On the continuum theory of the two-fluid solar wind for small mass ratio

Abstract

The continuum theory for the two-fluid solar wind is considered. The fluid is assumed to be a fully ionized neutral plasma of electrons and protons which is compressible, viscous and heat conducting with a constant Prandtl number and a viscosity proportional to (temperature) ω , ω > 1. The gas is under the influence of a gravitational field centred on the Sun. It is assumed that the bulk velocity (at any point) is the same for both electrons and protons, but that an energy transfer can occur between the two species due to binary (Coulomb) collisions. The equations are non-dimensionalized and it is shown that the natural parameter to use in the construction of an asymptotic solution is the mass ratio. The limit mass ratio → zero corresponds to the small Prandtl number limit for the one-fluid theory developed by Johnson (1975). By using the method of matched asymptotic expansions, a solution is constructed that starts from the base of the corona and extends out to a diffuse shock layer. The results obtained exactly parallel the one-fluid theory and many details are identified and absorbed into this analysis. It is shown how the temperatures in the corona eventually become the well-known behaviours: r -2/7 (electrons), r -6/7 (protons) when ω = 5/2 and r is the radial coordinate. However, the continuum theory will probably have failed in the shock layer region - the more so since this occurs at about 100 light years distance - and so further mathematical details are omitted. The numerical estimates given here compare tolerably well with the observed data and very favourably with other work on the same equations.