Population of Bright Plume Threads in Solar Polar Coronal Holes

Abstract

Coronal holes are well accepted to be source regions of the fast solar wind. As one of the common structures in coronal holes, coronal plumes might contribute to the origin of the nascent solar wind. To estimate the contribution of coronal plumes to the nascent solar wind, we make the first attempt to estimate their populations in solar polar coronal holes. By comparing the observations viewed from two different angles taken by the twin satellites of STEREO and the results of Monte Carlo simulations, we estimate about 16--27 plumes rooted in an area of $4\times 10^4$ arcsec${}^2$ of the polar coronal holes near the solar minimum, which occupy about 2--3.4% of the area. Based on these values, the contribution of coronal plumes to the nascent solar wind has also been discussed. A further investigation indicates that more precise number of coronal plumes can be worked out with observations from three or more viewing angles.

21 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Solar Physics

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