Solar wind polytropic index estimates based on single spacecraft plasma and interplanetary magnetic field measurements

Abstract

We propose an approach for estimating the polytropic index in the solar wind. This is an artificially introduced parameter simplifying essentially the gasdynamic or magnetogasdynamic modeling of the interplanetary plasma. The problem in the straightforward utilization of the polytropic equation is to find sufficient homogeneous fragments of the solar wind flow, observed by single spacecraft only, where the application of this polytropic equation is correct. We propose an algorithm for following the plasma data time series to ensure the separation of data segments that belong, with high probability, to the same plasma flow flux tube. A linear regression model between logarithms of plasma density and temperature within such a segment provides an estimate for the polytropic index. Some preliminary applications of the algorithm to real data from spacecraft crossings of different solar wind structures are performed for the Bastille event of 14–16 July 2000.