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Hydrodynamics of the Solar Wind Expansion

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Abstract

A pedagogical introduction to the classical hydrodynamic steady state solutions for flows in a spherically symmetric atmosphere is presented along with a detailed analysis of the stability of such flows and a discussion of the Parker/Bondi phase diagram of solutions in the Mach number – stellar radius plane. This leads naturally to the scenario presented by Velli (1994) for wind-accretion transitions, which helps to explain results from numerical simulations in many contexts and gives a more comprehensive answer to the question of why the solar wind and other steady state flows in spherical symetry must quite generally become supersonic.

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  1. Dipartimento di Astronomia e Scienze dello Spazio, Universitàdi Firenz, Italy

    M. Velli

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  1. M. Velli
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Velli, M. Hydrodynamics of the Solar Wind Expansion. Astrophysics and Space Science 277, 157–167 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012237708634

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012237708634

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