Spectroscopic constraints on models of ion cyclotron resonance heating in the polar solar corona and high-speed solar wind

Using empirical ion velocity distributions derived from Ultraviolet Coronag raph Spectrometer (UVCS) and Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radi ation (SUMER) ultraviolet spectroscopy, we construct theoretical models of the nonequilibrium plasma state of the polar solar corona. The primary ener gy deposition mechanism we investigate is the dissipation of high-frequency (10-10,000 Hz) ion cyclotron resonant Alfven waves which can heat and acce lerate ions differently depending on their charge and mass. We solve the in ternal energy conservation equations for the ion temperature components par allel and perpendicular to the superradially expanding magnetic held lines and use empirical constraints for the remaining parameters. We find that it is possible to explain many of the kinetic properties of the plasma (such as high perpendicular ion temperatures and strong temperature anisotropies) with relatively small amplitudes for the resonant waves. There is suggesti ve evidence for steepening of the Alfven wave spectrum between the coronal base and the largest heights observed spectroscopically, and it is importan t to take Coulomb collisions into account to understand observations at the lowest heights. Because the ion cyclotron wave dissipation is rapid, the e xtended heating seems to demand a constantly replenished population of wave s over several solar radii. This indicates that the waves are generated gra dually throughout the wind rather than propagated up from the base of the c orona.