The Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission is the fifth NASA Medium-class Explorer (MIDEX), launched on February 17, 2007 to determine the trigger and large-scale evolution of substorms. The mission employs five identical micro-satellites (hereafter termed “probes”) which line up along the Earth’s magnetotail to track the motion of particles, plasma and waves from one point to another and for the first time resolve space–time ambiguities in key regions of the magnetosphere on a global scale. The probes are equipped with comprehensive in-situ particles and fields instruments that measure the thermal and super-thermal ions and electrons, and electromagnetic fields from DC to beyond the electron cyclotron frequency in the regions of interest. The primary goal of THEMIS, which drove the mission design, is to elucidate which magnetotail process is responsible for substorm onset at the region where substorm auroras map (∼10 RE): (i) a local disruption of the plasma sheet current (current disruption) or (ii) the interaction of the current sheet with the rapid influx of plasma emanating from reconnection at ∼25 RE. However, the probes also traverse the radiation belts and the dayside magnetosphere, allowing THEMIS to address additional baseline objectives, namely: how the radiation belts are energized on time scales of 2–4 hours during the recovery phase of storms, and how the pristine solar wind’s interaction with upstream beams, waves and the bow shock affects Sun–Earth coupling. THEMIS’s open data policy, platform-independent dataset, open-source analysis software, automated plotting and dissemination of data within hours of receipt, dedicated ground-based observatory network and strong links to ancillary space-based and ground-based programs. promote a grass-roots integration of relevant NASA, NSF and international assets in the context of an international Heliophysics Observatory over the next decade. The mission has demonstrated spacecraft and mission design strategies ideal for Constellation-class missions and its science is complementary to Cluster and MMS. THEMIS, the first NASA micro-satellite constellation, is a technological pathfinder for future Sun-Earth Connections missions and a stepping stone towards understanding Space Weather.

The THEMIS Mission

In this review we will focus on a topic of fundamental importance for both plasma physics and astrophysics, namely the occurrence of large-amplitude low-frequency fluctuations of the fields that describe the plasma state. This subject will be treated within the context of the expanding solar wind and the most meaningful advances in this research field will be reported emphasizing the results obtained in the past decade or so. As a matter of fact, Ulysses’ high latitude observations and new numerical approaches to the problem, based on the dynamics of complex systems, brought new important insights which helped to better understand how turbulent fluctuations behave in the solar wind. In particular, numerical simulations within the realm of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence theory unraveled what kind of physical mechanisms are at the basis of turbulence generation and energy transfer across the spectral domain of the fluctuations. In other words, the advances reached in these past years in the investigation of solar wind turbulence now offer a rather complete picture of the phenomenological aspect of the problem to be tentatively presented in a rather organic way.

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The Solar Wind as a Turbulence Laboratory

[1] Hourly averaged interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and plasma data from the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and Wind spacecraft, generated from 1 to 4 min resolution data time-shifted to Earth have been analyzed for systematic and random differences. ACE moments-based proton densities are larger than Wind/Solar Wind Experiment (SWE) fits-based densities by up to 18%, depending on solar wind speed. ACE temperatures are less than Wind/SWE temperatures by up to ∼25%. ACE densities and temperatures were normalized to equivalent Wind values in National Space Science Data Center's creation of the OMNI 2 data set that contains 1963–2004 solar wind field and plasma data and other data. For times of ACE-Wind transverse separations <60 RE, random differences between Wind values and normalized ACE values are ∼0.2 nT for ∣B∣, ∼0.45 nT for IMF Cartesian components, ∼5 km/s for flow speed, and ∼15 and ∼30% for proton densities and temperatures. These differences grow as a function of transverse separation more rapidly for IMF parameters than for plasma parameters. Autocorrelation analyses show that spatial scales become progressively shorter for the parameter sequence: flow speed, IMF magnitude, plasma density and temperature, IMF X and Y components, and IMF Z component. IMF variations have shorter scales at solar quiet times than at solar active times, while plasma variations show no equivalent solar cycle dependence.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2004JA010649

Solar wind spatial scales in and comparisons of hourly Wind and ACE plasma and magnetic field data

The dissipation range for interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations is formed by those fluctuations with spatial scales comparable to the gyroradius or ion inertial length of a thermal ion. It is reasonable to assume that the dissipation range represents the final fate of magnetic energy that is transferred from the largest spatial scales via nonlinear processes until kinetic coupling with the background plasma removes the energy from the spectrum and heats the background distribution. Typically, the dissipation range at 1 AU sets in at spacecraft frame frequencies of a few tenths of a hertz. It is characterized by a steepening of the power spectrum and often demonstrates a bias of the polarization or magnetic helicity spectrum. We examine Wind observations of inertial and dissipation range spectra in an attempt to better understand the processes that form the dissipation range and how these processes depend on the ambient solar wind parameters (interplanetary magnetic field intensity, ambient proton density and temperature, etc.). We focus on stationary intervals with well-defined inertial and dissipation range spectra. Our analysis shows that parallel-propagating waves, such as Alfven waves, are inconsistent with the data. MHD turbulence consisting of a partly slab and partly two-dimensional (2-D) composite geometry is consistent with the observations, while thermal paxticle interactions with the 2-D component may be responsible for the formation of the dissipation range. Kinetic Alfven waves propagating at large angles to the background magnetic field are also consistent with the observations and may form some portion of the 2-D turbulence component.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/97JA03394

Observational constraints on the dynamics of the interplanetary magnetic field dissipation range

