Coronal Radio Occultation Experiments with the Helios Solar Probes: Correlation/Spectral Analysis of Faraday Rotation Fluctuations

Abstract

The coronal Faraday rotation (FR) experiments using the linearly polarized signals of the Helios-1 and Helios-2 interplanetary probes remain a unique investigation of the magnetic field of the solar corona and its aperiodic and quasi-periodic variations. The unexpectedly long lifetime of these spacecraft (1974 - 1986) enabled studies from very deep solar-activity minimum (1975 - 1976) into the strong activity maximum (1979). Important experimental data were also obtained for the rising (1977 - 1978) and declining (1980 - 1984) branches of the solar-activity cycle. Previous publications have presented results of the initial experimental data only for coronal-sounding experiments performed during individual solar-conjunction opportunities. This report is a more detailed analysis of the Helios FR measurements for the entire period 1975 - 1984. Radial profiles of the FR fluctuation (FRF) intensity recorded during the deepest solar-activity minimum in 1975 - 1976 are shown to differ distinctly from those during the strong solar-activity maximum in 1979. In particular, the decrease of the FRF intensity with solar-offset distance is substantially steeper in 1979 than in 1975/1976. In all cases, however, the FR data reveal quasi-periodic wave-like fluctuations in addition to the random background with a power-law spectrum. The dominant period of these fluctuations, recorded during 35 % of the total measurement time, is found to be close to five minutes. Large-scale FR variations at considerably longer periods (1.1 - 2.7 hours) were observed during 20 % of the measurement time. Knowing the intrinsic motion of the radio ray path from spacecraft to Earth and making a reasonable assumption about the solar-wind velocity, FRF observations at widely spaced ground stations have been used to estimate the velocity of coronal Alfvén waves. The velocity values range between 290 and 550 km s⁻¹ at heliocentric distances between 3.5 and 4.5 R_⊙ and are marginally lower (150 - 450 km s⁻¹) at distances between 5.5 and 6.5 R_⊙. Occasional FR variations with a period near 160 minutes and harmonics with periods 60, 30, and 20 minutes were also observed.