Solar coronal heating by relaxation events
Abstract
A coronal heating model is proposed which predicts heating by a series of discrete events of various energies, analogous to the observed range of events from large scale flares through various transient brightening phenomena down to the often discussed ``nanoflares''. We suggest that an energy release event occurs when a field becomes linearly unstable to ideal MHD modes, with dissipation during the nonlinear phase of such an instability due to reconnection in fine-scale structures such as current sheets. The energy release during this complex dynamic period can be evaluated by assuming the field relaxes to a minimum energy state subject to the constraint of helicity conservation. A model problem is studied: a cylindrical coronal loop, with a current profile generated by slow twisting of the photospheric footpoints parameterised by two values of alpha (the ratio of current density to field strength). Different initial alpha profiles, corresponding to different footpoint twisting profiles, lead to energy release events of a wide range of magnitudes, but our model predicts an observationally realistic minimum size for these events.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- March 2003
- DOI:
- 10.1051/0004-6361:20021887
- Bibcode:
- 2003A&A...400..355B
- Keywords:
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- Sun: corona;
- Sun: magnetic fields;
- magnetohydrodynamics (MHD);
- plasmas