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Fe‐rich solar energetic particle events during solar minimum
Author(s) -
Mazur J. E.,
Mason G. M.,
von Rosenvinge T. T.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/96gl00046
Subject(s) - solar minimum , solar wind , solar energetic particles , physics , solar cycle 22 , coronal mass ejection , solar flare , solar maximum , solar cycle 23 , flux (metallurgy) , corona (planetary geology) , atmospheric sciences , astrophysics , solar cycle , astronomy , plasma , astrobiology , nuclear physics , materials science , venus , metallurgy
During the first 10 months of WIND observations, we have detected several time periods with energetic particle abundances that are characteristic of impulsive flares: enrichments in the ³He isotope, and in heavy ions compared to the corona. Using the Supra‐Thermal through Energetic Particle sensor on WIND, we find that at ∼100 keV/nucleon these events typically arrive in sequences of multiple events when the spacecraft is magnetically connected to an active region at western solar longitudes, preceding the arrival of a high speed solar wind stream. During recurrent high speed solar wind streams with their associated flux enhancements Fe‐rich events are seldom seen: almost all of the events occur on days with solar wind speeds <450 km/sec. The impulsive events we observe arrive at a rate of ∼30 events/year at solar minimum for energies ≥120 keV/nucleon. This rate is comparable to upper limits placed on the observed rate of higher energy ³He‐rich events in the last solar minimum with measurements from ISEE‐3.