Acceleration and heating of two-fluid solar wind by Alfven waves

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (17) References (50) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Acceleration and Heating of Two-Fluid Solar Wind by Alfven Waves Sandbaek, Ornulf ; Leer, Egil Abstract Earlier model studies of solar wind driven by thermal pressure and Alfven waves have shown that wave amplitudes of 20-30 km/s at the coronal base are sufficient to accelerate the flow to the high speeds observed in quasi-steady streams emanating from large coronal holes. We focus on the energy balance in the proton gas and show that heat conduction from the region where the waves are dissipated may play an important role in determining the proton temperature at the orbit of Earth. In models with 'classical' heat conduction we find a correlation between high flow speed, high proton temperature, and low electron temperature at 1 AU. The effect of wave heating on the development of anisotropies in the solar wind proton gas pressure is also investigated in this study. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: March 1994 DOI: 10.1086/173828 Bibcode: 1994ApJ...423..500S Keywords: Energy Transfer; Magnetohydrodynamic Waves; Solar Corona; Solar Wind; Two Fluid Models; Electron Energy; Plasma Acceleration; Plasma Heating; Thermal Conductivity; Astrophysics; SUN: CORONA; SUN: SOLAR WIND full text sources ADS |