Parkes observations for project P1189 semester 2023APRS_06

Full description

The solar wind and space weather events have a crucial influence on the solar system, and can present a hazard to space and Earth-based technologies. Understanding the origins of the solar wind and space weather is therefore crucial, so that we can better understand how these events are driven, and to improve space weather prediction efforts. In particular, magnetic structures such as coronal holes, helmet streamers, and prominences in the lower corona are thought to be crucial drivers of the winds and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). However, there are very few observational constraints on the solar wind and space weather events at low solar altitudes (< 20 solar radii), as this region is inaccessible to space probes. In this proposal, we seek to monitor a set of pulsars as they pass within 5.7 degrees of the Sun. We will use the UWL receiver on the Parkes Radio Telescope to make precision measurements of the dispersive group delay and Faraday rotation of the pulses. This will enable us to probe the densities and magnetic fields of the coronal structures driving the wind, and probe $2^{+3}_{-1}$ CMEs as they pass by the pulsars serendipitously. We will tie this information together with complementary efforts to probe the solar wind via interplanetary scintillation, constraints from space probes, and simulations. This will give us an exciting opportunity to form a holistic picture of the solar wind and space weather.