Recurrent 3He-rich Injections Observed by Parker Solar Probe and ACE During Quiescent Solar Wind Conditions

Authors: Samuel T. Hart (The University of Texas at San Antonio), Maher A. Dayeh (Southwest Research Institute), Christina M.S. Cohen (California Institute of Technology), Radoslav Bučík (Southwest Research Institute), Michael J. Starkey (Southwest Research Institute), Prachi S. Pathare (The University of Texas at San Antonio)

Between July 15 – July 17, 2023, the Advanced Composition Explorer observed a sequence of nine (9) nearly scatter-free 3He-rich injections emanating from the same active region (AR 13363). During this period, Parker Solar Probe is located ~0.62 AU from the Sun and is separated from the Earth by only 10° – 4° in heliographic footpoint longitude enabling it to observe the same recurrent injections, thus creating an excellent opportunity to study the radial evolution of impulsive SEPs from only a single conjunction. We compare the total fluences of 3He, 4He, O, & Fe for each possible event to determine the species-dependent intensity decrease between 0.6 and 1 AU. We also observe a large gradual SEP event originating from AR 13363 at the beginning of July 18, 2023 that may have a seed population consisting of 3He-rich material, so we analyze its relative abundance as well. Additionally, the solar wind conditions throughout this period are unusually quiescent, with 1 AU proton densities at n = 0.3 per cc and a nearly constant magnetic field in the nominal Parker spiral direction. Such conditions may be necessary to produce near-scatter-free 3He-rich events.