Solar wind variability: sources and consequences for space weather Rui Pinto

le 04 nov 2016 de11h00à 13h002016/11/04 2016/11/04

The solar wind is a plasma flow which originates close to the surface of the Sun and traverses the whole heliosphere at very high speeds, affecting the Earth and other solar system bodies as well as spacecraft. The solar wind displays a very high variability at a very large range of spatio-temporal scales, reflecting a multitude of magnetic phenomena at the surface and at the atmosphere of the Sun. I will review the physical mechanisms behind the differentiation of the solar wind into slow and fast wind flows in relation with the solar activity cycle, and their consequences for the propagation of disturbances (flows, waves, energetic particles) between the solar surface and any point in the interplanetary space. I will also present on-going theoretical, modelling and space-bourne measurement efforts that aim at understanding the properties of the solar wind and at providing real-time space-weather forecasting tools.