Abstract
Data on composition in the solar wind are summarized and compared with best estimates of abundances in the outer convective zone of the Sun. Several mechanisms of element and isotope fractionation are discussed in relation to observed abundances and their variations.
The evidence available so far indicates that in addition to ion fractionation in the corona there is a separation mechanism operating at low solar altitude that affects solar wind composition. It is suggested that the systematic depletion of helium observed in the solar wind is in part caused by ion-neutral separation in the chromosphere-transition zone. Conditions for this mechanism to be effective are discussed. It is shown that ion-neutral separation is much more pronounced than ion-ion separation under these conditions. Therefore, this mechanism should fractionate elements according to the rate at which first ionization occurs. This implies that isotope fractionation by this mechanism is minor.
Ion-neutral separation may be responsible for the general depletion that is observed in the slow interstream solar wind as well as in the fast streams coming out of coronal holes. However, the occurrences of very low He/H ratios are probably caused in the corona.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Arrhenius, G. and Alfvén, H.: 1971, Earth Planet. Sci. Letters 10, 253.
Audouze, J.: 1981, Paper presented at Study Week on Cosmology and Fundamental Physics, Città del Vatican.
Bame, S. J., Hundhausen, A. J., Asbridge, J. R., and Strong, I. B.: 1968, Phys. Rev. Letters 20, 393.
Bame, S. J., Asbridge, J. R., Feldman, W. C., Montgomery, M. D., and Kearney, P. D.: 1975, Solar Phys. 43, 463.
Bame, S. J., Asbridge, J. R., Feldman, W. C., and Gosling, J. T.: 1977, J. Geophys. Res. 82, 1487.
Bame, S. J., Asbridge, J. R., Feldman, W. C., Fenimore, E. E., and Gosling, J. T.: 1979, Solar Phys. 62, 179.
Banks, P. M. and Kockarts, G.: 1973, Aeronomy, Academic, New York.
Beckers, J. M.: 1972, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 10, 73.
Bochsler, P. and Geiss, J.: 1973, Solar Phys. 32, 3.
Bochsler, P. and Geiss, J.: 1967, Transactions IAU XVI B, 120.
Bohlin, J. D.: 1977, in J. B. Zirker (ed.), Coronal Holes and High Speed Wind Streams, Colorado Assoc. University Press, Boulder, p. 27.
Bohlin, J. D., Vogel, S. N., Purcell, J. D., Sheeley, N. R. Jr., Tousey, R., and Van Hoosier, M. E.: 1975, Astrophys. J. 197, L133.
Borrini, G. and Noci, G.: 1979, Solar Phys. 64, 367.
Borrini, G., Gosling, J. T., Bame, S. J., Feldman, W. C., and Wilcox, J. M.: 1981, J. Geophys. Res. 86, 4565.
Bruston, P., Audouze, J., Vidal-Madjar, A., and Laurent, C.: 1981, Astrophys. J. 243, 161.
Burgers, J. M.: 1969, Flow Equations for Composite Gases, Academic, New York.
Cameron, A.G.W.: 1980, to appear in A Festschrift in Honor of Willy Fowler's 70th Birthday.
Cerutti, H.: 1974, PhD Thesis, University of Bern.
Chapman, S. C. and Cowling, T. G.: 1958, The Mathematical Thory of Non-Uniform Gases, Cambridge University Press.
Delache, P.: 1965, Comp. Rend. Acad. Sci. (France) 261, 643.
Delache, P.: 1967, Ann. Astron. 30, 827.
Dupree, A. K.: 1972, Astrophys. J. 178, 527.
Eberhardt, P.: 1978, Proc. Lunar Planet. Sci. Conf. 9th, p. 1027.
Feldman, W. C., Asbridge, J. R., Bame, S. J., and Gosling, J. T.: 1976, J. Geophys. Res. 81, 5054.
Feldman, W. C., Asbridge, J. R., Bame, S. J., and Gosling, J. T.: 1977, in O. R. White (ed.), The Solar Output and its Variation, Colorado Associated Press, Bouler, p. 351.
Fisk, L. A.: 1978, Astrophys. J. 224, 1048.
Frick, U. and Moniot, R. K.: 1977, Proc. Lunar Sci. Conf. 8th, p. 229.
Gabriel, A. H.: 1976, in R. M. Bonnet and Ph. Delache (eds.), ‘The Energy Balance and Hydrodynamics of the Solar Chromosphere and Corona’, IAU Colloq. 36, 375.
Geiss, J.: 1972, in C. P. Sonett, P. J. Coleman Jr., and J. M. Wilcox (eds.), Solar Wind, NASA SP-308, p. 559.
Geiss, J. and Reeves, H.: 1972, Astron, Astrophys. 18, 126.
Geiss, J. and Bochsler, P.: 1981, in H. Rosenbauer (ed.), Solar Wind Four, MPAE, 3411 Lindau, F.R.G., p. 403.
