Overall Properties of the Solar Wind and Solar Wind Instrumentation: "
The solar wind is approximately 95% protons (H+), 4% alpha particles (He++) and 1% minor ions, of which carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, magnesium, silicon and iron are the most abundant. Solar wind velocity when measured in the ecliptic plane is normally in the range from 300 to 600 km/s, but under some conditions can exceed 1000 km/s. The energy of solar wind ions is from 0.5 to 2.0 keV/nucleon. The density of the solar wind is normally between 1 and 10 particles/cm^3, and the temperature associated with the random motion of the particles is in the range from 10^4 to 10^6 K. A second temperature, referred to as the coronal temperature, is used to characterize the solar wind, it is derived from the relative charge state distributions of the wind elements and is typically of the order of the temperature of the solar corona, 10^6 K (Hundhausen, 1972)."
The reference to Hundhausen is the book
Coronal Expansion and Solar Wind, Springer-Verlag, 1972.
The reference is old, but not to worry, the sun has not changed remarkably since 1972. The fractional composition by species varies with the intensity of the solar magnetic field, and changing conditions at the sun. For instance, I have seen other sources that give the He++ fraction as high as 8%, compared to the 4% given here. But the trace elements rarely exceed 1%. The solar wind is also charge neutral, so there are as many electrons as protons and positively charged ions. The electrons are not mentioned in the abstract I quoted, because electrons are not an atomic nucleus (protons are the nuclei of hydrogen atoms), and they are talking about elemental compositions. Most researchers are interested in chemical composition, and so ignore the electrons, which are to them simply stuff that gets in the way of what they really want to know.
The
Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) satellite, on orbit since 1997, offers a webpage for seeing
real time solar wind parameters. Select the link for "Dynamic Plots", and then choose from the menu. The ACE plots show both protons & electrons. There are other sources for similar information, in other formats;
Space Weather, from Rice University,
Real Time Solar Wind Data from space.com, and
SpaceWeather.com is a favorite spot for news about solar flares, and solar activity.
An electric current generates a magnetic field that wraps around the current in helical fashion (
Ampere's Law). Any electrons inbound through the solar wind will experience complex magnetic fields, generated by the charged particles of the solar wind. In the case of both electrons & protons in the solar wind, the fields will be helical (but in opposite sense of twist), and tend to fling the incoming electrons into traectories perpendicular to their incoming flow. So, to ensure that enough electrons make it to the sun to power it, than there must be many more electrons in the original flow. And since the solar magnetic field is radial, this is true for all arrival directions. Furthermore, electrons so accelerated should generate
synchrotron emission, and no such emission has been detected, so far as I know.