is modeled by numerically solving the Parker transport equation with spatial diffusion both along and across the magnetic field. We show that particles can be sufficiently accelerated to up to several hundred MeV within 2–3 solar radii. When the shock propagates through a streamer-like magnetic field, particles are more efficiently accelerated compared to the case with a simple radial magnetic field, mainly due to perpendicular shock geometry and the natural trapping effect of closed magnetic fields. Our results suggest that the coronal magnetic field configuration is an important factor for producing large SEP events. We further show that the coronal magnetic field configuration strongly influences the distribution of energetic particles, leading to different locations of source regions along the shock front where most high-energy particles are concentrated. This work may have strong implications for SEP observations. The upcoming Parker Solar Probe will provide in situ observations for the distribution of energetic particles in the coronal shock region, and test the results of the study.

On the Link between the Release of Solar Energetic Particles Measured at Widespread Heliolongitudes and the Properties of the Associated Coronal Shocks

Abstract Under the paradigm that the main agents in the acceleration of solar energetic particles (SEPs) are shocks initially driven by coronal mass ejections, we analyze whether the properties of the shocks in the corona inferred from combining extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and white-light (WL) observations from multiple vantage points together with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the corona can be used to determine the release of SEPs into different regions of the heliosphere and hence determine the longitudinal extent of the SEP events. We analyze the SEP events observed on 2011 November 3, 2013 April 11, and 2014 February 25 over a wide range of heliolongitudes. MHD simulations provide the characteristics of the background medium where shocks propagate, in particular the Alfvén and sound speed profiles that allow us to determine both the extent of the EUV waves in the low corona and the fast magnetosonic Mach number (M FM) of the shocks. The extent of the EUV waves in the low corona is controlled by this background medium and does not coincide with the extent of the SEP events in the heliosphere. Within the uncertainties of (i) the extent and speed of the shock inferred from EUV and WL images and (ii) the assumptions made in the MHD models, we follow the evolution of M FM at the region of the shock magnetically connected to each spacecraft. The estimated release times of the first SEPs measured by each spacecraft does not coincide with the time when the M FM at this region exceeds a given threshold.

Acceleration of Solar Energetic Particles at a Fast Traveling Shock in Non-uniform Coronal Conditions

Time-dependent solar energetic particle (SEP) acceleration is investigated at a fast, nearly parallel spherical traveling shock in the strongly non-uniform corona by solving the standard focused transport equation for SEPs and transport equations for parallel propagating Alfvén waves that form a set of coupled equations. This enables the modeling of self-excitation of Alfvén waves in the inertial range by SEPs ahead of the shock and its role in enhancing the efficiency of the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) of SEPs in a self-regulatory fashion. Preliminary results suggest that, because of the highly non-uniform coronal conditions that the shock encounters, both DSA and wave excitation are highly time-dependent processes. Thus, DSA spectra of SEPs strongly deviate from the simple power-law prediction of standard steady-state DSA theory and initially strong wave excitation weakens rapidly. Consequently, the ability of DSA to produce high energy SEPs in the corona of ∼1 GeV, as observed in the strongest gradual SEP events, appears to be strongly curtailed at a fast nearly parallel shock, but further research is needed before final conclusions can be drawn.

Gamma-Ray Solar Flares and In Situ Particle Acceleration

AbstractAt present two concurrent paradigms of solar energetic particle (SEP) origin exist: acceleration directly in the flare site or by the shock wave of coronal mass ejection (CME). Active discussions on a relative role of flares and coronal mass ejections for SEP acceleration and propagation are continuous until now. In my opinion only future observations of solar high energy γ–emission with better spectral, spatial and temporal resolution may clarify this issue. In my report I discuss possible signatures of the flare and shock acceleration processes. What is a picture provided by the current instruments? What can we expect to observe with a perfect instrument in high energy gamma rays in one or another case on a time scale of impulsive and long decay flare phases?

