סמינר בחוג למדעי כדור הארץ: The Origin of the Slow Solar Wind

Abstract: 

The solar wind is a major source of Space Weather activity, and classified into the fast and slow solar wind streams, with the slow wind reaching ~400 km/s and the fast wind twice faster near Earths? orbit. While the fast wind was associated with solar coronal holes and wave acceleration mechanisms, the origin and formation of the slow solar wind (SSW) are still outstanding questions in solar physics and the wealth of remote sensing observations and models provide important clues. Understanding the origin of the SSW is a major objective of the planned Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe Plus spacecraft missions. The following outstanding questions require further analysis: What are the source regions on the Sun and their contributions to the SSW? What is the role of the magnetic topology in the corona for the origin, acceleration and energy deposition of the SSW? What are the possible acceleration and heating mechanisms for the SSW?  I will review the present status of our understanding of the origin and formation of the SSW. I will present the significant progress that has been made recently in the study of SSW thanks to new observations and advanced numerical modeling, and show some of the data and the numerical modeling results that address the above open questions. 

מארגן הסמינר: פרופ' איל חפץ