Sources of the Slow Solar Wind During the Solar Cycle 23/24 Minimum

Abstract

We investigate the characteristics and the sources of the slow (<450 kms−¹) solar wind during the four years (2006 - 2009) of low solar activity between Solar Cycles 23 and 24. We used a comprehensive set of in-situ observations in the near-Earth solar wind (Wind and ACE) and removed the periods when large-scale interplanetary coronal mass ejections were present. The investigated period features significant variations in the global coronal structure, including the frequent presence of low-latitude active regions in 2006 - 2007, long-lived low- and mid-latitude coronal holes in 2006 - mid-2008 and mostly the quiet Sun in 2009. We examined Carrington rotation averages of selected solar plasma, charge state, and compositional parameters and distributions of these parameters related to the quiet Sun, active region Sun, and the coronal hole Sun. While some of the investigated parameters (e.g. speed, the C⁺⁶/C⁺⁴ and He/H ratios) show clear variations over our study period and with solar wind source type, some (Fe/O) exhibit very little changes. Our results highlight the difficulty of distinguishing between the slow solar wind sources based on the inspection of solar wind conditions.