Implications of improved measurements of the highest energy SEPs by AMS and PAMELA

Solar energetic particles (SEP) are a key target of heliophysics research, not only as exemplars of particle acceleration and transport processes that are ubiquitous in astrophysical plasmas, but also as the most intense transient radiation hazard for human and robotic space explorers. SEPs are very well-observed by spacecraft covering particle energies below several hundred MeV/nucleon. Multiple missions, stretching back over decades, have yielded a fairly complete description of SEP intensity, energy spectra, and composition up to a few hundred MeV/nucleon. SEP characteristics at higher energies are, by comparison, only poorly understood due to the relative dearth of high-energy measurements. This lack of high energy measurements has contributed to a disagreement within the heliophysics community regarding the source regions and mechanisms that accelerate particles up to GeV energies. In solar cycle 24, the Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics (PAMELA) and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) have been taking measurements of the highest energy SEPs from ∼100MeV to the GeV. Since the literature has discussed SEP acceleration to GeV energies in terms of Ground Level Enhancements (GLE), we will review the findings for GLEs in solar cycle 23. We will discuss the models and theories that address acceleration up to the GeV and how AMS and PAMELA measurements have the potential to advance the current understanding of SEP acceleration physics. Lastly, only 1–2 GLEs have occurred during solar cycle 24, so we will explore a set of SEP events that were observed in the ⩾100MeV GOES channels, most of which were also observed by PAMELA and AMS.

Solar Energetic Particle Acceleration by a Shock Wave Accompanying a Coronal Mass Ejection in the Solar Atmosphere

Abstract Solar energetic particle acceleration by a shock wave accompanying a coronal mass ejection (CME) is studied. The description of the accelerated particle spectrum evolution is based on the numerical calculation of the diffusive transport equation with a set of realistic parameters. The relation between the CME and shock speeds, which depend on the initial CME radius, is determined. Depending on the initial CME radius, its speed, and the magnetic energy of the scattering Alfvén waves, the accelerated particle spectrum is established 10–60 minutes from the beginning of CME motion. The maximum energies of particles reach 0.1–10 GeV. The CME radii of 3–5 and the shock radii of 5–10 agree with observations. The calculated particle spectra agree with the observed ones in events registered by ground-based detectors if the turbulence spectrum in the solar corona significantly differs from the Kolmogorov one.

Energy spectra of 3He-rich solar energetic particles associated with coronal waves

In addition to their anomalous abundances, 3He-rich solar energetic particles (SEPs) show puzzling energy spectral shapes varying from rounded forms to power laws where the later are characteristics of shock acceleration. Solar sources of these particles have been often associated with jets and narrow CMEs, which are the signatures of magnetic reconnection involving open field. Recent reports on new associations with large-scale EUV waves bring new insights on acceleration and transport of 3He-rich SEPs in the corona. We examined energy spectra for 32 3He-rich SEP events observed by ACE at L1 near solar minimum in 2007-2010 and compared the spectral shapes with solar flare signatures obtained from STEREO EUV images. We found the events with jets or brightenings tend to be associated with rounded spectra and the events with coronal waves with power laws. This suggests that coronal waves may be related to the unknown second stage mechanism commonly used to interpret spectral forms of 3He-rich SEPs.

PARTICLE ACCELERATION AT LOW CORONAL COMPRESSION REGIONS AND SHOCKS

We present a study on particle acceleration in the low corona associated with the expansion and acceleration of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Because CME expansion regions low in the corona are effective accelerators over a finite spatial region, we show that there is a rigidity regime where particles effectively diffuse away and escape from the acceleration sites using analytic solutions to the Parker transport equation. This leads to the formation of broken power-law distributions. Based on our analytic solutions, we find a natural ordering of the break energy and second power-law slope (above the break energy) as a function of the scattering characteristics. These relations provide testable predictions for the particle acceleration from low in the corona. Our initial analysis of solar energetic particle observations suggests a range of shock compression ratios and rigidity dependencies that give rise to the solar energetic particle (SEP) events studied. The wide range of characteristics inferred suggests competing mechanisms at work in SEP acceleration. Thus, CME expansion and acceleration in the low corona may naturally give rise to rapid particle acceleration and broken power-law distributions in large SEP events.

