Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006spd....37.1603l&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, SPD meeting #37, #16.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.245
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
In-situ observations of charge states of fast solar wind ions reveal higher average charges than the coronal hole source regions as derived from spectroscopy, implying that some extra electron heating and ionization must have occurred in the wind acceleration region prior to freeze-in. We present an extensive analysis of Ulysses and ACE charge state data near the boundaries of different coronal holes, and from different regions within coronal holes to compare with the predictions of a model by Laming (2004). In this model, electrons are heated by lower-hybrid waves, which are in turn generated by solar wind ions gyrating in cross-B density gradients. The observed charge states place constraints on the steepness and ubiquity of cross-field density gradients, which may arise as the end-result of MHD turbulent cascade.In this talk we give a brief overview of the subject and highlight our important findings. We find that, in general, oxygen and carbon charge states behave similarly in both equatorial and polar coronal holes. The charge states of both are lower in the coronal holes than in the solar wind, as previously reported by in-situ studies. For heavier ions, such as silicon and iron, there is not an appreciable difference between the ionic composition outside of coronal holes and at different regions inside of coronal holes. This may be due to processes that take place further out in the corona where these heavier ions freeze-in. We find slightly lower ionic charge states in the fast wind that have been previously reported, which reduces the amount of electron heating required. This work is sponsored by grants from the NSF and NASA.
Laming Martin J.
Lepri Susan T.
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