THE SPECTROSCOPIC FOOTPRINT OF THE FAST SOLAR WIND

Journal Article · Thu Jan 20 00:00:00 EST 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/727/1/7· OSTI ID:21567634

McIntosh, Scott W ^[1]; Leamon, Robert J ^[2]

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1. High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 (United States)
2. ADNET Systems Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 671.1, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

We analyze a large, complex equatorial coronal hole (ECH) and its immediate surroundings with a focus on the roots of the fast solar wind. We start by demonstrating that our ECH is indeed a source of the fast solar wind at 1 AU by examining in situ plasma measurements in conjunction with recently developed measures of magnetic conditions of the photosphere, inner heliosphere, and the mapping of the solar wind source region. We focus the bulk of our analysis on interpreting the thermal and spatial dependence of the non-thermal line widths in the ECH as measured by SOHO/SUMER by placing the measurements in context with recent studies of ubiquitous Alfven waves in the solar atmosphere and line profile asymmetries (indicative of episodic heating and mass loading of the coronal plasma) that originate in the strong, unipolar magnetic flux concentrations that comprise the supergranular network. The results presented in this paper are consistent with a picture where a significant portion of the energy responsible for the transport of heated mass into the fast solar wind is provided by episodically occurring small-scale events (likely driven by magnetic reconnection) in the upper chromosphere and transition region of the strong magnetic flux regions that comprise the supergranular network.

• OSTI ID: 21567634
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 727, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/727/1/7; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ALFVEN WAVES
CHROMOSPHERE
HELIOSPHERE
MAGNETIC FLUX
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
MAGNETISM
MAPPING
PHOTOSPHERE
SOLAR CORONA
SOLAR WIND
SUN
ATMOSPHERES
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
MAIN SEQUENCE STARS
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR ATMOSPHERE
STARS
STELLAR ACTIVITY
STELLAR ATMOSPHERES
STELLAR CORONAE
STELLAR WINDS