Characteristics of Arc-Polarized Alfvén Waves in the Near-Earth Solar Wind

Abstract

The arc-polarized Alfvén waves observed in the near-Earth region of the heliosphere are studied with instruments of the WIND spacecraft in 1995–2011. Statistical distributions of the parameters characterizing the duration, amplitude, and nature of the variations in the magnetic field during the studied events are considered. The orientation of the polarization planes of Alfvén waves is studied and found to be nonrandom in nature and associated with the presence of two distinct directions (axes), which are inclined at angles of ~40° to the plane of the heliographic equator.