Power-law Distribution of Scale Lengths of Interplanetary Magnetic Flux Ropes

Using the least squares method, we fitted the data of interplanetary magnetic flux ropes observed by the Wind Satellite from January 1995 to September 2001. Based on the diameter values resulted from the fits, we further analyzed the relation between occurrence rates P (D) of the magnetic flux ropes and their diameters, and found that the occurrence rates P (D)≈64D^-0.768 approximately follow a power law.This power law indicates that all the interplanetary magnetic flux ropes are the same type of phenomena and have the same source of origin, i.e.they are the interplanetary residuals of coronal mass ejections, with relatively smaller flux ropes produced by smaller solar eruptions. Finally, we discuss possible connections between interplanetary magnetic flux ropes, coronal mass ejections, and solar flares.