The Nascent Fast Solar Wind Observed by the EUV Imaging Spectrometer on Board Hinode

Abstract

The origin of the solar wind is one of the most important unresolved problems in space and solar physics. We report here the first spectroscopic signatures of the nascent fast solar wind on the basis of observations made by the EUV Imaging Spectrometer on Hinode in a polar coronal hole in which patches of blueshift are clearly present on Dopplergrams of coronal emission lines with a formation temperature of lg(T/K)>5.8. The corresponding upflow is associated with open field lines in the coronal hole and seems to start in the solar transition region and becomes more prominent with increasing temperature. This temperature-dependent plasma outflow is interpreted as evidence of the nascent fast solar wind in the polar coronal hole. The patches with significant upflows are still isolated in the upper transition region but merge in the corona, in agreement with the scenario of solar wind outflow being guided by expanding magnetic funnels.