scholarly journals Origin of the Solar Wind and Open Coronal Magnetic Structures

2004 ◽  
Vol 219 ◽  
pp. 587-598
Author(s):  
Shadia Rifai Habbal ◽  
Richard Woo

Identifying the regions of open magnetic structures in the corona, namely regions where field lines expand outwards into interplanetary space, is equivalent to establishing the origin of the solar wind at the Sun. A review of recent studies, based on the comparison of the distribution, as a function of latitude, of density and velocity in the inner corona and in interplanetary space, is presented. It is shown how, at solar minimum, this comparison leads to the unexpected result that the fast solar wind expands indiscriminately from a significant fraction of the solar surface, not limited to polar coronal holes, as has been believed for the past three decades. It is also shown how polarization measurements of coronal forbidden lines, which yield the direction of the coronal magnetic field, lend further support to this result. The implications of these findings are that a significant fraction of the solar magnetic field is primarily open, expanding almost radially into interplanetary space, carrying with it the imprint of the distribution of density in the corona, while the ‘closed’ structures contribute a small fraction to the overall filling factor of coronal density structures. Furthermore, the solar wind particle flux is found to be correlated with density, implying a higher mass loss rate from the higher density quiet Sun regions, and the likelihood of a solar cycle dependence in the mass loss rate, as the are of polar coronal holes decreases with increased solar activity.

2020 ◽  
Vol 635 ◽  
pp. A170 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ahuir ◽  
A. S. Brun ◽  
A. Strugarek

Context. Stellar spin down is the result of a complex process involving rotation, dynamo, wind, and magnetism. Multiwavelength surveys of solar-like stars have revealed the likely existence of relationships between their rotation, X-ray luminosity, mass losses, and magnetism. They impose strong constraints on the corona and wind of cool stars. Aims. We aim to provide power-law prescriptions of the mass loss of stars, of their magnetic field, and of their base coronal density and temperature that are compatible with their observationally-constrained spin down. Methods. We link the magnetic field and the mass-loss rate from a wind torque formulation, which is in agreement with the distribution of stellar rotation periods in open clusters and the Skumanich law. Given a wind model and an expression of the X-ray luminosity from radiative losses, we constrained the coronal properties by assuming different physical scenarios linking closed loops to coronal holes. Results. We find that the magnetic field and the mass loss are involved in a one-to-one correspondence that is constrained from spin down considerations. We show that a magnetic field, depending on both the Rossby number and the stellar mass, is required to keep a consistent spin down model. The estimates of the magnetic field and the mass-loss rate obtained from our formalism are consistent with statistical studies as well as individual observations and they give new leads to constrain the magnetic field-rotation relation. The set of scaling-laws we derived can be broadly applied to cool stars from the pre-main sequence to the end of the main sequence (MS), and they allow for stellar wind modeling that is consistent with all of the observational constraints available to date.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S343) ◽  
pp. 186-190
Author(s):  
J. J. Díaz-Luis ◽  
J. Alcolea ◽  
V. Bujarrabal ◽  
M. Santander-García ◽  
M. Gómez-Garrido ◽  
...  

