Simulated Energetic Particle Transport in the Interplanetary Space: The Palmer Consensus Revisited

Reproducing measurements of the scattering mean free paths for energetic particles propagating through the solar system has been a major problem in space physics. The pioneering work of Bieber et al. [Astrophys. J. 420, 294 (1994)] provided a theoretical explanation of such observations, which, however, was based on assumptions such as the questionable hypothesis that quasi-linear theory is correct for parallel diffusion. By employing a hybrid plasma-wave/magnetostatic turbulence model, a test-particle code is used to investigate the scattering of energetic particles. The results show excellent agreement with solar wind observations.