Related papers: Switchback Patches Evolve into Microstreams via Ma…
The topology of the coronal magnetic field produces a strong impact on the properties of the solar corona and presumably on the origin of the slow solar wind. To advance our understanding of this impact, we revisit the concept of so-called…
Although the interplanetary magnetic field variability has been extensively investigated in situ by means of data coming from several space missions, the newly launched missions providing high-resolution measures and approaching the Sun,…
The power spectrum of magnetic-field fluctuations in the fast solar wind ($V_{\rm SW}> 500 \mbox{ km} \mbox{ s}^{-1}$) at magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) scales is characterized by two different power laws on either side of a break frequency…
We investigate the origin of mesoscale structures in the solar wind called microstreams defined as enhancements in solar wind speed and temperature that last several hours. They were first clearly detected in Helios and Ulysses solar wind…
We report small-scale magnetic flux ropes via the Parker Solar Probe in situ measurements during the first six encounters and present additional analyses to supplement our prior work in Chen et al. 2021. These flux ropes are detected by the…
Local inversions are often observed in the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF), but their origins and evolution are not yet fully understood.Parker Solar Probe has recently observed rapid, Alfvenic, HMF inversions in the inner heliosphere,…
In this letter we report observations of magnetic switchback (SB) features near 1 au using data from the \emph{Wind} spacecraft. These features appear to be strikingly similar to the ones observed by the Parker Solar Probe mission (PSP)…
Statistical classification of the Helios solar wind observations into several populations sorted by bulk speed has revealed an outward acceleration of the wind. The faster the wind is, the smaller is this acceleration in the 0.3 - 1 au…
The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft is performing the first in situ exploration of the solar wind within 0.2 au of the Sun. Initial observations confirmed the Alfv\'enic nature of aligned fluctuations of the magnetic field B and…
Spacecraft observations have shown that the proton temperature in the solar wind falls off with radial distance more slowly than expected for an adiabatic prediction. Usually, previous studies have been focused on the evolution of the…
A major goal of solar physics is understanding the transition of the medium from the closed-loop magnetic configuration of the corona to the open structure of the heliospheric current sheet. The evolution of solar wind streamers, an…
Using data from orbits one to eleven of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission, the magnetic field spectral index was measured across a range of heliocentric distances. The previously observed transition between a value of $-5/3$ far from the…
Recent studies suggest that the magnetic switchbacks (SBs) detected by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) carry information on the scales of solar supergranulation (large scale) and granulation (medium scale). We test this claim using…
We observe the anisotropy of the power spectral tensor of magnetic field fluctuations in the fast solar wind for the first time. In heliocentric RTN coordinates the power in each element of the tensor has a unique dependence on the angle…
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…
Small-scale magnetic flux ropes (SFRs) are a type of structures in the solar wind that possess helical magnetic field lines. In a recent report (Chen & Hu 2020), we presented the radial variations of the properties of SFR from 0.29 to 8 au…
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental physical process that can drive rapid conversion of magnetic energy into plasma bulk flows, thermal heating, and particle acceleration in space and astrophysical plasmas. Classical reconnection theory…
Small-scale magnetic flux ropes (SFRs), in the solar wind, have been studied for decades. Statistical analysis utilizing various in situ spacecraft measurements is the main observational approach which helps investigate the generation and…
We investigate the propagation of high-speed solar wind streams from their origin near the Sun to 1 AU using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations. By tracking both global stream structure and individual plasma parcels, we…
Solar wind is probably the best laboratory to study turbulence in astrophysical plasmas. In addition to the presence of magnetic field, the differences with neutral fluid isotropic turbulence are: weakness of collisional dissipation and…