RADIO MAPS OF THE SOLAR WIND TRANSITION REGION

Occultation studies of near-Sun plasmas using several natural sources simultaneously result in large-scale patterns, radio maps of the solar wind flow. Large radio telescopes of the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Pushino, were used. Previously it had been shown that the plasma acceleration and traverse of the sound barrier proceed in an extended region, the transition region of the solar wind, located at radial distances of about 10–40 solar radii from the Sun. The 1989–1994 experiments showed that the evolution of the transition region geometry is very close to that of the optical corona. On the other hand, the plasma flow structures characteristic of the transition region persist in the course of the 11-year cycle, which demonstrates the existence of some specific mechanism of the solar wind acceleration, independent of wide variations of the general solar activity state. These experimental facts are discussed in connection with the existing theoretical approaches.