DYNAMICAL PROPERTIES OF STELLAR CORONAS AND STELLAR WINDS. III. THE DYNAMICS OF CORONAL STREAMERS
Observations suggest that the solar corona may consist of thin radial filaments and streamers, rather than being an amorphous atmosphere. The filaments and streamers presumably are confined by the magnetic field, along whose lines of force they lie. To investigate the consequences of a filamentary corona for the solar wind, the dynamics of an idealized corona composed of gaseous streamers, with vacuum between the streamers, is worked out neglecting solar rotation, etc. The principal conclusions are that the streamers occupy most of space at large radial distance from the sun, no matter how small a fraction they may occupy at the sun; the velocity of the solar wind is not greatly affected by filamentary structure for a given coronal temperature distribution; the mean-wind density is not affected by more than a factor of 2. Altogether, then, except for the presence of some thin interstreamer regions, there is no great effect of a filamentary structure on the mean values of the solarwind velocity and density at large distance from the sun. The possibility of instability of coronal streamers is looked into, and it is shown that, if the corona is composed principally of streamers, the Helmholtz instability may be expected to disorder and mix up the streamer and interstreamer regions beyond some distance (1 a.u.) from the sun, which might be the origin of some of the disorder observed by Mariner. More quantitative observational information of the solar corona and/or of the structure of the solar wind close to the sun will have to be available before quantitative statements can be made concerning the role of streamers in the solar wind. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Chicago
- NSA Number:
- NSA-18-018542
- OSTI ID:
- 4028833
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal (U.S.), Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal (U.S.) Vol. Vol: 139; ISSN ASJOA
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- English
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Arch systems, cavities, and prominences in the helmet streamer observed at the solar eclipse, November 12, 1966