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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Astrophysics and Astronomy

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2013

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

Solar Wind

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Galactic Cosmic-Ray Modulation In A Realistic Global Magnetohydrodynamic Heliosphere, Xi Luo, Ming Zhang, Hamid K. Rassoul, Nikolai V. Pogorelov, Jacob Heerikhuisen Feb 2013

Galactic Cosmic-Ray Modulation In A Realistic Global Magnetohydrodynamic Heliosphere, Xi Luo, Ming Zhang, Hamid K. Rassoul, Nikolai V. Pogorelov, Jacob Heerikhuisen

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

To understand the behavior of cosmic-ray modulation seen by the two Voyager spacecraft in the region near the termination shock (TS) and in the heliosheath at a distance of >100 AU, a realistic magnetohydrodynamic global heliosphere model is incorporated into our cosmic-ray transport code, so that the detailed effects of the heliospheric boundaries and their plasma/magnetic geometry can be revealed. A number of simulations of cosmic-ray modulation performed with this code result in the following conclusions. (1) Diffusive shock acceleration by the TS can significantly affect the level of cosmic-ray flux and, in particular, its radial gradient profile in the …


Stochastic Acceleration Of Suprathermal Particles Under Pressure Balance Conditions, Thorsten Antecki, Reinhard Schlickeiser, Ming Zhang Feb 2013

Stochastic Acceleration Of Suprathermal Particles Under Pressure Balance Conditions, Thorsten Antecki, Reinhard Schlickeiser, Ming Zhang

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

The acceleration of suprathermal charged particles in the heliosphere under pressure balance conditions including for the first time the radial spatial particle diffusion and convection in the solar wind is investigated. The physical conditions are derived for which the stationary phase space distribution of suprathermal particles approaches the power-law distribution f ∝ p −5,which is often seen in spacecraft observations. For separable source distributions in momentum and position we analytically solve the stationary particle transport equation for a radially constant solar wind speed V0 and a momentum-independent radial spatial diffusion coefficient. The resulting stationary solution at any position within the …