English

The evolution of the solar wind

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2021-03-30 v1 Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Plasma Physics Space Physics

Abstract

How has the solar wind evolved to reach what it is today? In this review, I discuss the long-term evolution of the solar wind, including the evolution of observed properties that are intimately linked to the solar wind: rotation, magnetism and activity. Given that we cannot access data from the solar wind 4 billion years ago, this review relies on stellar data, in an effort to better place the Sun and the solar wind in a stellar context. I overview some clever detection methods of winds of solar-like stars, and derive from these an observed evolutionary sequence of solar wind mass-loss rates. I then link these observational properties (including, rotation, magnetism and activity) with stellar wind models. I conclude this review then by discussing implications of the evolution of the solar wind on the evolving Earth and other solar system planets. I argue that studying exoplanetary systems could open up new avenues for progress to be made in our understanding of the evolution of the solar wind.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2103.15748,
  title  = {The evolution of the solar wind},
  author = {A. A. Vidotto},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2103.15748},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

Living Reviews in Solar Physics, in press, 26 figures, 88 pages (invited review article)

R2 v1 2026-06-24T00:39:28.221Z