The Current Profile and Energy Release in Solar Flares

The currents, I ~ 10^12 A, that are important in solar flares must close deep in the solar atmosphere, and be flowing in solar flux tubes when they emerge through the photosphere. Photospheric motions cannot be the primary cause of the coronal storage of magnetic energy released in a flare, nor of the large potential Phi ~ 10^9 V required. The large inductive time scale of the circuit implies that the total current in the corona cannot change significantly during a flare; ways in which magnetic energy might be released at constant current are identified.