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Related papers: Switchback Deflections Beyond the Early Parker Sol…

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Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observes unexpectedly prevalent switchbacks, which are rapid magnetic field reversals that last from seconds to hours, in the inner heliosphere, posing new challenges to understanding their nature, origin, and…

Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observed sub-Alfvenic solar wind intervals during encounters 8 - 14, and low-frequency magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in these regions may differ from that in super-Alfvenic wind. We apply a new mode-decomposition…

Solar wind turbulence is anisotropic with respect to the mean magnetic field. Anisotropy leads to ambiguity when interpreting in-situ turbulence observations in the solar wind because an apparent change in the measurements could be due…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-01-12 L. -L. Zhao , G. P. Zank , L. Adhikari , M. Nakanotani

We present a solitary Alfv\'en wave model that exhibits nontrivial three-dimensional twisting of open magnetic field lines while preserving constant $|B|$. Embedded rotational discontinuities sharply deflect the otherwise uniform field…

Space Physics · Physics 2025-12-16 Zesen Huang , Marco Velli , Yuliang Ding

Magnetic switchbacks, large-amplitude, localized Alfvenic like rotations of the solar wind magnetic field, have been the subject of intensive investigation, with approximately 200 refereed papers published in the last decade. Yet,…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2026-05-15 Forrest Mozer , Oleksiy Agapitov , Kyung-Eun Choi , Richard Sydora

Microstreams are fluctuations in the solar wind speed and density associated with polarity-reversing folds in the magnetic field (also denoted switchbacks). Despite their long heritage, the origin of these microstreams/switchbacks remains…

Since Parker Solar Probe's (Parker's) first perihelion pass at the Sun, large amplitude Alfv\'en waves grouped in patches have been observed near the Sun throughout the mission. Several formation processes for these magnetic switchback…

We make use of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) data to explore the nature of solar wind turbulence focusing on the Alfv\'enic character and power spectra of the fluctuations and their dependence on distance and context (i.e. large scale solar…

Data obtained from Parker Solar Probe (PSP) since 2021 April have shown the first in situ observation of the solar corona, where the solar wind is formed and accelerated. Here we investigate the alpha-proton differential flow and its…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2024-01-22 Hao Ran , Ying D. Liu , Chong Chen , Parisa Mostafavi

Switchbacks (SBs) are localized magnetic field deflections in the solar wind, marked by abrupt changes in the magnetic field direction relative to the ambient solar wind. Observations onboard Parker Solar Probe (PSP) at heliocentric…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2025-07-03 Kyung-Eun Choi , Oleksiy V. Agapitov , Nina Bizien , Thierry Dudok De Wit , Lucas Colomban

During Parker Solar Probe's first orbit, the solar wind plasma has been observed in situ closer than ever before, the perihelion on November 6th 2018 revealing a flow that is constantly permeated by large amplitude Alfv\'enic fluctuations.…

Magnetic switchbacks are of continuing interest to the scientific community due to the fact that the phenomenon has not been completely understood. Although most of the research into them in the Parker Solar Probe era has largely focused on…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2025-09-04 Emily McDougall , Bala Poduval

Radio waves are strongly scattered in the solar wind, so that their apparent sources seem to be considerably larger and shifted than the actual ones. Since the scattering depends on the spectrum of density turbulence, better understanding…

Solar wind magnetic fluctuations exhibit anisotropy due to the presence of a mean magnetic field in the form of the Parker spiral. Close to the Sun, direct measurements were not available until the recently launched Parker Solar Probe (PSP)…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-01-05 Riddhi Bandyopadhyay , David J. McComas

Alfv\'enicity is a well-known property, common in the solar wind, characterized by a high correlation between magnetic and velocity fluctuations. Data from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) enable the study of this property closer to the Sun…

We analyze \emph{Parker Solar Probe} and \emph{Solar Orbiter} measurements of magnetic-field reversals (``switchbacks'') across the Alfv\'en surface ($M_a\simeq 1$), where $M_a$ is the Alfv\'en Mach number. The reported ``sub-Alfv\'enic…

The solar wind is found by Parker Solar Probe (PSP) to be abundant with Alfv\'enic velocity spikes and magnetic field kinks. Temperature enhancement is another remarkable feature associated with the Alfv\'enic spikes. How the prototype of…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2023-01-11 Jiansen He , Xingyu Zhu , Liping Yang , Chuanpeng Hou , Die Duan , Lei Zhang , Ying Wang

As fundamental parameters of the Sun, the Alfv\'en radius and angular momentum loss determine how the solar wind changes from sub-Alfv\'enic to super-Alfv\'enic and how the Sun spins down. We present an approach to determining the solar…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2021-06-23 Ying D. Liu , Chong Chen , Michael L. Stevens , Mingzhe Liu

The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has observed copious rapid magnetic field direction changes in the near-Sun solar wind. These features have been called "switchbacks," and their origin is a mystery. But their widespread nature suggests that…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2020-06-24 Alphonse C. Sterling , Ronald L. Moore

In its first encounter at solar distances as close as r = 0.16AU, Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observed numerous local reversals, or inversions, in the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF), which were accompanied by large spikes in solar wind…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2021-01-06 Allan R Macneil , Mathew J Owens , Robert T Wicks , Mike Lockwood