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One of the striking observations from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft is the prevalence in the inner heliosphere of large amplitude, Alfv��nic magnetic field reversals termed 'switchbacks'. These $��B_R/B \sim \mathcal{O}(1$) fluctuations occur on a range of timescales and in {\em patches} separated by intervals of quiet, radial magnetic field. We use measurements from PSP to demonstrate that patches of switchbacks are localized within the extensions of plasma structures originating at the base of the corona. These structures are characterized by an increase in alpha particle abundance, Mach number, plasma $��$ and pressure, and by depletions in the magnetic field magnitude and electron temperature. These intervals are in pressure-balance, implying stationary spatial structure, and the field depressions are consistent with overexpanded flux tubes. The structures are asymmetric in Carrington longitude with a steeper leading edge and a small ($\sim$1$^\circ$) edge of hotter plasma and enhanced magnetic field fluctuations. Some structures contain suprathermal ions to $\sim$85 keV that we argue are the energetic tail of the solar wind alpha population. The structures are separated in longitude by angular scales associated with supergranulation. This suggests that these switchbacks originate near the leading edge of the diverging magnetic field funnels associated with the network magnetic field - the primary wind sources. We propose an origin of the magnetic field switchbacks, hot plasma and suprathermals, alpha particles in interchange reconnection events just above the solar transition region and our measurements represent the extended regions of a turbulent outflow exhaust., 18 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Astrophys. J

Magnetism defines the complex and dynamic solar corona. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are thought to be caused by stresses, twists, and tangles in coronal magnetic fields that build up energy and ultimately erupt, hurling plasma into interplanetary space. Even the ever-present solar wind possesses a three-dimensional morphology shaped by the global coronal magnetic field, forming geoeffective corotating interaction regions. CME evolution and the structure of the solar wind depend intimately on the coronal magnetic field, so comprehensive observations of the global magnetothermal atmosphere are crucial both for scientific progress and space weather predictions. Although some advances have been made in measuring coronal magnetic fields locally, synoptic measurements of the global coronal magnetic field are not yet available. We conclude that a key goal for 2050 should be comprehensive, ongoing 3D synoptic maps of the global coronal magnetic field. This will require the construction of new telescopes, ground and space-based, to obtain complementary, multiwavelength observations sensitive to the coronal magnetic field. It will also require development of inversion frameworks capable of incorporating multi-wavelength data, and forward analysis tools and simulation testbeds to prioritize and establish observational requirements on the proposed telescopes., Helio2050 white paper

International audience; Solar Orbiter is the first space mission observing the solar plasma both in situ and remotely, from a close distance, in and out of the ecliptic. The ultimate goal is to understand how the Sun produces and controls the heliosphere, filling the Solar System and driving the planetary environments. With six remote-sensing and four in-situ instrument suites, the coordination and planning of the operations are essential to address the following four top-level science questions: (1) What drives the solar wind and where does the coronal magnetic field originate?; (2) How do solar transients drive heliospheric variability?; (3) How do solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?; (4) How does the solar dynamo work and drive connections between the Sun and the heliosphere? Maximising the mission's science return requires considering the characteristics of each orbit, including the relative position of the spacecraft to Earth (affecting downlink rates), trajectory events (such as gravitational assist manoeuvres), and the phase of the solar activity cycle. Furthermore, since each orbit's science telemetry will be downloaded over the course of the following orbit, science operations must be planned at mission level, rather than at the level of individual orbits. It is important to explore the way in which those science questions are translated into an actual plan of observations that fits into the mission, thus ensuring that no opportunities are missed. First, the overarching goals are broken down into specific, answerable questions along with the required observations and the so-called Science Activity Plan (SAP) is developed to achieve this. The SAP groups objectives that require similar observations into Solar Orbiter Observing Plans, resulting in a strategic, top-level view of the optimal opportunities for science observations during the mission lifetime. This allows for all four mission goals to be addressed. In this paper, we introduce Solar Orbiter's SAP through a series of examples and the strategy being followed.

