Elemental building blocks of the slow solar wind

Abstract:

While the source of the fast solar wind is well understood to be linked to coronal holes, the source of the slow solar wind has remained elusive. A distinguishing characteristic of the slow solar wind is the high variability of the plasma parameters, such as magnetic field, velocity, density, composition, and charge state. Many previous studies of the slow solar wind have examined trends in the composition and charge states over long time scales and using data with comparatively low temporal resolution. In this study, we take advantage of high time resolution (12 min) measurements of the charge-state abundances recently reprocessed by the ACE SWICS science team to probe the timescales of solar wind variability of coherent structures at relatively small scales (<2000 Mm, or ~ 90 minutes at slow wind speeds). We use an interval of slow solar wind containing quasi pressure-balanced, periodic number density structures previously studied by Kepko et al and shown to be important in solar wind-magnetospheric coupling. The combination of high temporal resolution composition measurements and the clearly identified boundaries of the periodic structures allows us to probe the elemental slow solar wind flux tubes/structures. We use this train of 2000Mm periodic density structures as tracers of solar wind origin and/or acceleration. We find that each 2000 Mm parcel of slow solar wind, though its speed is steady, exhibits the complete range of charge state and composition variations expected for the entire range of slow solar wind, in a repeated sequence. Each parcel cycles through three states: 1) 'normal' slow wind, 2) compositionally slow wind with very high density, and 3) compositionally fast but typical slow solar wind density. We conclude by suggesting these structures form elemental building blocks of the slow solar wind, and discuss whether it is necessary to decouple separately the process(es) responsible for the release and acceleration.