  The slow solar wind belt in the quiet corona, observed with the Metis
coronagraph on board Solar Orbiter on May 15, 2020, during the activity minimum
of the cycle 24, in a field of view extending from 3.8 $R_\odot$ to 7.0
$R_\odot$, is formed by a slow and dense wind stream running along the coronal
current sheet, accelerating in the radial direction and reaching at 6.8
$R_\odot$ a speed within 150 km s$^{-1}$ and 190 km s$^{-1}$, depending on the
assumptions on the velocity distribution of the neutral hydrogen atoms in the
coronal plasma. The slow stream is separated by thin regions of high velocity
shear from faster streams, almost symmetric relative to the current sheet, with
peak velocity within 175 km s$^{-1}$ and 230 km s$^{-1}$ at the same coronal
level. The density-velocity structure of the slow wind zone is discussed in
terms of the expansion factor of the open magnetic field lines that is known to
be related to the speed of the quasi-steady solar wind, and in relation to the
presence of a web of quasi separatrix layers, S-web, the potential sites of
reconnection that release coronal plasma into the wind. The parameters
characterizing the coronal magnetic field lines are derived from 3D MHD model
calculations. The S-web is found to coincide with the latitudinal region where
the slow wind is observed in the outer corona and is surrounded by thin layers
of open field lines expanding in a non-monotonic way.
