Thermal instability in post-flare plasmas
Abstract
The cooling of post-flare plasmas is discussed and the formation of loop prominences is explained as due to a thermal instability. A one-dimensional model was developed for active loop prominences. Only the motion and heat fluxes parallel to the existing magnetic fields are considered. The relevant size scales and time scales are such that single-fluid MHD equations are valid. The effects of gravity, the geometry of the field and conduction losses to the chromosphere are included. A computer code was constructed to solve the model equations. Basically, the system is treated as an initial value problem (with certain boundary conditions at the chromosphere-corona transition region), and a two-step time differencing scheme is used.
- Publication:
-
NASA STI/Recon Technical Report N
- Pub Date:
- December 1976
- Bibcode:
- 1976STIN...7716975A
- Keywords:
-
- Plasmas (Physics);
- Solar Flares;
- Thermal Instability;
- Boundary Conditions;
- Boundary Value Problems;
- Cooling;
- Magnetic Fields;
- Mathematical Models;
- Solar Prominences;
- Solar Physics