On the scaling of waiting-time distributions of the negative IMF Bz component

Abstract

Statistics associated with the fluctuations in solar wind parameters show a remarkable dependence on the solar activity phase. In particular, we focus our attention on the waiting-time statistics governing the MHD fluctuations of the z-component of the interplanetary magnetic field, which are important within the framework of the Sun-Earth connections, and briefly discuss the preliminary results. Data from several spacecrafts, covering different phases of the solar cycle and different radial distances, are used. We found that propagating Alfv ©nic fluctuations and convected structures strongly influence the statistics which vary from quasi-Poissonian to power law.