Comparative Analyses of Plasma Properties and Composition in Two Types of Small-Scale Interplanetary Flux-ropes

TL;DR

This study compares plasma properties of two types of small-scale interplanetary flux-ropes, revealing differences that suggest a dual origin from the solar corona and solar wind, and highlighting their relation to magnetic clouds.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparative analysis of plasma and composition characteristics of SIMFRs from different origins, supporting a two-source model.

Findings

SIMFR-SUN resemble magnetic clouds with lower proton density and higher ion charge-states.

SIMFR-SUN show higher low-FIP element abundances and more fluctuation in ion charge-states.

Both SIMFR-SUN and MCs exhibit an anti-correlation between plasma beta and He/P ratio.

Abstract

The origin of small-scale interplanetary magnetic flux-ropes (SIMFRs) and the relationship between SIMFRs and magnetic clouds (MCs) are still controversial. In this study, two populations of SMIFRs were collected, i.e., SIMFRs originating from the Sun (SIMFR-SUN) and those originating from the solar wind (SIMFR-SW). We defined the SIMFR-SUN (SIMFR-SW) as the SMIFRs that include (exclude) the counter-streaming suprathermal electrons and stay away from (close to) the heliospheric current sheet. After fitting with force-free flux-rope model, 52 SIMFR-SUN and 57 SIMFR-SW events observed by Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) from 1998 February to 2011 August were qualified. Using the approach of relating the measurements to their spatial position within the flux-ropes, a comparative survey of plasma and composition characteristics inside the two populations of SIMFRs is presented. Results show that the two populations of SIMFRs have apparent differences. Compared with SIMFR-SW, SIMFR-SUN are MC-like, featuring lower central proton density, higher Vrad, higher low-FIP element abundances, higher and more fluctuate average ion charge-states and the ion chargestate ratios which are related to the heating in low corona. In addition, for the ion charge-state distributions inside SIMFR-SUN, the sunward side is higher than earthward, which might be caused by the flare heating during eruption. Moreover, both SIMFR-SUN and MCs show anti-correlation between plasma beta and He/P trend. These characteristics indicate that SIMFR-SUN and MCs are very likely to have the identical origination. This study supports the two-source origin of SIMFRs, i.e., the solar corona and the solar wind.