WIND

Two Columns

The Wind Magnetic Field Investigation (MFI) is composed of two fluxgate magnetometers located at the mid point and end of a 12 m boom. The instrument measures DC vector magnetic fields up to a time resolution of 22 or 11 vectors/sec depending on the telemetry mode of the spacecraft. A complete description of the instrument can be found in the Space Science Reviews article by Lepping et al.. Additional information can be found on the Instrument Web Page.

The data processing algorithms employed in generating the MFI data products are described by Farrell et al. [1995].
The calibration method of the spin axis component of the magnetic field is described by Belcher, J. Geophys. Res., 78, 6480, 1973.
The largest source of uncertainty in the MFI data is the inherent rms noise due to averaging. The vector rms variation is computed for all data points and for all time averages from the raw telemetered data and is included in the publicly distributed data files.

The SWE Faraday Cup sub-system was designed to measure solar wind thermal protons and positive ions. The physical instrument is described completely in a Space Science Review article by Ogilvie et al. [1995].

A detailed description of the algorithms and procedures used to generate the Faraday Cup data products is provided in the PhD Thesis of J. Kasper.
Detailed, point-by-point error analysis is included in each data file.
The systematic uncertainties of the measurements, calibrated against other Wind instruments and based on basic physical principles, are discussed in Kasper et al. [2006].

The SWE electron sub-system consists of two electrostatic analyzers, the vector spectrometer (VEIS) and the Strahl spectrometer. They were both designed to measure the solar wind electron distribution function. The original configuration of the detectors are described by Ogilvie et al. [1995].
After the failure of the high voltage power supply of VEIS in 2001, the Strahl detector was reconfigured to recover most of the measurement capabilities. An updated version of the SWE Space Science Reviews article reflecting the changes is also available.

The algorithms used to generate the electron pitch angle and strahl data is described in an internal memo.
Extensive documentation for each data product is provided in the headers of the CDF files.

The Wind 3DP instrument consists of six different sensors. There are two electron (EESA) and two ion (PESA) electrostatic analyzers with different geometrical factors and field-of-views covering the energy range from 3 eV to 30 keV. There are also a pair of solid state telescopes (SST) that measure electrons with energies up to 400 keV and protons with energies up to 6 MeV. The instrument is fully described by Lin et al. [1995].
Some more documenation of the instrument is also available from the 3DP Home Page.

Metadata for the 3DP data products are available from the Virtual Heliospheric Observatory (VHO).
Data product description is included in the header of each CDF data file.

The Wind SMS instrument suite is composed of three separate instruments. The SupraThermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS) determines the mass, mass per charge, and energy for ions in the energy range of 6-230 keV/e. The high resolution mass spectrometer (MASS) determines elemental and isotopic abundances from 0.5 to 12 keV/e. Finally, The Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) determines mass, charge, and energy for ions in the energy range of 0.5 to 30 keV/e. The SWICS "stop" MCP experienced a failure resulting in reduced capabilities for this instrument. These instruments are fully described by Gloeckler et al. [1995].

The methodology of instrument calibration and data product generation is detailed in Ghielmetti et al. [1983].
Detailed discussion of the instrument response function and calibration results are provided in the PhD Thesis of K. Chotoo.
A new software system has been developed which automates many data analysis functions previously done manually. This system first simultaneously assigns events to specific ion species, removing any overlap and using the statistical properties of the measurements to maximum advantage. It then uses these assigned events to construct phase space density distribution functions and corrects these for the effects of instrument efficiency and sampling geometry. Finally, it outputs these distribution functions, error estimates, and count rates for each ion along with many intermediate products that facilitate detailed analysis. The release notes of these data products contain further details.

The Energetic Particles: Acceleration, Composition and Transport (EPACT) investigation consists of multiple telescopes. The highest energy telescopes (APE and IT) have failed early in the mission. However, the Low Energy Matrix Telescope (LEMT) covering energies in the 1-10 MeV/nuc range and the Suprethermal Energetic Particle telescope (STEP) measuring ions heavier than protons in the 20 keV-1 MeV/nuc range still continue to provide valuable data. These instruments are described in detail by Von Rosenvinge et al. [1995].
Further information on the instrument is available on the Instrument Web Page.

The particle detection algorithm is described by Von Rosenvinge et al. [1995].
The content of the Omnidirectional Intensity data files is descibed by the documentation in the data directory.
The content of the Sectored Count data files is described in the documentation in the data directory.
The content of the Temperature Anisotropy data files is described in the documentation in the data directory.

The Wind WAVES experiment, composed of the RAD1, RAD2 and Thermal Noise Recivers (TNR), measures electric fields in a wide range of frequencies. The instrument is fully described by Bougeret et al. [1995].
Some additional technical information is also available on the Instrument Web Page.

The calibration of the TNR receiver that allowed the estimation of electron densities based on the identification of the electron plasma frequency is described by Maksimovich et al. [1998].
The documentation for the WAVES 1-minute average data can be found on the Instrument Web Page.

The two gamma-ray instruments (KONUS and TGRS) on board of Wind, are described on their High Energy Astrophysics Home Page.