An efficient second-order accurate and continuous interpolation for block-adaptive grids

In this paper we present a second-order and continuous interpolation algorithm for cell-centered adaptive-mesh-refinement (AMR) grids. Continuity requirement poses a non-trivial problem at resolution changes. We develop a classification of the resolution changes, which allows us to employ efficient and simple linear interpolation in the majority of the computational domain. The algorithm is well suited for massively parallel computations. Our interpolation algorithm allows extracting jump-free interpolated data distribution along lines and surfaces within the computational domain. This capability is important for various applications, including kinetic particles tracking in three dimensional vector fields, visualization (i.e. surface extraction) and extracting variables along one-dimensional curves such as field lines, streamlines and satellite trajectories, etc. Particular examples are models for acceleration of solar energetic particles (SEPs) along magnetic field-lines. As such models are sensitive to sharp gradients and discontinuities the capability to interpolate the data from the AMR grid to be passed to the SEP model without producing false gradients numerically becomes crucial. We provide a complete description of the algorithm and make the code publicly available as a Fortran 90 library.

PROPERTIES OF A CORONAL SHOCK WAVE AS A DRIVER OF EARLY SEP ACCELERATION

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are thought to drive collisionless shocks in the solar corona, which in turn have been shown capable of accelerating solar energetic particles (SEPs) in minutes. It has been notoriously difficult to extract information about energetic particle spectra in the corona, due to lack of in-situ measurements. It is possible, however, to combine remote observations with data-driven models in order to deduce coronal shock properties relevant to the local acceleration of SEPs and their heliospheric connectivity to near-Earth space. We present such novel analysis applied to the May 11, 2011 CME event on the western solar limb, focusing on the evolution of the eruption-driven, dome-like shock wave observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) EUV telescopes on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. We analyze the shock evolution and estimate its strength using emission measure modeling. We apply a new method combining a geometric model of the shock front with a potential field source surface model to estimate time-dependent field-to-shock angles and heliospheric connectivity during shock passage in the low corona. We find that the shock was weak, with an initial speed of ~450 km/s. It was initially mostly quasi-parallel, but significant portion of it turned quasi-perpendicular later in the event. There was good magnetic connectivity to near-Earth space towards the end of the event as observed by the AIA instrument. The methods used in this analysis hold a significant potential for early characterization of coronal shock waves and forecasting of SEP spectra based on remote observations.

DIFFUSIVE SHOCK ACCELERATION OF HIGH-ENERGY CHARGED PARTICLES AT FAST INTERPLANETARY SHOCKS: A PARAMETER SURVEY

We present results from numerical simulations of the acceleration of solar energetic particles (SEPs) associated with strong, fast, and radially propagating interplanetary shocks. We focus on the phase of the SEP event at the time of the shock passage at 1 AU, which is when the peak intensity at energies below a few MeV is the highest. The shocks in our study start between 2 and 10 solar radii and propagate beyond 1 AU. We study the effect of various shock and particle input parameters, such as the spatial diffusion coefficient, shock speed, solar wind speed, initial location of the shock, and shock deceleration rate, on the total integrated differential intensity, I, of SEPs with kinetic energies > 10 MeV. I is the integral over energy of the differential intensity spectrum at the time of the shock passage at 1 AU. We find that relatively small changes in the parameters can lead to significant event-to-event changes in I. For example, a factor of 2 increase in the diffusion coefficient at a given energy and spatial location, can lead to a decrease in I by as much as a factor of 50. This may help explain why there are fewer large SEP events seen during the current solar maximum compared to previous maxima. It is known that the magnitude of the interplanetary magnetic field is noticeably weaker this solar cycle than it was in the previous cycle and this will naturally lead to a somewhat larger diffusion coefficient of SEPs.