AbstractThe mass loss process along the AGB phase is crucial for the formation of circumstellar envelopes (CSEs), which in the post-AGB phase will evolve into planetary nebulae (PNe). There are still important issues that need to be further explored in this field; in particular, the formation of axially symmetric PNe from spherical CSEs. To address the problem, we have conducted high S/N IRAM 30 m observations of 12COJ = 1−0 and J = 2−1, and 13COJ = 1−0 in a volume-limited unbiased sample of semi-regular variables (SRs). We also conducted Yebes 40 m SiO J = 1−0 observations in 1/2 of the sample in order to complement our 12CO observations. We report a moderate correlation between mass loss rate and the 12CO(1−0)−to−12CO(2−1) line intensity ratio, introducing a possible new method for determining mass loss rates of SRs with short analysis time. We also find that for several stars the SiO profiles are very similar to the 12CO profiles, a totally unexpected result unless these are non-standard envelopes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 486 (4) ◽  
pp. 4671-4685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wageesh Mishra ◽  
Nandita Srivastava ◽  
Yuming Wang ◽  
Zavkiddin Mirtoshev ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Similar to the Sun, other stars shed mass and magnetic flux via ubiquitous quasi-steady wind and episodic stellar coronal mass ejections (CMEs). We investigate the mass loss rate via solar wind and CMEs as a function of solar magnetic variability represented in terms of sunspot number and solar X-ray background luminosity. We estimate the contribution of CMEs to the total solar wind mass flux in the ecliptic and beyond, and its variation over different phases of the solar activity cycles. The study exploits the number of sunspots observed, coronagraphic observations of CMEs near the Sun by SOHO/LASCO, in situ observations of the solar wind at 1 AU by WIND, and GOES X-ray flux during solar cycles 23 and 24. We note that the X-ray background luminosity, occurrence rate of CMEs and ICMEs, solar wind mass flux, and associated mass loss rates from the Sun do not decrease as strongly as the sunspot number from the maximum of solar cycle 23 to the next maximum. Our study confirms a true physical increase in CME activity relative to the sunspot number in cycle 24. We show that the CME occurrence rate and associated mass loss rate can be better predicted by X-ray background luminosity than the sunspot number. The solar wind mass loss rate which is an order of magnitude more than the CME mass loss rate shows no obvious dependency on cyclic variation in sunspot number and solar X-ray background luminosity. These results have implications for the study of solar-type stars.


2003 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
pp. 372-376
Author(s):  
Anatol M. Cherepashchuk

The final masses MCO,f for the CO-cores of WR stars with known masses are calculated taking into account mass-dependent mass loss of WR stars and clumping structure of the WR wind which allows the mass loss rate to be decreased by a factor of 3. The masses of MCO,f lie in the range (1-2) - (20-44)M⊙ and have continuous distribution in contrast with distribution of masses Mx of relativistic objects. The distribution of Mx seems to be bimodal with a gap in the range Mx = 2-4 M⊙. A mean CO-core mass <MCO,f = 7.4-10.3 M⊙ is close to that of black holes: <MBH = 8-10 M⊙. Difference between distributions of MCO,f and Mx allows us to suggest that the nature of a formed relativistic object (neutron star, black hole) is determined not only by the mass of a progenitor but also by some other parameters: rotation, magnetic field, etc.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (3) ◽  
pp. 3438-3453
Author(s):  
D Ó Fionnagáin ◽  
A A Vidotto ◽  
P Petit ◽  
C Neiner ◽  
W Manchester IV ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We investigate the wind of λ And, a solar-mass star that has evolved off the main sequence becoming a subgiant. We present spectropolarimetric observations and use them to reconstruct the surface magnetic field of λ And. Although much older than our Sun, this star exhibits a stronger (reaching up to 83 G) large-scale magnetic field, which is dominated by the poloidal component. To investigate the wind of λ And, we use the derived magnetic map to simulate two stellar wind scenarios, namely a ‘polytropic wind’ (thermally driven) and an ‘Alfven-wave-driven wind’ with turbulent dissipation. From our 3D magnetohydrodynamics simulations, we calculate the wind thermal emission and compare it to previously published radio observations and more recent Very Large Array observations, which we present here. These observations show a basal sub-mJy quiescent flux level at ∼5 GHz and, at epochs, a much larger flux density (&gt;37 mJy), likely due to radio flares. By comparing our model results with the radio observations of λ And, we can constrain its mass-loss rate $\dot{M}$. There are two possible conclusions. (1) Assuming the quiescent radio emission originates from the stellar wind, we conclude that λ And has $\dot{M} \simeq 3 \times 10^{-9}$ M⊙ yr −1, which agrees with the evolving mass-loss rate trend for evolved solar-mass stars. (2) Alternatively, if the quiescent emission does not originate from the wind, our models can only place an upper limit on mass-loss rates, indicating that $\dot{M} \lesssim 3 \times 10^{-9}$ M⊙ yr −1.


