Conductive solar wind models in rapidly diverging flow geometries

Authors:
  • THThomas E. Holzer
    Thomas E. Holzer
  • ELEgil Leer
    Egil Leer
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Abstract
A detailed parameter study of conductive models of the solar wind has been carried out, extending the previous similar studies of Durney (1972) and Durney and Hundhausen (1974) by considering collisionless inhibition of thermal conduction, rapidly diverging flow geometries, and the structure of solutions for the entire n0‐T0 plane (n0 and T0 are the coronal base density and temperature). Primary emphasis is placed on understanding the complex effects of the physical processes operative in conductive solar wind models. There are five points of particular interest that have arisen from the study: (1) neither collisionless inhibition of thermal conduction nor rapidly diverging flow geometries can significantly increase the solar wind speed at 1 AU; (2) there exists a firm upper limit on the coronal base temperature consistent with observed values of the coronal base pressure and solar wind mass flux density; (3) the principal effect of rapidly diverging flow geometries is a decrease in the solar wind mass flux density at 1 AU and an increase in the mass flux density at the coronal base; (4) collisionless inhibition of thermal conduction can lead to a solar wind flow speed that either increases or decreases with increasing coronal base density (n0) and temperature (T0), depending on the region of the n0‐T0 plane considered; and (5) there is a region of the n0‐T0 plane at high coronal base densities where low‐speed, high‐mass‐flux, transonic solar wind flows exist—a region not previously considered.

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