Characteristics of cumulative particle fluences at different heliospheric radii

Abstract

Normalized cumulative particle fluence plots are very useful for characterizing the variability of interplanetary suprathermal and energetic particle fluxes on various time scales. For some applications it is practicable to describe the deviations of annual fluence plots from straight lines by a single parameter (the Kolmogorov or K parameter), and then check the dependence of that parameter on solar cycle phase or on energy. A check on how the K parameter varies with heliocentric distance will now also be discussed. Some data from Helios, various 1 AU spacecraft, Ulysses, and the Voyagers will be invoked. It will also be examined how the K parameter changes when the baseline period is shorter or longer than 1 year. Comparison with some alternative one-parameter descriptions will also be discussed.