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S. R. Cranmer, J. L. Kohl, L. D. Gardner, J. C. Raymond, L. Strachan, P. L. Smith (SAO), R. A. Howard (NRL), J. M. Davila, R. R. Fisher (NASA/GSFC), G. Noci (U. Florence), G. Tondello (U. Padua), D. G. Socker, D. Moses (NRL)
The Advanced Solar Coronal Explorer (ASCE) is a proposed NASA Medium-class Explorer (MIDEX) mission that underwent a detailed Concept Study in 1999. The science payload includes large aperture EUV and visible light coronagraphs. ASCE's unprecedented spectral range, spatial resolution, and sensitivity (30 to 100 times the EUV sensitivity of UVCS/SOHO) provide measurements needed to investigate the role of high-frequency and low-frequency waves in heating and accelerating the fast and slow speed solar wind. This presentation will outline the advanced capabilities of ASCE for obtaining detailed empirical descriptions of solar wind acceleration regions, specifying coronal temperatures, flow speeds, densities, and elemental abundances. Velocity distributions for electrons and more than 10 to 20 ion species with mass-to-charge ratios from 4 to 1 (including singly ionized helium) can be measured by ASCE in coronal holes and streamers. This information is sufficient to derive the wavenumber power spectrum of magnetic fluctuations that affect the primary electron/proton plasma. The main goal is to identify the physical processes responsible for heating and acceleration of the primary particles and minor ions in the fast and slow speed solar wind.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: scranmer@cfa.harvard.edu