STELLAR WINDS WITH NON-WKB ALFVEN WAVES .1. WIND MODELS FOR SOLAR CORONAL CONDITIONS

We have constructed numerical models for stationary, wind-type outflows that include treatment of the force produced by propagating Alfven waves. We make no assumptions regarding the relative sizes of the wavelengths of such disturbances and the scale lengths that characterize the variation of the physical properties of the expanding stellar atmosphere. Consequently, our models take into account the process of Alfven wave reflection, and provide for dynamical effects arising from the simultaneous presence of outward and inward traveling waves in the wind. For physical conditions like those prevailing in the outer solar corona and wind, we find that even relatively high frequency, short wavelength waves can suffer some reflection from the gradient in Alfven speed at the base of the flow. Among the consequences of the interaction between outward and inward directed perturbations in the sub-Alfvenic portion of the wind is a reduction in the magnitude of the time-averaged wave force relative to its value in the WKB (i.e., short-wavelength) limit. As a result, the flow velocities of our models interior to the Alfven radius are smaller than those of corresponding WKB models. For models containing very low frequency, long wavelength waves, a substantial amount of wave reflection can also take place in the super-Alvenic portion of the wind. The resulting modifications to the spatial dependences of the wave magnetic and velocity amplitudes can lead to a wave force whose magnitude at large distances exceeds that of an equivalent WKB solution.