| name | ervin-2025-alfven-surface-wind-braking-psp |
| description | Per-entry paper-skill in wave500_coronal_source_mapping_pfss_045 (HelioSI 501-corpus). See body and metadata.yaml for paper identity and claim boundary. |
| paper | {"authors_verified":false} |
ervin-2025-alfven-surface-wind-braking-psp
Runtime-neutral paper-skill. Layered: (1) scientific invariants, (2) executable protocol against abstract capabilities, (3) adapter notes (optional examples only), (4) research-generation affordances.
Trigger
Reach for this skill when reconstructing the global Alfvén surface from PSP in-situ data and tying it to an angular-momentum-loss / wind-braking torque, with PFSS-derived open flux as a global constraint.
Layer 1 — Scientific invariant
Paper identity
- Title: Reconstructing the Sun's Alfvén Surface and Wind-Braking Torque with Parker Solar Probe
- First author: TODO_verify
- Authors: TODO_verify (PSP/FIELDS team)
- Year: 2025
- arXiv: 2509.07088 (posted 2025-09-08)
- Journal: TODO_verify_with_full_text
- DOI: TODO_verify_with_full_text
Claim (narrow form)
PSP perihelion crossings constrain a 3-D Alfvén surface whose associated wind-braking torque is consistent with a PFSS-derived open-flux budget — yielding a torque estimate that agrees with previous solar-cycle averages within the paper's stated uncertainty.
Method assumptions
- Sub-Alfvénic intervals are correctly identified at PSP.
- Alfvén surface is reconstructible by combining sub-Alfvénic boundaries with a coronal field model.
- PFSS provides a reliable open-flux normalization.
Data assumptions
- PSP FIELDS + SWEAP for plasma + B over multiple encounters.
- Synoptic Br for the relevant CRs.
Failure modes (skill memory)
- Sub-Alfvénic interval boundaries depend on density estimator (QTN vs SPC); cross-check.
- Open-flux normalization carries the PFSS-vs-in-situ OSF gap.
- Wind-braking torque depends on the latitudinal-profile extrapolation.
Figure / numerical targets
- PSP perihelion crossings on the reconstructed Alfvén surface.
- Wind-braking torque vs cycle phase.
- Open-flux budget reconciliation panel.
Claim boundary
In scope. PSP encounters covered by the paper and its PFSS choice.
Out of scope — do NOT generalize:
- Do NOT extend the torque estimate beyond the latitude range actually constrained by PSP.
- Do NOT cite Alfvén-surface heights independent of the underlying open-flux normalization.
Layer 2 — Executable protocol (capability-typed)
Required capabilities (abstract)
| Capability | Purpose | Notes |
|---|
psp.fields_b() | PSP MAG/SCM B | burst+survey |
psp.sweap_n_v() | PSP plasma | SPC/SPAN-I |
alfven.identify_subalfvenic() | sub-Alfvénic intervals | Mach criterion |
surface.reconstruct() | 3-D Alfvén surface | smoothing knob |
pfss.solve() | open-flux normalization | |
torque.wind_braking() | compute angular-momentum loss | |
Procedure
- Identify PSP sub-Alfvénic intervals.
- Fit a smooth 3-D Alfvén surface to crossings.
- Solve PFSS; obtain open-flux normalization.
- Integrate wind-braking torque from the surface and the OSF.
- Compare to long-baseline torque estimates.
Validation target
Reproduce the paper's torque value within uncertainty.
Layer 3 — Adapter / runtime notes (optional examples)
- sunkit-magex.pfss for the PFSS step; pyspedas / sunpy for PSP data access. PSP intervals can be loaded via .library/custom/psp-data-analysis/.
Layer 4 — Research-generation affordances
- Tension with [[finley-2023-differential-rotation-angular-momentum-loss]] — does differential rotation matter at PSP-relevant latitudes?
- Compose with [[kasper-2021-psp-enters-magnetically-dominated-corona]] — sub-Alfvénic crossings vs OSF normalization.
Skill graph → depends_on
- [[kasper-2021-psp-enters-magnetically-dominated-corona]]
- [[paper-stansby-2020-pfsspy-python-pfss]]
- [[finley-2023-differential-rotation-angular-momentum-loss]]
Links
TODOs for full-text verification
- lead author
- exact sub-Alfvénic interval list
- OSF normalization
- DOI