Modeling the Formation and Evolution of Solar Wind Microstreams: From Coronal Plumes to Propagating Alfvénic Velocity Spikes
We investigate the origin of mesoscale structures in the solar wind called microstreams, defined as enhancements in the solar wind speed and temperature that last several hours. They were first clearly detected in Helios and Ulysses solar wind data and are now omnipresent in the “young” solar wind m...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfef3 |
| _version_ | 1797626723228975104 |
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| author | Bahaeddine Gannouni Victor Réville Alexis P. Rouillard |
| author_facet | Bahaeddine Gannouni Victor Réville Alexis P. Rouillard |
| author_sort | Bahaeddine Gannouni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We investigate the origin of mesoscale structures in the solar wind called microstreams, defined as enhancements in the solar wind speed and temperature that last several hours. They were first clearly detected in Helios and Ulysses solar wind data and are now omnipresent in the “young” solar wind measured by the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter. These recent data reveal that microstreams transport a profusion of Alfvénic perturbations in the form of velocity spikes and magnetic switchbacks. In this study, we use a very-high-resolution 2.5D MHD model of the corona and the solar wind to simulate the emergence of magnetic bipoles interacting with the preexisting ambient corona and the creation of jets that become microstreams propagating in the solar wind. Our high-resolution simulations reach sufficiently high Lundquist numbers that capture the tearing mode instability that develops in the reconnection region and produces plasmoids released with the jet into the solar wind. Our domain runs from the lower corona to 20 R _⊙ , which allows us to track the formation process of plasmoids and their evolution into Alfvénic velocity spikes. We obtain perturbed solar wind flows lasting several hours with velocity spikes occurring at characteristic periodicities of about 19 minutes. We retrieve several properties of the microstreams measured in the pristine solar wind by the Parker Solar Probe, namely an increase in wind velocity of about 100 km s ^−1 during a stream's passage together with superposed velocity spikes of also about 100 km s ^−1 released into the solar wind. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:14:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dfc8548d36e84619b5a272c357066a77 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:14:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-dfc8548d36e84619b5a272c357066a772023-11-16T11:36:08ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-01958211010.3847/1538-4357/acfef3Modeling the Formation and Evolution of Solar Wind Microstreams: From Coronal Plumes to Propagating Alfvénic Velocity SpikesBahaeddine Gannouni0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1711-1802Victor Réville1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2916-3837Alexis P. Rouillard2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4039-5767IRAP, Université Toulouse III—Paul Sabatier , CNRS, CNES, Toulouse, FranceIRAP, Université Toulouse III—Paul Sabatier , CNRS, CNES, Toulouse, FranceIRAP, Université Toulouse III—Paul Sabatier , CNRS, CNES, Toulouse, FranceWe investigate the origin of mesoscale structures in the solar wind called microstreams, defined as enhancements in the solar wind speed and temperature that last several hours. They were first clearly detected in Helios and Ulysses solar wind data and are now omnipresent in the “young” solar wind measured by the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter. These recent data reveal that microstreams transport a profusion of Alfvénic perturbations in the form of velocity spikes and magnetic switchbacks. In this study, we use a very-high-resolution 2.5D MHD model of the corona and the solar wind to simulate the emergence of magnetic bipoles interacting with the preexisting ambient corona and the creation of jets that become microstreams propagating in the solar wind. Our high-resolution simulations reach sufficiently high Lundquist numbers that capture the tearing mode instability that develops in the reconnection region and produces plasmoids released with the jet into the solar wind. Our domain runs from the lower corona to 20 R _⊙ , which allows us to track the formation process of plasmoids and their evolution into Alfvénic velocity spikes. We obtain perturbed solar wind flows lasting several hours with velocity spikes occurring at characteristic periodicities of about 19 minutes. We retrieve several properties of the microstreams measured in the pristine solar wind by the Parker Solar Probe, namely an increase in wind velocity of about 100 km s ^−1 during a stream's passage together with superposed velocity spikes of also about 100 km s ^−1 released into the solar wind.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfef3Solar coronal plumesSolar windSolar magnetic reconnectionMagnetohydrodynamics |
| spellingShingle | Bahaeddine Gannouni Victor Réville Alexis P. Rouillard Modeling the Formation and Evolution of Solar Wind Microstreams: From Coronal Plumes to Propagating Alfvénic Velocity Spikes The Astrophysical Journal Solar coronal plumes Solar wind Solar magnetic reconnection Magnetohydrodynamics |
| title | Modeling the Formation and Evolution of Solar Wind Microstreams: From Coronal Plumes to Propagating Alfvénic Velocity Spikes |
| title_full | Modeling the Formation and Evolution of Solar Wind Microstreams: From Coronal Plumes to Propagating Alfvénic Velocity Spikes |
| title_fullStr | Modeling the Formation and Evolution of Solar Wind Microstreams: From Coronal Plumes to Propagating Alfvénic Velocity Spikes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modeling the Formation and Evolution of Solar Wind Microstreams: From Coronal Plumes to Propagating Alfvénic Velocity Spikes |
| title_short | Modeling the Formation and Evolution of Solar Wind Microstreams: From Coronal Plumes to Propagating Alfvénic Velocity Spikes |
| title_sort | modeling the formation and evolution of solar wind microstreams from coronal plumes to propagating alfvenic velocity spikes |
| topic | Solar coronal plumes Solar wind Solar magnetic reconnection Magnetohydrodynamics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfef3 |
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