Turbulence dynamics and flow speeds in the inner solar corona: Results from radio-sounding experiments by the Akatsuki spacecraft

TL;DR

This study uses radio-sounding data from the Akatsuki spacecraft to analyze turbulence and flow speeds in the solar corona, revealing higher-than-expected solar wind velocities and linking them to coronal hole activity.

Contribution

It presents novel measurements of solar wind speeds in the inner corona using radio-sounding techniques combined with EUV imaging, enhancing understanding of coronal plasma dynamics.

Findings

Solar wind speeds in the inner corona range from 220-550 km/sec.

Radio-sounding results show higher velocities than average expected.

Fast solar wind streams originate from coronal holes and evolve with distance.

Abstract

The solar inner corona is a region that plays a critical role in energizing the solar wind and propelling it to supersonic and supra-Alfvenic velocities. Despite its importance, this region remains poorly understood because of being least explored due to observational limitations. The coronal radio sounding technique in this context becomes useful as it helps in providing information in parts of this least explored region. To shed light on the dynamics of the solar wind in the inner corona, we conducted a study using data obtained from coronal radio-sounding experiments carried out by the Akatsuki spacecraft during the 2021 Venus-solar conjunction event. By analyzing X-band radio signals recorded at two ground stations (IDSN in Bangalore and UDSC in Japan), we investigated plasma turbulence characteristics and estimated flow speed measurements based on isotropic quasi-static turbulence models. Our analysis revealed that the speed of the solar wind in the inner corona (at heliocentric distances from 5 to 13 solar radii), ranging from 220-550 km/sec, was higher than the expected average flow speeds in this region. By integrating our radio-sounding results with EUV images of the solar disk, we gained a unique perspective on the properties and energization of high-velocity plasma streams originating from coronal holes. We tracked the evolution of fast solar wind streams emanating from an extended coronal hole as they propagated to increasing heliocentric distances. Our study provides unique insights into the least-explored inner coronal region by corroborating radio sounding results with EUV observations of the corona.