Large-scale structure of the fast solar wind

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
• Main Authors: Bisi, M. M., Fallows, R. A., Breen, A. R., Habbal, S. Rifai, Jones, R. A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: eScholarship, University of California 2007
• Subjects: EISCAT; MERLIN; Interplanetary Scintillation (IPS); Solar Wind; Bi-modal fast wind; Tri-modal model; Ulysses SWOOPS; SOHO LASCO; SOHO EIT; Yohkoh SXT; Mauna Loa MkIII
• Online Access: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/56s54973

We present the results of a comprehensive study of the fast solar wind near solar minimum conditions using interplanetary scintillation (IPS) data taken with the EISCAT system in northern Scandinavia, and a recent extremely long baseline observation using both EISCAT and MERLIN systems. The results from IPS observations suggest that the fast wind inside 100 solar radii (R-circle dot) can be represented by a two-mode model in some cases but this distinction is much less clear by in situ distances beyond 1 astronomical unit (215 R-circle dot). Two distinct fast streams are seen in the extremely long baseline IPS observation; comparison of the IPS line of sight with a synoptic map of white light indicates the faster mode overlies the polar crown and the slower fast mode overlies an equatorial extension of the polar coronal hole.