Interpretation of flat energy spectra upstream of fast interplanetary shocks

Interplanetary shocks are large-scale heliospheric structures often caused by eruptive phenomena at the Sun, and represent one of the main sources of energetic particles. Several interplanetary shock crossings by spacecraft at $1$ AU have revealed enhanced energetic-ion fluxes that extend far upstream of the shock. Surprisingly, in some shock events, ion fluxes with energies between $100$ keV and about $2$ MeV acquire similar values (which we refer to as ``overlapped'' fluxes), corresponding to flat energy spectra in that range. In contrast, closer to the shock, the fluxes are observed to depend on energy. In this work, we analyze three interplanetary shock-related energetic particle events observed by the Advanced Composition Explorer spacecraft where flat ion energy spectra were observed upstream of the shock. We interpret these observations via a velocity filter mechanism for particles in a given energy range. This reveals that low energy particles tend to be confined to the shock front and cannot easily propagate upstream, while high energy particles can. The velocity filter mechanism has been corroborated from observations of particle flux anisotropy by the Solid-State Telescope of Wind/3DP.