2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Perri ◽  
A. S. Brun ◽  
V. Réville ◽  
A. Strugarek

We want to study the connections between the magnetic field generated inside the Sun and the solar wind impacting Earth, especially the influence of north–south asymmetry on the magnetic and velocity fields. We study a solar-like 11-year cycle in a quasi-static way: an asymmetric dynamo field is generated through a 2.5-dimensional (2.5-D) flux-transport model with the Babcock–Leighton mechanism, and then is used as bottom boundary condition for compressible 2.5-D simulations of the solar wind. We recover solar values for the mass loss rate, the spin-down time scale and the Alfvén radius, and are able to reproduce the observed delay in latitudinal variations of the wind and the general wind structure observed for the Sun. We show that the phase lag between the energy of the dipole component and the total surface magnetic energy has a strong influence on the amplitude of the variations of global quantities. We show in particular that the magnetic torque variations can be linked to topological variations during a magnetic cycle, while variations in the mass loss rate appear to be driven by variations of the magnetic energy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S329) ◽  
pp. 126-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Shultz ◽  
Gregg Wade ◽  
Thomas Rivinius ◽  
Coralie Neiner ◽  
Evelyne Alecian ◽  
...  

AbstractSome magnetic early B-type stars display Hα emission originating in their Centrifugal Magnetospheres (CMs). To determine the rotational and magnetic properties necessary for the onset of emission, we analyzed a large spectropolarimetric dataset for a sample of 51 B5-B0 magnetic stars. New rotational periods were found for 15 stars. We determined physical parameters, dipolar magnetic field strengths, magnetospheric parameters, and magnetic braking timescales. Hα-bright stars are more rapidly rotating, more strongly magnetized, and younger than the overall population. We use the high sensitivity of magnetic braking to the mass-loss rate to test the predictions of Vink et al. (2001) and Krtička (2014) by comparing ages t to maximum spindown ages tS, max. For stars with M* < 10 M⊙ this comparison favours the Krtička recipe. For the most massive stars, both prescriptions yield t ≪ tS, max, a discrepancy which is difficult to explain via incorrect mass-loss rates alone.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. A4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Niembro ◽  
Alejandro Lara ◽  
Ricardo Francisco González ◽  
Jorge Cantó

We present hydrodynamical simulations of the interaction of Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) in the Interplanetary Medium (IPM). In these events, two consecutive CMEs are launched from the Sun in similar directions within an interval of time of a few hours. In our numerical model, we assume that the ambient solar wind is characterized by its velocity and mass-loss rate. Then, the CMEs are generated when the flow velocity and mass-loss rate suddenly change, with respect to the ambient solar wind conditions during two intervals of time, which correspond to the duration of each CME. After their interaction, a merged region is formed and evolve as a single structure into the IPM. In this work, we are interested in the general morphology of this merged region, which depends on the initial parameters of the ambient solar wind and the CMEs involved. In order to understand this morphology, we have performed a parametric study in which we characterize the effects of the initial parameters variations on the density and velocity profiles at 1 AU, using as reference the well-documented event of July 25th, 2004. Based on this parametrization we were able to reproduce the main features of the observed profiles ensuring the travel time and the speed and density magnitudes. Then, we apply the parametrization results to the interaction events of May 23, 2010; August 1, 2010; and November 9, 2012. With this approach and varying the values of the input parameters within the CME observational errors, our simulated profiles reproduce the main features observed at 1 AU. Even though we do not take into account the magnetic field, our models give a physical insight into the propagation and interaction of ICMEs.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S286) ◽  
pp. 286-290
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Linsky ◽  
Brian E. Wood ◽  
Seth Redfield

AbstractWe describe our method for measuring mass loss rates of F–M main sequence stars with high-resolution Lyman-α line profiles. Our diagnostic is the extra absorption on the blue side the interstellar hydrogen absorption produced by neutral hydrogen gas in the hydrogen walls of stars. For stars with low X-ray fluxes, the correlation of observed mass loss rate with X-ray surface flux and age predicts the solar wind mass flux between 700 Myr and the present.


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