Studies of Solar Wind and Coronal Turbulence via Radioastronomical Observations

这个项目利用了对星系外射电源的观测，这些射电源的视线经过太阳附近，从而探测太阳日冕和太阳风的距离在5到35个太阳半径之间。这些观测包括用甚长基线阵列（VLBA）在无线电波长记录的法拉第旋转和相位波动。分析的目标包括：(i)确定太阳风湍流的各向异性，（ii）说明其强度作为与太阳距离的函数，（iii）测量这些不规则传播的速度，以及（iv）评估日冕磁场和密度的小空间尺度变化。这项研究的首要目标是更好地理解这种湍流在日冕和太阳风动力学中所起的作用，而日冕和太阳风动力学反过来又影响近地空间环境。

This project utilizes observations of extragalactic radio sources whose lines of sight pass close to the Sun, and thus probe the solar corona and solar wind at distances between 5 and 35 solar radii. These observations consist of Faraday rotation and phase fluctuations recorded at radio wavelengths with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). The objectives of the analysis include, (i) determination of the anisotropy of the solar wind turbulence, (ii) specification of its intensity as a function of distance from the Sun, (iii) measurement of the speed at which these irregularities propagate, and (iv) assessment of the small spatial scale variations in the coronal magnetic field and density. The overarching goal of this investigation is to better understand the role this turbulence plays in coronal and solar wind dynamics, which in turn affects the near-Earth space environment.