Abstract
In this paper, we consider the implications of the observed inverse correlation between solar wind speed at Earth and the expansion rate of the Sun-Earth flux tube as it passes through the corona. We find that the coronal expansion rate depends critically on the large-scale photospheric field distribution around the footpoint of the flux tube, with the smallest expansions occurring in tubes that are rooted near a local minimum in the field. This suggests that the fastest wind streams originate from regions where large coronal holes are about to break apart and from the facing edges of adjacent like-polarity holes, whose field lines converge as they transit the corona. These ideas lead to the following predictions:
-
(1)
Weak holes and fragmentary holes can be sources of very fast wind.
-
(2)
Fast wind with steep latitudinal gradients may be generated where the field lines from the polar hole and a lower-latitude hole of like polarity converge to form a mid-latitude ‘apex’.
-
(3)
The fastest polar wind should occur shortly after sunspot maximum, when trailing-polarity flux converges onto the poles and begins to establish the new polar fields.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altschuler, M. D. and Newkirk, G.: 1969, Solar Phys. 9, 131.
Bohlin, J. D.: 1977, Solar Phys. 51, 377.
Bohlin, J. D. and Sheeley, N. R., Jr.: 1978, Solar Phys. 56, 125.
Coles, W. A. and Rickett, B. J.: 1976, J. Geophys. Res. 81, 4797.
Couzens, D. A. and King, J. H.: 1986, Interplanetary Medium Data Book, Supplements 3 and 3A, 1977–1985, NASA GSFC/NSSDC, Greenbelt, MD.
Feldman, W. C., Asbridge, J. R., Bame, S. J., and Gosling, J. T.: 1978, J. Geophys. Res. 83, 2177.
Hoeksema, J. T.: 1984, ‘Structure and Evolution of Large Scale Solar and Heliospheric Magnetic Fields’, Ph.D. Thesis, Stanford Univ.
Howard, R. and LaBonte, B. J.: 1981, Solar Phys. 74, 131.
Hundhausen, A. J.: 1977, in J. B. Zirker (ed.), Coronal Holes and High Speed Wind Streams, Colorado Associated University Press, Boulder, p. 225.
Jahnke, E. and Emde, F.: 1945, Tables of Functions, Dover Publ., New York, p. 110.
Kojima, M. and Kakinuma, T.: 1987, J. Geophys. Res. 92, 7269.
Kopp, R. A.: 1981, in S. Jordan (ed.), The Sun As A Star, NASA SP-450, p. 373.
Leer, E., Holzer, T. E., and Fla, T.: 1982, Space Sci. Rev. 33, 161.
Leighton, R. B.: 1964, Astrophys. J. 140, 1547.
Levine, R. H.: 1978, J. Geophys. Res. 83, 4193.
Levine, R. H., Altschuler, M. D., and Harvey, J. W.: 1977, J. Geophys. Res. 82, 1061.
Munro, R. H. and Jackson, B. V.: 1977, Astrophys. J. 213, 874.
Nash, A. G., Sheeley, N. R., Jr., and Wang, Y.-M.: 1988, Solar Phys. 117, 359.
Nolte, J. T., Krieger, A. S., Timothy, A. F., Gold, R. E., Roelof, E. C., Vaiana, G., Lazarus, A. J., Sullivan, J. D., and McIntosh, P. S.: 1976, Solar Phys. 46, 303.
Nolte, J. T., Davis, J. M., Gerassimenko, M., Lazarus, A. J., and Sullivan, J. D.: 1977, Geophys. Res. Letters 4, 291.
Rickett, B. J. and Coles, W. A.: 1990, J. Geophys. Res. (submitted).
Schatten, K. H., Wilcox, J. M., and Ness, N. F.: 1969, Solar Phys. 6, 442.
Sheeley, N. R., Jr. and Harvey, J. W.: 1978, Solar Phys. 59, 159.
Sheeley, N. R., Jr., Harvey, J. W., and Feldman, W. C.: 1976, Solar Phys. 49, 271.
Sheeley, N. R., Jr., Wang, Y.-M., and Harvey, J. W.: 1989, Solar Phys. 119, 323.
Sime, D. G. and Rickett, B. J.: 1978, J. Geophys. Res. 83, 5757.
Solar-Geophysical Data (comprehensive reports): 1989, IMP 8 solar wind plasma data for December 1988–June 1989, Vols. 538–543 (Part II), NOAA/U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Boulder, CO.
Svalgaard, L., Duvall, T. L., and Scherrer, P. H.: 1978, Solar Phys. 58, 225.
Wang, Y.-M. and Sheeley, N. R., Jr.: 1988, J. Geophys. Res. 93, 11227.
Wang, Y.-M. and Sheeley, N. R., Jr.: 1990a, Astrophys. J. 355, 726.
Wang, Y.-M. and Sheeley, N. R. Jr.: 1990b, Astrophys. J. (in press).
Wang, Y.-M., Nash, A. G., and Sheeley, N. R., Jr.: 1989a, Science 245, 681.
Wang, Y.-M., Nash, A. G., and Sheeley, N. R., Jr.: 1989b, Astrophys. J. 347, 529.
Wang, Y.-M., Sheeley, N. R., Jr., Nash, A. G., and Shampine, L. R.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 327, 427.
Webb, D. F., Davis, J. M., and McIntosh, P. S.: 1984, Solar Phys. 92, 109.
Wenzel, K.-P., Marsden, R. G., Page, D. E., and Smith, E. J.: 1989, Adv. Space Res. 9(4), 25.
Zirker, J. B. (ed.): 1977, Coronal Holes and High-Speed Wind Streams, Colorado Assoc. Univ. Press, Boulder.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sheeley, N.R., Wang, Y.M. Magnetic field configurations associated with fast solar wind. Sol Phys 131, 165–186 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00151752
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00151752