Coupling Between Sun and Solar Wind for 40 Years of Space Exploration

Dr. Vladimir A. Osherovich, L-3 Communications

From the beginning of the space age, attempts have been made to 
relate sunspot numbers (SSN) with solar wind parameters. In the last 
4 solar cycles, the interplanetary magnetic field B, the solar wind 
speed v and the density Rho do not have high correlations with SSN. 
The newly suggested heliospheric index QI=(B2/8*pi)/(Rho v2/2) has a 
correlation with SSN significantly higher than B, v or Rho taken 
separately. We show that the relation between QI and SSN does depend 
on the strength of the solar cycle defined by SSN. The exceptional 
stability of the QI oscillations for 4 cycles allows us to predict QI 
for the next cycle 24. We also show the helium abundance in the solar 
wind reconstructed back to 1868.