Steady-state configuration of the heliospheric sheet

An analysis of the coronal structure for several eclipses, including the eclipse of November 3, 1994, shows that coronal streamers and helmets can be described as folds and pleats produced when the B-r = 0 plane is projected onto the plane of the sky (Vial and Molodensky 1993; Molodensky Et al, 1996). We consider equilibrium conditions for plasma in the heliospheric sheet from the corona base out to distances of several Ro, We construct an analytic model that represents the equilibrium configuration of plasma near the equatorial plane of the equivalent dipole. This model is characterized by two parameters: the sheet thickness Ilk (radians) and M/qR.. We show the following: (1) the current in the sheet is opposite in sign to the current that produces the initial dipole moment of the Sun, and (2) the parameter that determines the sheet thickness is k = 20, The temperature, the density, and the magnetic field match the real values of the corresponding parameters in the corona.