Solar Wind ~0.1-1.5 keV Electrons at Quiet Times

Abstract:

Solar wind halo/strahl electrons carry important information on the formation of suprathermal electrons in the solar wind. Here we present a statistical survey on the energy spectrum of 0.1-1.5 keV electrons observed by WIND/3DP in the solar wind during quiet times at solar minimum and maximum of solar cycle 23 and 24. First, we separate strahl electrons from halo electrons according to their different behaviors in the angular distribution. Secondly, we fit the observed energy spectrum of halo/strahl electrons at 0.1-1.5 keV to a kappa distribution function with an index κ and effective temperature T_eff. We also integrate the electron measurements to obtain the number density n of halo/strahl electrons at 0.1-1.5 keV. We find a strong positive correlation between κ and T_eff for both halo and strahl electrons. For strahl electrons, the index κ (number density n) appears to decrease (increase) with increasing solar activity. For halo electrons, the index κ also decreases with increasing solar activity, while the number density n shows no clear solar-cycle variation. Based on a simple model, we find that the escape of thermal electrons from the coronal region with a higher temperature T could lead to a larger κ for the 0.1-1.5 keV electrons measured in the solar wind, if T > ~0.73×10⁶ K. These results suggest that strahl electrons are likely related to the escaping thermal electrons from different regions in the hot corona, while halo electrons are probably formed due to the scatter/acceleration of strahl electrons in the interplanetary medium.