Autocorrelation Study of Solar Wind Plasma and IMF Properties as Measured by the MAVEN Spacecraft

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Abstract

Abstract It has long been a goal of the heliophysics community to understand solar wind variability at heliocentric distances other than 1 AU, especially at ∼1.5 AU due to not only the steepening of solar wind stream interactions outside 1 AU but also the number of missions available there to measure it. In this study, we use 35 months of solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) data taken at Mars by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft to conduct an autocorrelation analysis of the solar wind speed, density, and dynamic pressure, which is derived from the speed and density, as well as the IMF strength and orientation. We found that the solar wind speed is coherent, that is, has an autocorrelation coefficient above 1/ e , over roughly 56 hr, while the density and pressure are coherent over smaller intervals of roughly 25 and 20 hr, respectively, and that the IMF strength is coherent over time intervals of approximately 20 hr, while the cone and clock angles are considerably less steady but still somewhat coherent up to time lags of roughly 16 hr. We also found that when the speed, density, pressure, or IMF strength is higher than average, the solar wind or IMF becomes uncorrelated more quickly, while when they are below average, it tends to be steadier. This analysis allows us to make estimates of the values of solar wind plasma and IMF parameters when they are not directly measured and provide an approximation of the error associated with that estimate.

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