The Solar Wind Energy Flux

Abstract

The solar-wind energy flux measured near the Ecliptic is known to be independent of the solar-wind speed. Using plasma data from Helios, Ulysses, and Wind covering a large range of latitudes and time, we show that the solar-wind energy flux is independent of the solar-wind speed and latitude within 10 %, and that this quantity varies weakly over the solar cycle. In other words the energy flux appears as a global solar constant. We also show that the very high-speed solar wind (V_SW>700 km s⁻¹) has the same mean energy flux as the slower wind (V_SW<700 km s⁻¹), but with a different histogram. We use this result to deduce a relation between the solar-wind speed and density, which formalizes the anti-correlation between these quantities.