Localized pits and peaks in forbush decrease, associated with stratified structure of disturbed and undisturbed magnetic fields

Summary

Forbush decrease (FD) is generally interpreted as a result of diffusion-convection of cosmic rays in a disturbed interplanetary magnetic field associated with the magnetohydrodynamic shock wave caused by solar flare. In this paper, we point out that a large number of FDs contain an isolated region or regions with pit-type time profile, in which cosmic rays are not in a diffusion-convection state but in a trapped state in undisturbed, uniform and strong magnetic field perpendicular to the solar wind. The trapped state is also characterized with a large ratio of the magnetic to ion thermal energy. The median duration time of the state is about 8 hours. About half of these states are associated with the northward (or southward) magnetic field, while the other half with the eastward (or westward) magnetic field. Flares responsible for the former state seem to be concentrated in an eastward region from about 30°W on the solar disk, while those for the latter state seem rather symmetric with respect to the centre of the solar disk. It is suggested that the trapped state is produced inside a magnetic tube of force which is not of a small scale such as that of the magnetic bubble pointed out by Klein and Burlaga, but of a large scale, having a horseshoe structure with its ends supposed to be connected to somewhere in an inner region near the Sun and with its cross-section supposed to be of a thin filament with radial and transverse dimensions of ≈0.1 a.u. and ≈1.1 a.u. at the Earth’s orbit. This belt-like tube of force is supposed to be produced on the solar surface or near the Sun and to be carried out by solar wind in a frozen state, trapping in itself low-density cosmic rays near the Sun. In addition to the pits, we point out also the existence of some peaks which are observed not only in the trapped region but also in a region of extremely disturbed magnetic field neighbouring in between two trapped regions. It is suggested that cosmic rays in the region of the latter type are supposed to be guided freely (or easily) from outer space through a path with similarly disturbed magnetic state, and therefore, they could maintain their density in the region always higher than in the neighbouring regions. Two kinds of cosmic-ray-guiding mechanism in the above can be regarded as being at opposite poles.