Wave heating of the solar atmosphere without shocks
Abstract
Context. We investigate the wave heating problem of a solar quiet region and present its plausible solution without involving shock formation.
Aims: We aim to use numerical simulations to study wave propagation and dissipation in the partially ionized solar atmosphere, whose model includes both neutrals and ions.
Methods: We used a 2.5D two-fluid model of the solar atmosphere to study the wave generation and propagation. The source of these waves is the solar convection located beneath the photosphere.
Results: The energy carried by the waves is dissipated through ion-neutral collisions, which replace shocks used in some previous studies as the main source of local heating in quiet regions.
Conclusions: We show that the resulting wave dissipation is sufficient to balance radiative and thermal energy losses, and to sustain a quasi-stationary atmosphere whose averaged temperature profile agrees well with the observationally based semi-empirical model of Avrett & Loeser (2008, ApJS, 175, 229).
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- March 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1051/0004-6361/201936938
- Bibcode:
- 2020A&A...635A..28W
- Keywords:
-
- Sun: chromosphere;
- magnetohydrodynamics (MHD);
- methods: numerical