Giuseppe Pallocchia

This Letter presents an analysis of the sunward Poynting flux throughout magnetosheath and foreshock (directly measured by INTERBALL-1, CLUSTER-4 and DOUBLE STAR TC1) and its correlation and...

Some interplanetary shocks are associated with short-term and sharp particle flux enhancements near the shock front. Such intensity enhancements, known as shock-spike events (SSEs), represent a class of relatively energetic phenomena as they may extend to energies of some tens of MeV or even beyond. Here we present an SSE case study in order to shed light on the nature of the particle acceleration involved in this kind of event. Our observations refer to an SSE registered on 2011 October 3 at 22:23 UT, by STEREO B instrumentation when, at a heliocentric distance of 1.08 au, the spacecraft was swept by a perpendicular shock moving away from the Sun. The main finding from the data analysis is that a Weibull distribution represents a good fitting function to the measured particle spectrum over the energy range from 0.1 to 30 MeV. To interpret such an observational result, we provide a theoretical derivation of the Weibull spectrum in the framework of the acceleration by “killed” stochastic processes exhibiting power-law growth in time of the velocity expectation, such as the classical Fermi process. We find an overall coherence between the experimental values of the Weibull spectrum parameters and their physical meaning within the above scenario. Hence, our approach based on the Weibull distribution proves to be useful for understanding SSEs. With regard to the present event, we also provide an alternative explanation of the Weibull spectrum in terms of shock-surfing acceleration.

Transient interplanetary shock waves are often associated with high energy particle enhancements, which are called energetic storm particle (ESP) events. Here we present a case study of an ESP event, recorded by the SEPT, LET and HET instruments onboard the STEREO B spacecraft, on 3 October 2011, in a wide energy range from 0.1 MeV to ~ 30 MeV. The obtained particle spectrum is found to be reproduced by a Weibull like shape. Moreover, we show that the Weibull spectrum can be theoretically derived as the asymptotic steady state solution of the diffusion loss equation by assuming anomalous diffusion for particle velocity. The evaluation of Weibull's parameters obtained from particle observations and the power spectral density of the turbulent fluctations in the shock region, support this scenario and suggest that stochastic acceleration can contribute significantly to the acceleration of high energetic particles at collisioness shock waves.

We present the results of a comparative study conducted in Antarctica by using the ULF geomagnetic field measurements at Terra Nova Bay (Altitude Adjusted Corrected Geomagnetic Coordinates latitude 80°S) and simultaneous data from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radar at South Pole Station. Pc5 waves observed at Terra Nova Bay around local magnetic noon, when the station is close to the dayside cusp, can be interpreted as spatial integrated signals, produced by ionospheric currents associated to field line resonances at somewhat lower latitudes. The radar, providing the Doppler velocities of ionospheric plasma over a range of geomagnetic latitudes, allows to detect the occurrence of such field line resonances. In the reported case, our analysis shows evidence of resonant signals in the ionosphere at 75°S and 76°S that find correspondence in frequency and time with the geomagnetic signals observed at Terra Nova Bay around local noon. During the period of interest, oscillations of the solar wind dynamic pressure at the same frequency are detected by Geotail, just upstream of the morning flank of the bow shock. All the observations are consistent with the interpretation of the signals at Terra Nova Bay in terms of signatures of field line resonances occurring at lower latitudes, driven by solar wind oscillations transmitted into the magnetosphere. We discuss also the possibility of an additional contribution to the signals at Terra Nova Bay, due to the direct propagation of the solar wind waves along the local open field line.

Context. Flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are solar phenomena that are not yet fully understood. Several investigations have been performed to single out their related physical parameters that can be used as indices of the magnetic complexity leading to their occurrence. Aims. In order to shed light on the occurrence of recurrent flares and subsequent associated CMEs, we studied the active region NOAA 11283 where recurrent M and X GOES-class flares and CMEs occurred. Methods. We use vector magnetograms taken by HMI/SDO to calculate the horizontal velocity fields of the photospheric magnetic structures, the shear and the dip angles of the magnetic field, the magnetic helicity flux distribution, and the Poynting fluxes across the photosphere due to the emergence and the shearing of the magnetic field. Results. Although we do not observe consistent emerging magnetic flux through the photosphere during the observation time interval, we detected a monotonic increase of the magnetic helicity accumulated in the corona. We found that both the shear and the dip angles have high values along the main polarity inversion line (PIL) before and after all the events. We also note that before the main flare of X2.1 GOES class, the shearing motions seem to inject a more significant energy than the energy injected by the emergence of the magnetic field. Conclusions. We conclude that the very long duration (about 4 days) of the horizontal displacement of the main photospheric magnetic structures along the PIL has a primary role in the energy release during the recurrent flares. This peculiar horizontal velocity field also contributes to the monotonic injection of magnetic helicity into the corona. This process, coupled with the high shear and dip angles along the main PIL, appears to be responsible for the consecutive events of loss of equilibrium leading to the recurrent flares and CMEs.

The interaction of an interplanetary (IP) shock with the terrestrial magnetosphere causes some noticeable effects on the global scale structure of the magnetosphere itself. One of these effects is given by an earthward motion of the bow shock followed, some minutes later, by a sunward displacement. As demonstrated by past observational studies, in agreement with the theory of the shock‐shock collision, the earthward motion of the bow shock is due directly to the interplanetary shock impact on it. Differently, the origin of the sunward motion of the bow shock is still not well understood. In this regard, on the basis of some issues of the present observational study, we suggest a possible mechanism to account for the aforementioned outward displacement. Our event, observed by the Cluster SC3 spacecraft on day 7 November 2004, is related to a magnetosheath perturbation triggered by an IP shock impact. The main result of the data analysis is the first identification of a reverse (i.e., sunward directed) fast magnetosonic wave just after the IP shock passage. The identification has been performed via a direct comparison of the observations with the MHD equations of nonlinear magnetosonic waves. The reverse fast wave consists of a smooth compression, approximately 2 min long, which is most of the magnetosheath plasma density increase produced by the entire perturbation. We point out that signatures of this reverse wave are observable in two other events as well as in a three‐dimensional MHD simulation reported in the literature on the topic. Moreover, we provide a possible interpretation of this reverse wave in terms of a transient pressure build‐up in the magnetosheath due to the post‐shock reconfiguration of the plasma flow around the magnetopause obstacle.

On day 7 May 2005, the plasma instruments on board Double Star TC1 and Cluster SC3 spacecraft register inside the magnetosheath, at 19:15:12 and 19:16:20 UT, respectively, a strong pressure pulse due to the impact of an interplanetary shock wave (IS) on the terrestrial bow shock. The analysis of this event provides clear and quantitative evidences confirming and strengthening some results given by past simulations and observational studies. In fact, here we show that the transmitted shock is slowed down with respect to the incident IS (in the Earth's reference frame) and that, besides the transmitted shock, the IS – bow shock interaction generates a second discontinuity. Moreover, supported also by a special set three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation, we discuss, as further effects of the interaction of the IS with the magnetosphere, other two interesting aspects of the present event, that is: the TC1 double crossing of the bow shock (observed few minutes after the impact of the IS) and the presence, only in the SC3 data, of a third discontinuity produced inside the magnetosheath.