Bonn 2010 – scientific programme

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 16: Sun II

EP 16.6: Talk

Friday, March 19, 2010, 10:00–10:15, AKM

Coronal convection and solar wind sources — •Eckart Marsch and Werner Curdt — Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

New results are presented regarding the relationships between the coronal magnetic field and the intensities and Doppler shifts of ultraviolet emission lines. We introduce the term coronal convection to indicate the observation that the plasma in the solar atmosphere is not static but everywhere moves. The blueshifts and redshifts seen in transition-region and coronal lines are interpreted as corresponding to upflows and downflows of plasma on open (funnels) and closed (loops) magnetic field lines, which tightly confine the low-beta coronal plasma and guide its flow. Strong evidence for this notion exists in the ubiquitous redshifts seen at both legs of loops on all scales, and in the lasting blueshifts occurring in magnetic funnels. We investigate which of these magnetic structures may supply mass and energy to the corona, and what the possible sources of the solar wind are on the scale of supergranular motion, which is the ultimate driver of coronal mass convection and solar wind outflow.