Magnetic helicity of the Parker field

The topological properties of the interplanetary magnetic field are discussed based on a calculation of the magnetic helicity of the Parker field. The most striking feature of the helicity is that it is negative north of the heliospheric current sheet and positive south of the current sheet, regardless of the sign of the solar poloidal magnetic field. Informal arguments based on MHD turbulence theory suggest that the magnetic helicity of turbulence in the interplanetary medium may be related to the large-scale Parker helicity. Because charged particle scattering in certain types of magnetic turbulence (such as slab turbulence) depends strongly upon helicity, the existence of such a relationship could have important implications to cosmic-ray transport in the heliosphere.