Corotating structures in the solar wind from 111-MHz observations of interplanetary scintillations at large elongations

Abstract

Results of continuous 111 MHz observations of interplanetary scintillations of the strong radio source 3C 48 at elongations larger than 80◦ out on the Large Phased Array (LPA) of the Lebedev Physical Institute are reported. The data were taken during a four-year interval, from 2012 to 2015, near the maximum of the 24th solar-activity cycle. The averaged elongation dependence of the scintillation index and similar dependences for individual years during the approach and recession phases suggest the presence of a periodic modulation with a 26-day period, which is masked by day-to-day variations. This periodic modulation can be explained by the existence of a long-lived region of enhanced plasma density adjacent to the solar equator during the solar-activity maximum. It is shown that the scintillation timescale increases in the transition to elongations exceeding 90◦.