Expansion of High Speed Solar Wind Streams from Coronal Holes through the Inner Heliosphere

Abstract

Coronal holes (CHs) are regions of open magnetic flux which are the source of high speed solar wind (HSSW) streams. To date, it is not clear which aspects of CHs are of most influence on the properties of the solar wind as it expands through the Heliosphere. Here, we study the relationship between CH properties extracted from AIA (Atmospheric Imaging Assembly) images using CHIMERA (Coronal Hole Identification via Multi-thermal Emission Recognition Algorithm) and HSSW measurements from ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer) at L1. For CH longitudinal widths $\Delta\theta_{CH}<$67$^{\circ}$, the peak SW velocity ($v_{max}$) is found to scale as $v_{max}~\approx~330.8~+~5.7~\Delta\theta_{CH}$~km~s$^{-1}$. For larger longitudinal widths ($\Delta\theta_{CH}>$67$^{\circ}$), $v_{max}$ is found to tend to a constant value ($\sim$710~km~s$^{-1}$). Furthermore, we find that the duration of HSSW streams ($\Delta t$) are directly related to the longitudinal width of CHs ($\Delta t_{SW}$~$\approx$~0.09$\Delta\theta_{CH}$) and that their longitudinal expansion factor is $f_{SW}~\approx 1.2~\pm 0.1$. We also derive an expression for the coronal hole flux-tube expansion factor, $f_{FT}$, which varies as $f_{SW} \gtrsim f_{FT} \gtrsim 0.8$. These results enable us to estimate the peak speeds and durations of HSSW streams at L1 using the properties of CHs identified in the solar corona.