EGU22-565
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-565
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Linking In-situ Magnetic and Density Structures in the Low Latitude Slow Solar Wind to Solar Origins

Thomas Woolley1, Lorenzo Matteini1, Timothy S. Horbury1, Stuart D. Bale2,3, Ronan Laker1, Lloyd D. Woodham1, and Julia E. Stawarz1
Thomas Woolley et al.
  • 1Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
  • 2Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7300, USA
  • 3Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450, USA

To date, Parker Solar Probe has completed ten solar encounters and measured a wealth of in-situ data down to heliocentric distances of ~13 solar radii. This data provides a novel opportunity to investigate the near-Sun environment and understand the young slow solar wind. Typically, the slow solar wind observed in the inner heliosphere is split into an Alfvenic and a non-Alfvenic component. The Alfvenic slow wind is thought to originate from overexpanded coronal hole field lines, whereas the non-Alfvenic slow wind could originate from active regions, transient events, or reconnection at the tips of helmet streamers. In this work, we find structures associated with non-Alfvenic slow wind in the low latitude wind measured by Parker Solar Probe. We identify at least two distinct types of structure using magnetic field magnitude, electron pitch angle distributions, and electron number density. After statistically analysing these structures, with a focus on their plasma properties, shape, and location with respect to the heliospheric current sheet, we link them to solar origins. We find structures that are consistent with the plasma blobs seen previously in remote sensing observations.

How to cite: Woolley, T., Matteini, L., Horbury, T. S., Bale, S. D., Laker, R., Woodham, L. D., and Stawarz, J. E.: Linking In-situ Magnetic and Density Structures in the Low Latitude Slow Solar Wind to Solar Origins, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-565, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-565, 2022.