Geiss, J., Hirt, P., and Leutwyler, H.: 1970, Solar Phys. 12, 458.
Geiss, J., Eberhardt, P., Bühler, F., Meister, J., and Signer, P.: 1970a, J. Geophys. Res. 75, 5972.
Geiss, J., Bühler, F., Cerutti, H., Eberhardt, P., and Filleux, Ch.: 1972, Apollo 16 Prel. Sci. Rep., NASA SP-315.
Grünwaldt, H.: 1976, Space Res. 16, 681.
Helbig, H. F., Millis, D. B., and Todd, L. W.: 1970, Phys. Rev. A2, 771.
Hirshberg, J., Alksne, A., Colburn, D. S., Bame, S. J., and Hundhausen, A. J.: 1970, J. Geophys. Res. 75, 1.
Huber, M. C. E., Foukal, P. V., Noyes, R. W., Reeves, E. M., Schmahl, E. J., Timothy, J. G., Vernazza, J. E., and Withbroe, G. L.: 1974, Astrophys. J. 194, L115.
Hundhausen, A. J.: 1972, Coronal Expansion and Solar Wind, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York.
Jefferry, P. M. and Anders, E.: 1970, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 34, 1175.
Jokipii, J. R.: 1965, California Institute of Technology Thesis; 1966, in R. J. Mackin and M. Neugebauer (eds.), The Solar Wind, Pergamon Press, New York, p. 215.
Joselyn, J. and Holzer, T. E.: 1978, J. Geophys. Res. 83, 1019.
Laurent, C., Vidal-Madjar, A., and York, D. G.: 1979, Astrophys. J. 229, 923.
Marr, G. V. and West, J. B.: 1976, Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables 18, 497.
Massey, H. M. S.: 1982, personal communication.
McKenzie, J. F., Ip, W.-H., and Axford, W. I.: 1979, Astrophys. and Space Sci. 64, 183.
Meyer, J.-P.: 1979, in Les Elements et leurs Isotopes dans l'Univers, 22nd Liège Internat. Astrophys. Symp., University of Liège Press, p. 489.
Meyer, J.-P.: 1981, 17th Int. Cosmic Ray Conf., Paris 3, 149.
Meyer, A. and Nussbaumer, H.: 1979, Astron. Astrophys. 78, 33.
Munro, R. H. and Jackson, B. V.: 1977, Astrophys. J. 213, 874.
Nakada, M. P.: 1969, Solar Phys. 7, 302.
Neugebauer, M.: 1981, Fundamentals of Cosmic Physics 7, 131.
Neugebauer, M.: 1981a, in H. Rosenbauer (ed.), Solar Wind Four, MPAE,3411 Lindau, F.R.G., p. 425.
Neugebauer, M. and Snyder, C. W.: 1966, J. Geophys. Res. 71, 4469.
Ogilvie, K. W.: 1972, J. Geophys. Res. 77, 4227.
Ogilvie, K. W. and Hirshberg, J.: 1974, J. Geophys. Res. 79, 4595.
Ogilvie, K. W., Coplan, M. A., Bochsler, P., and Geiss, J.: 1980, J. Geophys. Res. 85, 6021.
Pneuman, G. W. and Kopp, R. A.: 1977, Astron. Astrophys. 55, 305.
Reeves, E. M.: 1976, Solar Phys. 46, 53.
Rich, W. G., Bobbio, S. M., Champion, R. L., and Doverspike, L. D.: 1971, Phys. Rev. A 4, 2253.
Robbins, D. E., Hundhausen, A. J., and Bame, S. J.: 1970, J. Geophys. Res. 75, 1178.
Rood, R. T., Wilson, T. L., and Steigman, G.: 1979, Astrophys. J. Letters 227, L97.
Ross, J. E. and Aller, L. H.: 1976, Science 191, 1223.
Roussel-Dupré, R.: 1980, Astrophys. J. 241, 402.
Schatzman, E. and Maeder, A.: 1981, Astron, Astrophys. 96, 1.
Schunk, R. W. and Walker, J. C. G.: 1969, Planet. Space Sci. 17, 853.
Shine, R., Gerola, H., and Linsky, J. L.: 1975, Astrophys. J. 202, L101.
Tworkowski, A. S.: 1975, Astrophys. Letters 17, 27.
Veck, N. J. and Parkinson, J. H.: 1981, Monthly Notices Roy. Astron. Soc. 197, 41.
Withbroe, G. L.: 1981, in A. O. Benz, Y. Chmielewski, M. C. E. Huber, and H. Nussbaumer (eds.), Activity and Outer Atmospheres of the Sun and Stars, Swiss Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Saas-Fee, p. 1.
Zastenker, G. N. and Yermolaev, Yu. I.: 1981, Planet. Space Sci. 29, 1235.
Zirin, H.: 1975, Astrophys. J. 199, L63.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Geiss, J. Processes affecting abundances in the solar wind. Space Sci Rev 33, 201–217 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00213254
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00213254