The solar wind shows periods of highly Alfv\'enic activity, where velocity fluctuations and magnetic fluctuations are aligned or anti-aligned with each other. It is generally agreed that solar wind plasma velocity and magnetic field fluctuations observed by Parker Solar Probe (PSP) during the first encounter are mostly highly Alfv\'enic. However, quantitative measures of Alfv\'enicity are needed to understand how the characterization of these fluctuations compares with standard measures from prior missions in the inner and outer heliosphere, in fast wind and slow wind, and at high and low latitudes. To investigate this issue, we employ several measures to quantify the extent of Alfv\'enicity -- the Alfv\'en ratio $r_A$, {normalized} cross helicity $\sigma_c$, {normalized} residual energy $\sigma_r$, and the cosine of angle between velocity and magnetic fluctuations $\cos\theta_{vb}$. We show that despite the overall impression that the Alfv\'enicity is large in the solar wind sampled by PSP during the first encounter, during some intervals the cross helicity starts decreasing at very large scales. These length-scales (often $> 1000 d_i$) are well inside inertial range, and therefore, the suppression of cross helicity at these scales cannot be attributed to kinetic physics. This drop at large scales could potentially be explained by large-scale shears present in the inner heliosphere sampled by PSP. In some cases, despite the cross helicity being constant down to the noise floor, the residual energy decreases with scale in the inertial range. These results suggest that it is important to consider all these measures to quantify Alfv\'enicity., Comment: Submitted to special issue of ApJ for Parker Solar Probe

The solar wind shows periods of highly Alfv��nic activity, where velocity fluctuations and magnetic fluctuations are aligned or anti-aligned with each other. It is generally agreed that solar wind plasma velocity and magnetic field fluctuations observed by Parker Solar Probe (PSP) during the first encounter are mostly highly Alfv��nic. However, quantitative measures of Alfv��nicity are needed to understand how the characterization of these fluctuations compares with standard measures from prior missions in the inner and outer heliosphere, in fast wind and slow wind, and at high and low latitudes. To investigate this issue, we employ several measures to quantify the extent of Alfv��nicity -- the Alfv��n ratio $r_A$, {normalized} cross helicity $��_c$, {normalized} residual energy $��_r$, and the cosine of angle between velocity and magnetic fluctuations $\cos��_{vb}$. We show that despite the overall impression that the Alfv��nicity is large in the solar wind sampled by PSP during the first encounter, during some intervals the cross helicity starts decreasing at very large scales. These length-scales (often $> 1000 d_i$) are well inside inertial range, and therefore, the suppression of cross helicity at these scales cannot be attributed to kinetic physics. This drop at large scales could potentially be explained by large-scale shears present in the inner heliosphere sampled by PSP. In some cases, despite the cross helicity being constant down to the noise floor, the residual energy decreases with scale in the inertial range. These results suggest that it is important to consider all these measures to quantify Alfv��nicity., Submitted to special issue of ApJ for Parker Solar Probe

High-quality white-light images from the SECCHI/HI-1 telescope onboard STEREO-B reveal high-velocity evanescent clumps [HVECs] expelled from the coma of the C/2011 L4 [Pan-STARRS] comet. Animated images provide evidence of highly dynamic ejecta moving near-radially in the anti-sunward direction. The bulk speed of the clumps at their initial detection in the HI1-B images range from $200-400$ km s$^{-1}$ followed by an appreciable acceleration up to speeds of $450-600$ km s$^{-1}$, which are typical of slow to intermediate solar wind speeds. The clump velocities do not exceed these limiting values and seem to reach a plateau. The images also show that the clumps do not expand as they propagate. Order of magnitude calculations show that ionized single atoms or molecules accelerate too quickly compared to observations, while dust grains micron sized or larger accelerate too slowly. We find that neutral Na, Li, K, or Ca atoms with $��>50$ could possibly fit the observations. Just as likely, we find that an interaction with the solar wind and the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF) can cause the observed clump dynamical evolution, accelerating them quickly up to solar wind velocities. We thus speculate that the HVECs are composed of charged particles (dust particles) or neutral atoms accelerated by radiation pressure at $��>50$ values. In addition, the data suggest that clump ejecta initially move along near-radial, bright structures, which then separate into HVECs and larger dust grains that steadily bend backwards relative to the comet's orbital motion due to the effects of solar radiation and gravity. These structures gradually form new striae in the dust tail. The near-periodic spacing of the striae may be indicative of outgassing activity modulation due to the comet nucleus' rotation. It is, however, unclear whether all striae are formed as a result of this process., 10 pages, 5 figures, 1 Table. Accepted for publication at JGR Space Physics

