Energetically-dominant Sunward-Propagating Alfv\'en Waves Near 1 au and Their Relation to Large-scale Magnetic Switchbacks

TL;DR

This study analyzes over 20 years of Wind spacecraft data to characterize sunward-propagating Alfvén waves near 1 au, exploring their occurrence, properties, and connection to magnetic switchbacks in the solar wind.

Contribution

It introduces a methodology to identify and analyze energetic sunward Alfvén waves and investigates their relationship with magnetic switchbacks at 1 au.

Findings

SAWs occur in 1-14% of intervals depending on conditions.

17.5% of 1-hour SAW intervals are associated with magnetic switchbacks.

Switchbacks are a potential source of some sunward Alfvén waves.

Abstract

In this letter, we investigate the population of energetically-dominant sunward-propagating Alfv\'en waves (SAWs) using more than 20 years of data provided by the Wind spacecraft near 1 au. We refer to SAWs as energetically-dominant sunward-propagating Alfv\'en waves within inertial range scales. Key parameters such as normalized cross helicity, plasma incompressibility, and magnetic incompressibility are used to determine the SAWs. Incorporating the polarity of the heliospheric magnetic field, AW modes are identified, which enables the determination of the propagation direction. Occurrence rates of SAWs vary from 1% to 14% depending on the time scale and solar wind stream type considered. Particularly, the relationship between large-scale magnetic field switchbacks (SBs) and SAWs (for a 1-hour long time scale) is investigated. A methodology utilizing pitch angle distributions of suprathermal electron strahl is employed to identify inverted magnetic field topology. The intervals containing SAWs are cross-referenced and examined with intervals identified as SBs. For a sample of 1636 1-hour SAW intervals, 17.5% are associated with magnetic field switchbacks occurring at scales larger than one hour. The analysis lends support to the idea of switchbacks as one of the candidate sources for a portion of the SAW population.