RPW Data Center
solo_L2_rpw-tds-surv-rswf-b
solo_L2_rpw-tds-surv-rswf-b data provides the magnetic field waveform of the component Bx, measured in Survey mode by the SCM sensor and TDS analyzer of the Solar Orbiter/RPW instrument.
Data is not continuous, but consists of snapshots of nt continuous points sampled at f_s Hz. nt can vary from 2^9 to 2^16 but usually it is 4096, 8192 or 16384 ; f_s can also vary from 2097100 / 2^5 to 2097100 / 2^2 but usually it is 262137.5 or 524275.
Data is calibrated to correct sensor and analyzer transfer functions.
The magnetic field is expressed in the SCM frame.
This data product has been produced following the method described in technical documentation.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-3xcjd4w
| Type of data | Snapshot waveform of the magnetic field |
|---|---|
| Units | nT |
| Sampling rate | from 65534 Hz to 524275 Hz |
| Data format | CDF (3.9.0) |
| Granularity | 1 file per day |
Data organization
Table below gives the name, data type, units and description of the zVariables stored in the CDF file.
| NAME | TYPE | UNIT | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epoch | CDF_TIME_TT2000 [1] | ns | Epoch time of the record |
| B | CDF_REAL4[nt] | nT | 1 entry array with magnetic values of the component B4x in SCM frame |
| CALIBRATION_TABLE_INDEX | CDF_UINT1[2,2] | Calibration tables used: (i,1) = k gives the name of the calibration table file as gEntry[k] of Global attribute CALIBRATION_TABLE, and (i,2) gives the record number in the calibration table file. | |
| L2_QUALITY_BITMASK | CDF_UINT2 | Flag to indicate any context or events that can alterate data
| |
| QUALITY_BITMASK | CDF_UINT2 | Flag to indicate any context information or status at the receiver or experiment level. The value is inherited from the L1 parent | |
| QUALITY_FLAG | CDF_UINT1 | Flag to indicate the quality of the data from 0: Bad to 4: Excellent | |
| SAMPLING_RATE | CDF_REAL4 | Hz | Sampling rate |
| SAMPS_PER_CH | CDF_UINT4 | Number of samples per channel = nt | |
| SURVEY_MODE | CDF_UINT1 | Flag to indicate if TDS is in the SURVEY_BURST (=1) or SURVEY_NORMAL (=0) mode |
Rules of use
Please read the text of the Rules_of_use global attribute in the CDF files.
See also in https://rpw-datacenter.obspm.fr/spip.php?article4.
Caveats and known issues
Table below gives the list of main known issues and the actions taken to mitigate them.
Please read the CAVEATS global attribute entries in the CDF files to be aware of the possible issues and limitations concerning data.
| ISSUE | MITIGATION(S) |
|---|---|
| The magnetic field is greatly disturbed when the SCM heaters are switched on and off. | When the heater signature could be located in the signal, it was subtracted before calibration, bit1 of L2_QUALITY_BITMASK is set to 1 and QUALITY_FLAG is capped to 2 |
| LFR calibration signal is sometimes superimposed on the interplanetary magnetic field | bit2 of L2_QUALITY_BITMASK is set to 1 and QUALITY_FLAG is capped to 2 |
| Interferences from spacecraft equipment are present above the sensitivity of SCM at 8 Hz, 16 Hz and harmonics. Other interferences can be noted at 1.3 Hz and harmonics | Peaks caused by these interferences are easily identifiable in the power spectrum |
Release notes
See MODS global attribute in the CDF files for an history of the data modifications.
Authors
Matthieu Kretzschmar and Jean-Yves Brochot.
References
• The Solar Orbiter Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument, Maksimovic et al., A&A, 2020 (https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201936214)
• Jannet, G., Dudok de Wit, T., Krasnoselskikh, V., Kretzschmar, M., Fergeau, P., Bergerard-Timofeeva, M., et al. (2021). Measurement of magnetic field fluctuations in the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 126, e2020JA028543 (https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA028543)
• Metadata Definition for Solar Orbiter Science Data, Helen R. Middleton
• RPW Data Product Description Document (DPDD)
• NASA CDF Web portal
Return to Data products description mainpage