Interplanetary Gas. XVI. a Calculation of the Angular Momentum of the Solar Wind

A model of the quiet solar wind with magnetic field has been calculated numerically using the momen- tum equations developed by Weber and Davis, but with energy transport governed by the first law of thermodynamics with heat conduction. The model is close to observed densities of coronal electrons for r > 2 Ro. Near the Earth, the model has N. = 6 cm3, w = 315 km sec', T = 325000° K, and a garden- hose angle of 55°; the Alfvén point is at r = 31.4 Ro, and the angular momentum per unit mass in the solar equator is L = 1.4 X 1019 cm2 sec', a value which gives an e-folding time for solar rotational braking of 5 X 1O~ yr. The azimuthal velocity (w~) of the plasma near Earth is 2.5 km sec', and this value is consistent with the determination for quiet times from Type I comet tails