The magnetic field plays a pivotal role in many fields of Astrophysics. This is especially true for the physics of the solar atmosphere. Measuring the magnetic field in the upper solar atmosphere is crucial to understand the nature of the underlying physical processes that drive the violent dynamics of the solar corona -- that can also affect life on Earth. SolmeX, a fully equipped solar space observatory for remote-sensing observations, will provide the first comprehensive measurements of the strength and direction of the magnetic field in the upper solar atmosphere. The mission consists of two spacecraft, one carrying the instruments, and another one in formation flight at a distance of about 200m carrying the occulter to provide an artificial total solar eclipse. This will ensure high-quality coronagraphic observations above the solar limb. Solmex integrates two spectro-polarimetric coronagraphs for off-limb observations, one in the EUV and one in the IR, and three instruments for observations on the disk. The latter comprises one imaging polarimeter in the EUV for coronal studies, a spectro-polarimeter in the EUV to investigate the low corona, and an imaging spectro-polarimeter in the UV for chromospheric studies. SOHO and other existing missions have investigated the emission of the upper atmosphere in detail (not considering polarization), and as this will be the case also for missions planned for the near future. Therefore it is timely that SolmeX provides the final piece of the observational quest by measuring the magnetic field in the upper atmosphere through polarimetric observations., Submitted to Experimental Astronomy. 30 pages, 19 figures

The magnetic field plays a pivotal role in many fields of Astrophysics. This is especially true for the physics of the solar atmosphere. Measuring the magnetic field in the upper solar atmosphere is crucial to understand the nature of the underlying physical processes that drive the violent dynamics of the solar corona—that can also affect life on Earth. SolmeX, a fully equipped solar space observatory for remote-sensing observations, will provide the first comprehensive measurements of the strength and direction of the magnetic field in the upper solar atmosphere. The mission consists of two spacecraft, one carrying the instruments, and another one in formation flight at a distance of about 200 m carrying the occulter to provide an artificial total solar eclipse. This will ensure high-quality coronagraphic observations above the solar limb. SolmeX integrates two spectro-polarimetric coronagraphs for off-limb observations, one in the EUV and one in the IR, and three instruments for observations on the disk. The latter comprises one imaging polarimeter in the EUV for coronal studies, a spectro-polarimeter in the EUV to investigate the low corona, and an imaging spectro-polarimeter in the UV for chromospheric studies. SOHO and other existing missions have investigated the emission of the upper atmosphere in detail (not considering polarization), and as this will be the case also for missions planned for the near future. Therefore it is timely that SolmeX provides the final piece of the observational quest by measuring the magnetic field in the upper atmosphere through polarimetric observations.

We present an overview of the physical mechanisms responsible for the coronal polarization at different wavelength regimes. We also review different techniques using coronal polarization to determine various quantities necessary for understanding the thermodynamic properties of the solar coronal plasma. This includes the coronal magnetic field, electronic densities, temperatures, velocities, etc. The future needs to acquire better information on the solar corona using polarization will be outlined., 8 pages, 5 figures, 6th Solar Polarization Workshop

Coronal plumes, which extend from solar coronal holes (CH) into the high corona and - possibly - into the solar wind (SW), can now continuously be studied with modern telescopes and spectrometers on spacecraft, in addition to investigations from the ground, in particular, during total eclipses. Despite the large amount of data available on these prominent features and related phenomena, many questions remained unanswered as to their generation and relative contributions to the high-speed streams emanating from CHs. An understanding of the processes of plume formation and evolution requires a better knowledge of the physical conditions at the base of CHs, in plumes and in the surrounding inter-plume regions (IPR). More specifically, information is needed on the magnetic field configuration, the electron densities and temperatures, effective ion temperatures, non-thermal motions, plume cross-sections relative to the size of a CH, the plasma bulk speeds, as well as any plume signatures in the SW. In spring 2007, the authors proposed a study on "Structure and dynamics of coronal plumes and inter-plume regions in solar coronal holes" to the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Bern to clarify some of these aspects by considering relevant observations and the extensive literature. This review summarizes the results and conclusions of the study. Stereoscopic observations allowed us to include three-dimensional reconstructions of plumes. Multi-instrument investigations carried out during several campaigns led to progress in some areas, such as plasma densities, temperatures, plume structure and the relation to other solar phenomena, but not all questions could be answered concerning the details of plume generation process(es) and interaction with the SW., Comment: To appear on: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. 72 pages, 30 figures

Observations from the Hinode X-ray telescope (XRT) are used to study the structure of X-ray bright points (XBPs), sources of coronal jets. Several jet events are found to erupt from S-shaped bright points, suggesting that coronal micro-sigmoids are progenitors of the jets. The observations may help to explain numerous characteristics of coronal jets, such as helical structures and shapes. They also suggest that solar activity may be self-similar within a wide range of scales in terms of both properties and evolution of the observed coronal structures., 4 pages, 2 figures, conference proceedings

