Magnetic fine structure of solar coronal loops.
Abstract
A numerical simulation of the effect of a random photospheric flow on the magnetic structure of a coronal loop is presented. The author considers an initially uniform field embedded in a perfectly conducting plasma, extending between two flat parallel plates which represent the solar photosphere at the two ends of the loop. The field is perturbed by a sequence of randomly phased, sinusoidal flow patterns applied at one of the boundary plates, and the corresponding sequence of (nonlinear) force free fields is determined. It is found that the electric currents generated by these flows develop a fine structure on a (transverse) scale significantly smaller than the wavelength of the velocity patterns. This suggests that magnetic energy is transferred to smaller scales via a cascade process. Some implications for coronal magnetic structure and heating are discussed.
- Publication:
-
Solar and Stellar Coronal Structure and Dynamics
- Pub Date:
- 1988
- Bibcode:
- 1988sscd.conf..115V
- Keywords:
-
- Coronal Loops;
- Electric Current;
- Fine Structure;
- Magnetohydrodynamic Waves;
- Solar Corona;
- Solar Magnetic Field;
- Random Processes;
- Solar Activity;
- Solar Atmosphere;
- Solar Physics;
- Solar Coronal Loops: Structure;
- Solar Coronal Loops: Magnetic Fields;
- Solar Coronal Loops: Numerical Simulations;
- Solar Coronal Loops: Plasma