Observations and Models of the Fast and Slow Solar Wind

Abstract

There are two major types of solar wind. The steady fast wind originating on open magnetic field lines in coronal holes, and the unsteady slow wind coming from the bulk or boundary layer of streamers, which are mostly magnetically closed but may open up temporarily. Many observations of the solar wind have in the past been made in situ and remotely. Key empirical constraints, which are imposed on the models by the Helios (near-Sun, in-ecliptic) and Ulysses (high-latitude) interplanetary measurements and by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) plasma diagnostics, are discussed with respect to the fluid and kinetic properties of the wind. The majority of the models is concerned with the fast wind, essential properties of which can be reproduced by 1-D multi-fluid models involving broad-band waves. Owing to its time-variable nature, no robust understanding of the slow wind exists. Selected results from modelling and observations are discussed.