Helicity Condensation as the Origin of Coronal and Solar Wind Structure

Abstract: Three of the most important and most puzzling features of the Sun's atmosphere are the smoothness of the closed field corona, the accumulation of magnetic shear at photospheric polarity inversion lines (PIL), and the complexity of the slow wind. We propose that a single process, helicity condensation, is the physical mechanism giving rise to all three features. A simplified model is presented for how helicity is injected and transported in the closed corona by magnetic reconnection. With this model we demonstrate that helicity must condense onto PILs and coronal hole boundaries, and estimate the rate of helicity accumulation at PILs and the loss to the wind. Our results can account for many of the observed properties of the closed corona and wind.