Study of the solar wind at 1 AU and its outliers

Abstract

The main objective of the thesis is the analysis of the bulk solar wind distribution and its outliers. We propose the bi-Gaussian distribution function to characterize the distribution of the bulk solar wind at 1 AU. In order to do that, we analyze the distribution function of several physical magnitudes: proton speed, proton temperature, proton density, interplanetary magnetic field or composition. Our results conclude that the solar wind has a bimodal distribution and we characterize both solar wind: fast and slow. Our research also provides results about the correlation of these magnitudes with the solar cycle. To complete the study of the distribution function, we analyze the outliers of the solar wind distribution through the extreme value theory. This theory allows us to estimate the return values expected in 40 and 80 years. The previous research allow us to develop a tool to monitor the solar wind status in real time. Using the historical data set of the last 20 years, we define a risk scale to classify the solar wind conditions.