Interplanetary Signatures of Unipolar Streamers and the Origin of the Slow Solar Wind |
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| Authors: | P Riley J G Luhmann |
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| Institution: | 1.Predictive Science, Inc.,San Diego,USA;2.Space Science Laboratory,University of California, Berkeley,Berkeley,USA |
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| Abstract: | Unipolar streamers (also known as pseudo-streamers) are coronal structures that, at least in coronagraph images, and when
viewed at the correct orientation, are often indistinguishable from dipolar (or “standard”) streamers. When interpreted with
the aid of a coronal magnetic field model, however, they are shown to consist of a pair of loop arcades. Whereas dipolar streamers
separate coronal holes of the opposite polarity and whose cusp is the origin of the heliospheric current sheet, unipolar streamers
separate coronal holes of the same polarity and are therefore not associated with a current sheet. In this study, we investigate
the interplanetary signatures of unipolar streamers. Using a global MHD model of the solar corona driven by the observed photospheric
magnetic field for Carrington rotation 2060, we map the ACE trajectory back to the Sun. The results suggest that ACE fortuitously
traversed through a large and well-defined unipolar streamer. We also compare heliospheric model results at 1 AU with ACE
in-situ measurements for Carrington rotation 2060. The results strongly suggest that the solar wind associated with unipolar streamers
is slow. We also compare predictions using the original Wang–Sheeley (WS) empirically determined inverse relationship between
solar wind speed and expansion factor. Because of the very low expansion factors associated with unipolar streamers, the WS
model predicts high speeds, in disagreement with the observations. We discuss the implications of these results in terms of
theories for the origin of the slow solar wind. Specifically, premises relying on the expansion factor of coronal flux tubes
to modulate the properties of the plasma (and speed, in particular) must address the issue that while the coronal expansion
factors are significantly different at dipolar and unipolar streamers, the properties of the measured solar wind are, at least
qualitatively, very similar. |
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