Characterization of Slow Solar Wind Sources

The slow wind is a sizable component of the solar wind and plays a fundamental role in shaping the interplanetary environment and its variability. Coronal streamers are the prime source of slow solar wind plasma. We use the EUV spectrometers aboard SOHO and Hinode to characterize the physical properties of streamers and other candidate coronal source regions of slow wind. In addition, comparisons between coronal observations and in situ measurements of solar wind plasma properties are being used to further characterize the origins of slow wind streams. In order to investigate slow solar wind heating and acceleration, we also compare with predictions from three-dimensional models. We aim to use the empirical measurements to distinguish between different proposed physical processes for slow wind acceleration (e.g., waves/turbulence versus reconnection). This work is supported by NASA grant NNX10AQ58G to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.