LASCO C2 Jan 24, 2006, www image

Future progress understanding

Solar Energetic Particles

Glenn Mason, JHU/APL10th RHESSI Workshop

Annapolis, MD August 5, 2010

work cited here from:

Spiro AntiochosHilary CaneEileen CholletChristina CohenMihir DesaiRichard DeVoreJJim DrakeJoe GiacaloneGeorge GloecklerDennis HaggertySteve KahlerJudy KarpenSäm Krucker

Gang Li Bob LinJoe MazurDick MewaldtNariaki Nitta Chee NgVahé PetrosianMonique PickDon Reames Ed StoneAlan TylkaLinghua WangY. -M. WangMark Wiedenbeck

SEPs - scientific importance:Solar energetic particle studies are: • of broad interest due to their relevance to the question, “how are charged particles accelerated and transported?”

• of particular interest due to their impact on Earth and space systems

This priority consistently reflected in Heliophysics community planning:• 2003 Decadal survey: Solar Probe, multispacecraft Heliospheric Mission, Sentinels, L1 Monitor, and Solar Orbiter

• 2009 Heliophysics Roadmap: SEPAT notional mission (STP #6)

Examples of recent progress:

Large, shock associated SEP events:

1) role of suprathermal seed population

suprathermal tail continuously present

contains SEP 3He most of the time

3He is often reaccelerated in IP shocks

Examples of recent progress:

Large, shock associated SEP events:

2) role of shock acceleration

10,000

particle intensities correlate with CME speed but with huge spread

observed spectral index not well fitted by shock compression parameters

but particle spectra DO correlate with upstream ambient suprathermals !

correlationwith sourcelongitude

Examples of recent progress:

Large, shock associated SEP events:

3) spectral “breaks” as clues to acceleration process

in large SEP events spectra typically roll over between 1-10 MeV/n

for different species such as C and Fe, this usually leads to changes in relative abundance

these changes may be clues to the geometry of the accelerating shock

Examples of recent progress:

Large, shock associated SEP events:

4) untangling transport from acceleration

Different SEP species show diferent time-intensity profiles leading to abundance variations during the event

Comparing species such as Fe and O at different energies often organizes the data by removing most abundance variations

same en/nuc O at 2x Fe en/nuc

changing this factor ~8 variation

to this:

Examples of recent progress:

3He-rich SEP events:

1) extremely common!

Coordinated measurements link the energetic particles to type III bursts and jets at the Sun

good correlation between 3He-rich events and impulsive electron events, both correlate with solar activity cycle; microflares? role in coronal heating?

Examples of recent progress:

3He-rich SEP events:

2) onset timing of events -- delays from type III burst

velocity dispersion in electron onsets allows timing comparison with type III bursts

some electron releases coincide with type III burst

some electron releases delayed up to ~1/2 hour

ion release may also be delayed compared to electron release

Examples of recent progress:

3He-rich SEP events:

3) unique 3He spectra; presence of UH nuclei to 220 amu

10-1

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

0.01 0.1 1 10

ACE - ULEIS/SIS Spectra: 3/21/1999 (080)

MeV/nucleon

4He

3He

16 O

Fe

(a)

3He spectral form is often different from other species below ~1 MeV/nuc, leading to large energy dependence on the 3He/4He ratio; consistent with resonant acceleration of 3He due to unique M/Q ratio

UH nuclei are present in these events with enrichments of ~several hundred to thousands; sometimes enrichment is greater than 3He; continuous range of UH M/Q ratios argues against resonance mechanism in acceleration

Examples of recent progress:

3He-rich SEP events:

4) associated coronal activity:

these injections of SEP 3He were associated with western hemisphere jets

however, most 3He-rich SEP events cannot be associated with any event on the Sun; in 2008 3He events were observed during periods when there were no sunspots in the western hemisphere

Examples of recent progress: advanced theory and more complete models are critical for

interpretation and handling of sparse data sampling:

CME liftoff

resonant acceleration

fully 3D SEP transport

anisotropy modeling

acceleration by magnetic reconnection can enhance heavy ion

abundances

Key reasons for advances in experimental SEP studies:• high resolution, high sensitivity measurements open new areas

• measurement of spectra over a broad energy range to allow discrimination of shapes; sensitive probing of suprathermal ion pool heavy ions

• coverage of multiple ion species to test M/Q dependence

• SEP ionization state measurements to high energies

• availability of key supporting data --

• plasma and field data, including SW composition & charge states

• remote sensing data: SOHO, RHESSI, TRACE, SDO

• multipoint viewing: STEREO (full potential not realized)

• availability of key data sets on www facilitates interdisciplinary work

• availability of advanced theory & models to capture more of the physics

Example questions for this science target are:

• How is variability in the intensity, spectrum, and composition of the suprathermal seed population reflected in high-energy SEPs?• How do solar energetic particles reach a wide range of heliospheric longitudes and latitudes and what are the time scales involved?• How does the three-dimensional distribution of energetic electrons, various elements, and their ionic charge states evolve in the heliosphere?• Do multiple acceleration mechanisms, including shock acceleration associated with fast CMEs and stochastic acceleration in flares, contribute to large SEP events seen at 1 AU?• What is the importance of diffusive shock acceleration?• Where are particles accelerated and released from solar flares? • What are the roles of waves, turbulence, and electric fields for particle acceleration?

from 2009 Heliophysics roadmap

Typical measurements:

Measurements over a range of spatial and temporal scales could include:• Energetic particle intensity, anisotropy, composition, and charge state.• Solar radio observations.• Solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field.• Coronal x-ray imaging/timing.

Note that this is not a prioritized or complete list

from 2009 Heliophysics roadmap

Assets available:

• first half of Decadal Study period (2013-17):

• STEREO, SDO, ACE (?), Wind (?)

• SMEX missions?

• second half of Decadal Survey period (2017-2023):

• Solar Orbiter

• Solar Probe

• STEREO? SDO?

• new L1 mission with high quality instruments?

• other SMEX or STP missions?

Earth

Solar OrbiterSolar Probe radial distances

of the inner

heliosphere

missions

Solar Orbiter will eventually survey up to ~35° solar latitude

Solar Orbiter & Solar Probe will carry out joint observations from complementary vantage points

By going close to the Sun with a full complement of modern instruments, SO and SPP will explore the inner heliosphere to:• sample large SEP events timing 10-20x better accuracy than possible at 1 AU, allowing precise correlation with solar activity and testing of M/Q dependence of acceleration mechanisms

• probe shock acceleration processes close to the Sun, and possibly sample the SEP shock acceleration region itself

• probe acceleration at the Sun with gamma-ray and neutron measurements

• measure hundreds - thousands of impulsive 3He-rich events including UH nuclei, to probe acceleration mechanism low in the corona

• survey the inner heliospheric suprathermal ion pool, the likely source for many SEPs

• probe scattering and transport properties close to the Sun where particle transport is likely to be nearly scatter-free, and decisive tests for motion across field lines are possible

What new investigations could greatly improve the science return during the SO and SPP era?

“Imagine trying to monitor Earth’s oceans with a small number of buoys. You’d miss a lot. That’s the situation we’re in now with the ‘ocean of space.’ ”

--- Lika Guhathakurta, quoted in Space News, July 24, 2010

Capable measurements from L1 are a must for SEP studies, as well as magnetospheric studies; including fields, particles, radio, EUV, x-rays, etc.

•In the inner solar system, we need to survey large scale features with multiple spacecraft, either:

• medium mission (Sentinels), or

•Explorer mission (e.g. Helix)