Observations of Kappa Distributions in Solar Energetic Protons and Derived Thermodynamic Properties

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Hauptverfasser: Cuesta, M. E., Cummings, A. T., Livadiotis, G., McComas, D. J., Cohen, C. M. S., Khoo, L. Y., Sharma, T., Shen, M. M., Bandyopadhyay, R., Rankin, J. S., Szalay, J. R., Farooki, H. A., Xu, Z., Muro, G. D., Stevens, M. L., Bale, S. D.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Cuesta, M. E.
Cummings, A. T.
Livadiotis, G.
McComas, D. J.
Cohen, C. M. S.
Khoo, L. Y.
Sharma, T.
Shen, M. M.
Bandyopadhyay, R.
Rankin, J. S.
Szalay, J. R.
Farooki, H. A.
Xu, Z.
Muro, G. D.
Stevens, M. L.
Bale, S. D.
author_facet Cuesta, M. E.
Cummings, A. T.
Livadiotis, G.
McComas, D. J.
Cohen, C. M. S.
Khoo, L. Y.
Sharma, T.
Shen, M. M.
Bandyopadhyay, R.
Rankin, J. S.
Szalay, J. R.
Farooki, H. A.
Xu, Z.
Muro, G. D.
Stevens, M. L.
Bale, S. D.
contents In this paper we model the high-energy tail of observed solar energetic proton energy distributions with a kappa distribution function. We employ a technique for deriving the thermodynamic parameters of solar energetic proton populations measured by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS$\odot$IS) EPI-Hi high energy telescope (HET), over energies from 10 - 60 MeV. With this technique we explore, for the first time, the characteristic thermodynamic properties of the solar energetic protons associated with an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) and its driven shock. We find that (1) the spectral index, or equivalently, the thermodynamic parameter kappa of solar energetic protons ($κ_{\rm EP}$) gradually increases starting from the pre-ICME region (upstream of the CME-driven shock), reaching a maximum in the CME ejecta ($κ_{\rm EP} \approx 3.5$), followed by a gradual decrease throughout the trailing portion of the CME; (2) solar energetic proton temperature and density ($T_{\rm EP}$ and $n_{\rm EP}$) appear anti-correlated, a behavior consistent to sub-isothermal polytropic processes; and (3) values of $T_{\rm EP}$ and $κ_{\rm EP}$ appear are positively correlated, indicating an increasing entropy with time. Therefore, these proton populations are characterized by a complex and evolving thermodynamic behavior, consisting of multiple sub-isothermal polytropic processes, and a large-scale trend of increasing temperature, kappa, and entropy. This study and its companion study by Livadiotis et al. (2024) open a new set of procedures for investigating the thermodynamic behavior of energetic particles and their shared thermal properties.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_20343
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Observations of Kappa Distributions in Solar Energetic Protons and Derived Thermodynamic Properties
Cuesta, M. E.
Cummings, A. T.
Livadiotis, G.
McComas, D. J.
Cohen, C. M. S.
Khoo, L. Y.
Sharma, T.
Shen, M. M.
Bandyopadhyay, R.
Rankin, J. S.
Szalay, J. R.
Farooki, H. A.
Xu, Z.
Muro, G. D.
Stevens, M. L.
Bale, S. D.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
In this paper we model the high-energy tail of observed solar energetic proton energy distributions with a kappa distribution function. We employ a technique for deriving the thermodynamic parameters of solar energetic proton populations measured by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS$\odot$IS) EPI-Hi high energy telescope (HET), over energies from 10 - 60 MeV. With this technique we explore, for the first time, the characteristic thermodynamic properties of the solar energetic protons associated with an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) and its driven shock. We find that (1) the spectral index, or equivalently, the thermodynamic parameter kappa of solar energetic protons ($κ_{\rm EP}$) gradually increases starting from the pre-ICME region (upstream of the CME-driven shock), reaching a maximum in the CME ejecta ($κ_{\rm EP} \approx 3.5$), followed by a gradual decrease throughout the trailing portion of the CME; (2) solar energetic proton temperature and density ($T_{\rm EP}$ and $n_{\rm EP}$) appear anti-correlated, a behavior consistent to sub-isothermal polytropic processes; and (3) values of $T_{\rm EP}$ and $κ_{\rm EP}$ appear are positively correlated, indicating an increasing entropy with time. Therefore, these proton populations are characterized by a complex and evolving thermodynamic behavior, consisting of multiple sub-isothermal polytropic processes, and a large-scale trend of increasing temperature, kappa, and entropy. This study and its companion study by Livadiotis et al. (2024) open a new set of procedures for investigating the thermodynamic behavior of energetic particles and their shared thermal properties.
title Observations of Kappa Distributions in Solar Energetic Protons and Derived Thermodynamic Properties
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.20343