Time Variations of the Spectral Indices of the Suprathermal Distribution as observed by WIND/STICS

Suprathermal particle spectra, measured in various regions of the heliosphere and heliosheath by Ulysses, ACE and Voyager, have recently been reported. In many cases long accumulation times had to be used to obtain sufficient statistical accuracy, and corrections were necessary, since only a fraction of phase space was measured. The SupraThermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS), onboard Wind, enables observations of the suprathermal plasma in the solar wind at much higher time resolution. In addition, the STICS samples nearly full three-dimensional phase space, enabling measurements of anisotropies. We present a multi-year investigation of the spectral index of the suprathermal distribution, accumulated over 1 day and less, where we see significant time variation. An average lower bound value of the spectral index is at ~ -5, however, there are time periods during which the observed distributions steepen. We will also present an analysis of time and spatial variations of the suprathermal particle fluxes, observed by STICS and other instruments. In particular, we will compare the observed variability with predictions from a model by Bochsler and Moebius, based on data of the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), who postulated that energetic neutral atoms, from outside of the heliosheath, which then penetrate the inner heliosphere and are finally ionized, could be a source of the very suprathermal populations we observe.