Publication: Trapping of solar energetic particles by the small-scale topology of solar wind turbulence
Issued Date
2003-11-10
Resource Type
ISSN
15384357
0004637X
0004637X
DOI
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-1042290951
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Mahidol University
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SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Astrophysical Journal. Vol.597, No.2 II (2003)
Suggested Citation
D. Ruffolo, W. H. Matthaeus, P. Chuychai Trapping of solar energetic particles by the small-scale topology of solar wind turbulence. Astrophysical Journal. Vol.597, No.2 II (2003). doi:10.1086/379847 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/20844
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Title
Trapping of solar energetic particles by the small-scale topology of solar wind turbulence
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Abstract
The transport of energetic particles perpendicular to the mean magnetic field in space plasmas has long been viewed as a diffusive process. However, there is an apparent conflict between recent observations of solar energetic particles (SEPs): (1) Impulsive solar flares can exhibit "dropouts" in which the SEP intensity near Earth repeatedly disappears and reappears, indicating a filamentary distribution of SEPs and little diffusion across these boundaries. (2) Observations by the IMP-8 and Ulysses spacecraft, while they were on opposite sides of the Sun, showed similar time-intensity profiles for many SEP events, indicating a rapid lateral diffusion of particles throughout the inner solar system within a few days. We explain these seemingly contradictory observations using a theoretical model, supported by computer simulations, in which many particles are temporarily trapped within topological structures in statistically homogeneous magnetic turbulence and ultimately escape to diffuse at a much faster rate.
