Cooling Condensation at Coronal Null Points and Quasi-Separatrix Layers Involving Magnetic Reconnection
Abstract
The solar corona, Sun's outer atmosphere, is million-degrees hot and tenuous. This hot plasma, under certain conditions, can enigmatically undergo a radiative cooling instability and condense into material of 100 times cooler in the form of prominences or coronal rain. Where, when, and how such cooling condensation takes place remain poorly understood. Answers to these questions are not only of scientific importance in their own right, but also bear implications for the fundamental question of coronal heating and the chromosphere-corona mass cycle. Magnetic fields in the magnetized corona undoubtedly play a crucial role (e.g., by trapping the plasma), but where and how? We report recent imaging and spectroscopic observations from SDO/AIA/HMI and IRIS that can shed light on these puzzles. Through a systematic survey, we found that a large fraction of quiet-Sun condensations preferentially occur at the dips of coronal loops or funnels. Such dips are located at/near magnetic topological features, such as null points and quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs), which are regions characterized by high values of the squashing factor. We also identified evidence of magnetic reconnection at such locations, which can produce favorable conditions, e.g., density enhancement by compression and/or mass trapping in plasmoids, that can trigger run-away radiative cooling. We present proof-of-concept MHD simulations that demonstrate the role of reconnection in transporting cooled mass from overlying, long loops to underlying, short loops where it slide down as coronal rain. We will discuss the significance and broader implications of these results beyond solar physics.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFMSH11C3394L
- Keywords:
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- 7509 Corona;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY;
- 7513 Coronal mass ejections;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY;
- 7594 Instruments and techniques;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY