The Solar-Flare Phenomenon and the Theory of Reconnection and Annihiliation of Magnetic Fields.
Abstract
The paper presents a study of the observations and theory which are relevant to the presently popular belief that the solar-flare phenomenon is a direct consequence of the annihilation of magnetic fields on the sun. There is very little in the observations to support such views. A systematic study of the known theoretical mechanisms for the diffusion, reconnection, and annihilation of magnetic fields is presented. The mechanisms discussed are Joule dissipation, ambipolar diffusion, and various forms of Sweet's mechanism. It is shown that Sweet's mechanism is much more effective in a highly compressible medium if the merging magnetic fields are exacily antiparallel. None of the known mechanisms are sufficiently rapid to account for the solar flare from the annihilation of magnetic fields. Errors and omissions in earlier discussions of the problem are cited. Since no possible energy source other than magnetic fields has yet been developed, the question of field annihilation remains both open and pressing. The possibilities of runaway electrons and hydrodynamic instability, as means for hastening magneticfield annihilation, are considered. It is shown that there is no reason to expect runaway electrons and no effective instability unless the fields are exactly antiparallel. The observational and theoretical difficulties with the hypothesis of magnetic-field annihilation suggest that other alternatives for the flare must be explored.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
- Pub Date:
- July 1963
- DOI:
- 10.1086/190087
- Bibcode:
- 1963ApJS....8..177P