We investigate mode amplitudes in the active and quiet Sun in both maximum and minimum phases of the solar activity cycle. We confirm previous studies showing that p-mode amplitudes at solar minimum are higher than at solar maximum. We mask active regions of a certain magnetic field strength and compare the masked and unmasked acoustic power. After applying the masks, the preliminary analysis indicates that the amplitude decreases over all degrees during solar minimum, compared to the unmasked case, while at solar maximum the amplitude first decreases up to l ~ 300 and then increases at higher degrees., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the proceedings of the GONG 2008 / SOHO XXI conference

Our understanding of coronal phenomena, such as coronal plasma thermodynamics, faces a major handicap caused by missing coronal magnetic field measurements. Several lines in the UV wavelength range present suitable sensitivity to determine the coronal magnetic field via the Hanle effect. The latter is a largely unexplored diagnostic of coronal magnetic fields with a very high potential. Here we study the magnitude of the Hanle-effect signal to be expected outside the solar limb due to the Hanle effect in polarized radiation from the H {\sc{i}} Ly$\alpha$ and $\beta$ lines, which are among the brightest lines in the off-limb coronal FUV spectrum. For this purpose we use a magnetic field structure obtained by extrapolating the magnetic field starting from photospheric magnetograms. The diagnostic potential of these lines for determining the coronal magnetic field, as well as their limitations are studied. We show that these lines, in particular H {\sc{i}} Ly$\beta$, are useful for such measurements., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Solar Polarization Workshop 5

We use Vector Spectromagnetograph (VSM) chromospheric full-disk magnetograms, from the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) project, to study the distribution of magnetic field flux concentrations within the polar caps. We find that magnetic flux elements preferentially appear toward lower latitudes within the polar caps away from the poles. This has implications on numerous solar phenomena such as the formation and evolution of fine polar coronal structures (i.e., polar plumes). Our results also have implications for the processes carrying the magnetic flux from low to high latitudes (e.g., meridional circulation)., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures

Magnetograms from the Vector SpectroMagnetograph (VSM) of the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) project are utilized to study the latitude distribution of magnetic flux elements as a function of latitude in the polar solar caps. We find that the density distribution of the magnetic flux normalized by the surface of the polar cap and averaged over months decreases close to the solar poles. This trend is more pronounced when considering only flux elements with relatively large size. The flux density of the latter is relatively flat from the edge of the polar cap up to latitudes of 70$^\circ$--75$^\circ$ and decreases significantly to the solar pole. The density of smaller flux features is more uniformly distributed although the decrease is still present but less pronounced. This result is important in studying meridional flows that bring the magnetic flux from lower to higher solar latitudes resulting in the solar cycle reversal. The results are also of importance in studying polar structures contributing to the fast solar wind, such as polar plumes., 4 pages, 2 figure, conference

During the solar minimum, when the Sun is at its least active, the solar wind is observed at high latitudes as a predominantly fast (more than 500 kilometres per second), highly Alfvénic rarefied stream of plasma originating from deep within coronal holes. Closer to the ecliptic plane, the solar wind is interspersed with a more variable slow wind of less than 500 kilometres per second. The precise origins of the slow wind streams are less certain; theories and observations suggest that they may originate at the tips of helmet streamers from interchange reconnection near coronal hole boundaries or within coronal holes with highly diverging magnetic fields. The heating mechanism required to drive the solar wind is also unresolved, although candidate mechanisms include Alfvén-wave turbulence heating by reconnection in nanoflares ion cyclotron wave heating and acceleration by thermal gradients. At a distance of one astronomical unit, the wind is mixed and evolved, and therefore much of the diagnostic structure of these sources and processes has been lost. Here we present observations from the Parker Solar Probe at 36 to 54 solar radii that show evidence of slow Alfvénic solar wind emerging from a small equatorial coronal hole. The measured magnetic field exhibits patches of large, intermittent reversals that are associated with jets of plasma and enhanced Poynting flux and that are interspersed in a smoother and less turbulent flow with a near-radial magnetic field. Furthermore, plasma-wave measurements suggest the existence of electron and ion velocity-space micro-instabilities that are associated with plasma heating and thermalization processes. Our measurements suggest that there is an impulsive mechanism associated with solar-wind energization and that micro-instabilities play a part in heating, and we provide evidence that low-latitude coronal holes are a key source of the slow solar wind.