Heating of the Solar Corona by Gravity Waves.
Abstract
A new type of hydrodynamic-wave heating is proposed for the solar corona. It is shown that internal gravity waves are preferentially generated by the convection zone and are easily transmitted to the corona. Acoustic waves with frequency characteristic of the photospheric granules cannot be transmitted through the reversing layer. The gravity waves are shown to dissipate by thermal conduction in the corona. A model is derived giving a 1060 K corona. The sensitivity of this model to various assumptions is demonstrated. It is stable against small disturbances, but large instabilities may grow in the presence of a vertical magnetic field, leading to the formation of coronal streamers and a hoselike solar wind.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- April 1963
- DOI:
- 10.1086/147567
- Bibcode:
- 1963ApJ...137..914W