"Corotating Interaction Region (CIR)", "Interaction Region", "Stream Interaction Region (SIR)", which term should be used?

2026 Preprint Open access

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Authors: Bruce T. Tsurutani, Rajkumar Hajra, Gurbax Singh Lakhina
DOI: 10.5194/egusphere-2026-5
Cited by: 0

Abstract

Abstract. We discuss the history of quasiperiodic ~27-day recurrent geomagnetic activity and the origin of the names "interaction region", "corotating interaction region" and "stream interaction region". The latter three names have an identical meaning. We recommend the most commonly used name "corotating interaction region" or CIR for sole usage in the literature to avoid confusion.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Stellar planetary and galactic studies

Publication details

Publication date
30 January 2026
Document type
Preprint