SEPServer catalogues of solar energetic particle events at 1 AU based on STEREO recordings: 2007–2012

The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) recordings provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the evolution of solar energetic particle (SEP) events from different observation points in the heliosphere, allowing one to identify the effects of the properties of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and solar wind structures on the interplanetary transport and acceleration of SEPs. Two catalogues based on STEREO recordings, have been compiled as a part of the SEPServer project, a three-year collaborative effort of eleven European partners funded under the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union (FP7/SPACE). In particular, two instruments on board STEREO have been used to identify all SEP events observed within the descending phase of solar cycle 23 and the rising phase of solar cycle 24 from 2007 to 2012, namely: the Low Energy Telescope (LET) and the Solar Electron Proton Telescope (SEPT). A scan of STEREO/LET protons within the energy range 6–10 MeV has been performed for each of the two STEREO spacecraft. We have tracked all enhancements that have been observed above the background level of this particular channel and cross-checked with available lists of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), stream interaction regions (SIRs), and shocks, as well as with the reported events in literature. Furthermore, parallel scanning of the STEREO near relativistic electrons has been performed in order to pinpoint the presence (or absence) of an electron event in the energy range of 55–85 keV, for all of the aforementioned proton events included in our lists. We provide the onset and peak time as well as the peak value of all events for both protons and electrons, the relevant solar associations in terms of electromagnetic emissions, soft and hard X-rays (SXRs and HXRs). Finally, a subset of events with clear recordings at both STEREO spacecraft is presented together with the parent solar events of these multispacecraft SEP events.

Solar Energetic Particles and Associated EIT Disturbances in Solar Cycle 23

We explore the link between solar energetic particles (SEPs) observed at 1 AU and large-scale disturbances propagating in the solar corona, named after the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) as EIT waves, which trace the lateral expansion of a coronal mass ejection (CME). A comprehensive search for SOHO/EIT waves was carried out for 179 SEP events during Solar Cycle 23 (1997-2006). 87% of the SEP events were found to be accompanied by EIT waves. In order to test if the EIT waves play a role in the SEP acceleration, we compared their extrapolated arrival time at the footpoint of the Parker spiral with the particle onset in the 26 eastern SEP events that had no direct magnetic connection to the Earth. We find that the onset of proton events was generally consistent with this scenario. However, in a number of cases the first near-relativistic electrons were detected too early. Furthermore, the electrons had in general only weakly anisotropic pitch-angle distributions. This poses a problem for the idea that the SEPs were accelerated by the EIT wave or in any other spatially confined region in the low corona. The presence of weak electron anisotropies in SEP events from the eastern hemisphere suggests that transport processes in interplanetary space, including cross-field diffusion, play a role in giving the SEPs access to a broad range of helio-longitudes.

GLOBAL NUMERICAL MODELING OF ENERGETIC PROTON ACCELERATION IN A CORONAL MASS EJECTION TRAVELING THROUGH THE SOLAR CORONA

The acceleration of protons and electrons to high (sometimes GeV/nucleon) energies by solar phenomena is a key component of space weather. These solar energetic particle (SEP) events can damage spacecraft and communications, as well as present radiation hazards to humans. In-depth particle acceleration simulations have been performed for idealized magnetic fields for diffusive acceleration and particle propagation, and at the same time the quality of MHD simulations of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) has improved significantly. However, to date these two pieces of the same puzzle have remained largely decoupled. Such structures may contain not just a shock but also sizable sheath and pileup compression regions behind it, and may vary considerably with longitude and latitude based on the underlying coronal conditions. In this work, we have coupled results from a detailed global three-dimensional MHD time-dependent CME simulation to a global proton acceleration and transport model, in order to study time-dependent effects of SEP acceleration between 1.8 and 8 solar radii in the 2005 May 13 CME. We find that the source population is accelerated to at least 100 MeV, with distributions enhanced up to six orders of magnitude. Acceleration efficiency varies strongly along field lines probing different regions of the dynamically evolving CME, whose dynamics is influenced by the large-scale coronal magnetic field structure. We observe strong acceleration in sheath regions immediately behind the shock.