Solar Sources of $^{3}$He-rich Solar Energetic Particle Events in Solar Cycle 24

TL;DR

This study investigates the solar origins of 26 $^{3}$He-rich solar energetic particle events during solar cycle 24, revealing diverse source regions and complex magnetic connections beyond simple models.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the solar sources of $^{3}$He-rich SEPs, showing they are associated with both jets and extended eruptions, and highlights limitations of current magnetic connection models.

Findings

$^{3}$He-rich events are linked to both jets and extended eruptions.

Source regions show broad longitudinal distribution beyond the west limb.

Magnetic connection models often do not match observed source locations.

Abstract

Using high-cadence extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) images obtained by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we investigate the solar sources of 26 $^{3}$He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events at $\lesssim$1 MeV nucleon$^{-1}$ that were well-observed by the Advanced Composition Explorer during solar cycle 24. Identification of the solar sources is based on the association of $^{3}$He-rich events with type III radio bursts and electron events as observed by Wind. The source locations are further verified in EUV images from the Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory, which provides information on solar activities in the regions not visible from the Earth. Based on AIA observations, $^{3}$He-rich events are not only associated with coronal jets as emphasized in solar cycle 23 studies, but also with more spatially extended eruptions. The properties of the $^{3}$He-rich events do not appear to be strongly correlated with those of the source regions. As in the previous studies, the magnetic connection between the source region and the observer is not always reproduced adequately by the simple potential field source surface model combined with the Parker spiral. Instead, we find a broad longitudinal distribution of the source regions extending well beyond the west limb, with the longitude deviating significantly from that expected from the observed solar wind speed.