Coronal Temperature Profiles Obtained from Kinetic Models and from Coronal Brightness Measurements Obtained During Solar Eclipses

Pierrard, Viviane;Borremans, K.;Stegen, K.;Lemaire, J. F.
(2013) Solar Physics : a journal for solar and solar-stellar research and the study of solar terrestrial physics — Vol. 289, n° 1, p. 183-192 (2013)

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Authors
  • Pierrard, Vivianeorcid-logoUCLouvain
    Author
  • Borremans, K.
    Author
  • Stegen, K.
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  • Lemaire, J. F.
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Abstract
Coronal density, temperature, and heat-flux distributions for the equatorial and polar corona have been deduced from Saito’s model of averaged coronal white-light (WL) brightness and polarization observations. These distributions are compared with those determined from a kinetic collisionless/exospheric model of the solar corona. This comparison indicates similar distributions at large radial distances (>7 R) in the collisionless region. However, rather important differences are found close to the Sun in the acceleration region of the solar wind. The exospheric heat flux is directed away from the Sun, while that inferred from all WL coronal observations is in the opposite direction, i.e. conducting heat from the inner corona toward the chromosphere. This could indicate that the source of coronal heating extends up into the inner corona, where it maximizes at r >1.5 R, well above the transition region.
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Pierrard, V., Borremans, K., Stegen, K., & Lemaire, J. F. (2013). Coronal Temperature Profiles Obtained from Kinetic Models and from Coronal Brightness Measurements Obtained During Solar Eclipses. Solar Physics : a journal for solar and solar-stellar research and the study of solar terrestrial physics, 289(1), 183-192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-013-0320-x (Original work published 2013)