Understanding the behavior of the heliospheric magnetic field and the solar wind during the unusual solar minimum between cycles 23 and 24

Explanations for these changes are offered that do not require any substantial reconsideration of the general understandings of the behavior of the heliospheric magnetic field and the solar wind that were developed in the minimum of Cycle 22-23.

Solar-wind composition data are used to demonstrate that there are two distinct regions of solar wind: solar wind likely to originate from the stalk of the streamer belt (the highly elongated loops that underlie the heliospheric current sheet), and solar wind from outside this region. The region outside the streamer-stalk region is noticeably larger in the minimum of Cycle 23-24; however, the increased area can account for the reduction in the heliospheric magnetic-field strength in this minimum.