An investigation of magnetic fields of solar wind transient disturbances at R = 1 AU and determination of their solar sources

• Published in: Planetary and space science Vol. 44; no. 4; pp. 387 - 406
• Main Authors: Fainshtein, V.G., Kaigorodov, A.P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 1996
• ISSN: 0032-0633; 1873-5088
• DOI: 10.1016/0032-0633(95)00123-9

Typical features of the magnetic field two types of solar wind transient disturbances with shock waves are investigated and compared: 1. (1) When the shock wave is accompanied by a magnetic cloud (MC). 2. (2) When the shock wave is followed by a region with bidirectional solar wind electron heat flux (BEHF), but with no MC present, however. In this case, a separate study was made of the field features in two typical transient disturbance structures: in the region of impact-compressed solar wind between the shock wave and MC or BEHF, as well as in MC and BEHF. It has been found that the plasma and magnetic field characteristics of the two studied types of transient disturbances are distinguished markedly. The study has provided new results on the influence of the ambient SW upon the transient disturbance magnetic field, and on characteristics of the generation of the B z -component of the magnetic field in each transient disturbance structure. A new test for the existence of interplanetary magnetic field draping around MC and BEHF is proposed and verified. It is concluded that the magnetic field configuration around MC is more adequately consistent with the concept of magnetic line draping than is the case around BEHF. Two methods are proposed to infer the location of solar sources of transient disturbances from their characteristics at R = 1 AU.