Abstract
The electron velocity distribution function is studied in the extended solar corona above coronal holes (i.e., the inner part of the fast solar wind) from the highly collisional corona close to the Sun to the weakly collisional regions farther out. The electron kinetic equation is solved with a finite-element method in velocity space using a linearized Fokker-Planck collision operator. The ion density and temperature profiles are assumed to be known and the electric field and electron temperature are determined self-consistently. The results show quantitatively how much lower the electron heat flux and the thermal force are than predicted by high-collisionality theory. The sensitivity of the particle and heat fluxes to the assumed ion temperature profile and the applied boundary condition at the boundary far from the Sun is also studied.
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