[1] Observations of solar wind from both large polar coronal holes (PCHs) during Ulysses' third orbit showed that the fast solar wind was slightly slower, significantly less dense, cooler, and had less mass and momentum flux than during the previous solar minimum (first) orbit. In addition, while much more variable, measurements in the slower, in-ecliptic wind match quantitatively with Ulysses and show essentially identical trends. Thus, these combined observations indicate significant, long-term variations in solar wind output from the entire Sun. The significant, long-term trend to lower dynamic pressures means that the heliosphere has been shrinking and the heliopause must be moving inward toward the Voyager spacecraft. In addition, our observations suggest a significant and global reduction in the mass and energy fed in below the sonic point in the corona. The lower supply of mass and energy may result naturally from a reduction of open magnetic flux during this period.

https://www.leif.org/EOS/Ulysses-Weaker-Solar-Wind.pdf

Weaker solar wind from the polar coronal holes and the whole Sun

The Interplanetary Monitoring Platform 8 (IMP-8) and Voyager 2 spacecraft have recently detected a very strong modulation in the solar wind speed with an approximately 1.3 year period. Combined with evidence from long-term auroral and magnetometer studies, this suggests that fundamental changes in the Sun occur on a roughly 1.3 year time scale.

Solar wind oscillations with a 1.3 year period

Voyager 2 and Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (IMP) 8 data from 1977 through 1994 are presented and compared. Radial velocity and temperature structures remain intact over the distance from 1 to 43 AU, but density structures do not. Temperature and velocity changes are correlated and nearly in phase at 1 AU, but in the outer heliosphere temperature changes lead velocity changes by tens of days. Solar cycle variations are detected by both spacecraft, with minima in flux density and dynamic pressure near solar maxima. Differences between Voyager 2 and IMP 8 observations near the solar minimum in 1986-1987 are attributed to latitudinal gradients in solar wind properties. Solar rotation variations are often present even at 40 AU. The Voyager 2 temperature profile is best fit with a R(exp -0.49 +/- 0.01) decrease, much less steep than an adiabatic profile.

Radial evolution of the solar wind from IMP 8 to Voyager 2

Data from multiple spacecraft are used to determine solar wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) correlation coefficients. These correlation coefficients provide information on solar wind scale lengths and the predictive capability of upstream monitors for space weather purposes. Previous work has looked at plasma and IMF correlation coefficients independently and used much smaller databases than those used in this study. We use data sets from 1977–1984 and 1994–1998 and calculate plasma and IMF correlation coefficients. The IMF correlation coefficients are, on average, slightly higher than those for plasma. Dependence of the correlation coefficients on the spatial separation of the spacecraft is important for placement of upstream monitors; we find a small dependence on the radial separation of the spacecraft but a very strong dependence on spacecraft separation in the YZ (GSE) plane. Scale lengths perpendicular to the flow are about 45 Earth radii (RE) for the IMF components, 70 RE for the speed and IMF magnitude, and over 100 RE for the density. Radial scale lengths are of the order of 400 RE. The plasma and IMF correlation coefficients are larger when values of the density standard deviation are high and when the IMF direction is perpendicular to X (GSE). Front orientations are similar for both plasma and IMF features and are more perpendicular than the average field direction.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2000JA000071

Plasma and magnetic field correlations in the solar wind

Voyager 2 and IMP 8 plasma data are used to look for the predicted slowdown of the solar wind with heliospheric distance. Decreases of roughly 7% in the radial velocity and of the same order in the flux are found if the Voyager 2 and IMP 8 velocities are normalized to agree in the inner heliosphere. This decrease is consistent with a pickup ion density equal to 8% of the total ion density, similar to predictions and other determinations of this density. Comparison with published model results allows us to infer an interstellar neutral density of 0.05 cm−3.

Evidence for a solar wind slowdown in the outer heliosphere

We have studied in detail a Wind spacecraft crossing of the low-latitude dusk flank magnetosheath, magnetopause (MP), and the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) when the local magnetic shear across the MP was low (<30°) and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was northward. We find that the magnetosheath flow tangential to the MP slows down initially as one moves from the bow shock toward the MP. However, close to the MP this flow speeds up as the MP is approached. The source of flow acceleration is likely to be the magnetic force associated with draping of the field lines around the MP. Magnetic flux pile-up and a plasma depletion layer are also observed next to the flank MP indicating that the level of magnetic flux transfer across the entire dayside low-latitude MP via reconnection is low. The MP is characterized by changes in the plasma properties. The electron parallel temperature is enhanced across the MP and continues to increase across the LLBL, while the perpendicular temperature is constant across the MP. This constancy of the perpendicular temperature suggests that the transfer of plasma takes place across the local MP. In the LLBL, the ion and electron temperatures are well correlated with the density. In addition, the flow direction in a substantial portion of the LLBL is nearly aligned with that in the magnetosheath, and the flow speed tangential to the MP decreases gradually with decreasing LLBL density. The behavior of the particle distributions suggests that the entire LLBL was on closed field lines. In essence, our findings on the topology and on the LLBL plasma characteristics suggest that even in the absence of reconnection at the local low-shear MP, the LLBL is locally coupled to the adjacent magnetosheath. The smooth variations of the plasma parameters with the density are consistent with the LLBL spatial profiles being gradual. This may suggest that diffusion processes play a role in the formation and dynamics of the LLBL. Finally, the magnetic field and the state of the plasma in the plasma sheet adjacent to the flank MP/LLBL appear to be functions of the IMF direction. Thus the IMF may control both the external (magnetosheath) and the internal (plasma sheet) boundary conditions for the flank MP processes.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/97JA01596

Karolen I. Paularena

Papers

Solar wind oscillations with a 1.3 year period

Radial evolution of the solar wind from IMP 8 to Voyager 2

Plasma and magnetic field correlations in the solar wind

Evidence for a solar wind slowdown in the outer heliosphere

Low-latitude dusk flank magnetosheath, magnetopause, and boundary layer for low magnetic shear: Wind observations