On the magnetic structure of the quiet transition region

Existing models of the quiet chromosphere-corona transition region predict a distribution of emission measure over temperature that agrees with observation for T 10⁵ K. These network models assume that all magnetic field lines that emerge from the photosphere extend into and are in thermal contact with the corona. We show that the observed fine-scale structure of the photospheric magnetic network instead suggests a two-component picture in which magnetic funnels that open into the corona emerge from only a fraction of the network. The gas that makes up the hotter transition region is mostly contained within these funnels, as in standard models, but, because the funnels are more constricted in our picture, the heat flowing into the cooler transition region from the corona is reduced by up to an order of magnitude. The remainder of the network is occupied by a population of low-lying loops with lengths 10⁴ km. We propose that the cooler transition region is mainly located within such loops, which are magnetically insulated from the corona and must, therefore, be heated internally. The fine-scale structure of ultraviolet spectroheliograms is consistent with this proposal, and theoretical models of internally heated loops can explain the behavior of the emission measure below T 10⁵ K.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

The Magnetic Connectivity of Moss Regions

A novel emission feature resembling moss was first identified in high-resolution TRACE Feix/x 171 Å images by Berger et al. (1999). The moss emission is characterized by dynamic arc-second scale, bright elements surrounding dark inclusions in images of solar active regions. Patches of moss elements, called moss regions, have a scale of 20–30 Mm. Moss regions occur only above some of magnetic plages that underlie soft X-ray coronal loops. Using the potential field extrapolation of the photospheric magnetic field into the corona, we find that the magnetic field lines in moss-associated magnetic plages connect with adjacent plages with opposite polarity; however, all field lines from mossless plages end in surrounding quiet regions. This result is consistent with the idea that the TRACE moss is the emission from the upper transition region due to heating of low-lying plasma by field-aligned thermal conduction from overlying hot plasma (Berger et al., 1999).     

Mode Conversion of Solar <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-Modes in Non-Vertical Magnetic Fields

Sunspots absorb and scatter incident f- and p-modes. Until recently, the responsible absorption mechanism was uncertain. The most promising explanation appears to be mode conversion to slow magnetoacoustic-gravity waves, which carry energy down the magnetic field lines into the interior. In vertical magnetic field, mode conversion can adequately explain the observed f-mode absorption, but is too inefficient to account for the absorption of p-modes. In the first paper of the present series we calculated the efficiency of fast-to-slow magnetoacoustic-gravity wave conversion in uniform non-vertical magnetic fields. We assumed two-dimensional propagation, where the Alfvén waves decouple. In comparison to vertical field, it was found that mode conversion is significantly enhanced in moderately inclined fields, especially at higher frequencies. Using those results, Cally, Crouch, and Braun showed that the resultant p-mode absorption produced by simple sunspot models with non-vertical magnetic fields is ample to explain the observations. In this paper, we further examine mode conversion in non-vertical magnetic fields. In particular, we consider three-dimensional propagation, where the fast and slow magnetoacoustic-gravity waves and the Alfvén waves are coupled. Broadly speaking, the p-mode damping rates are not substantially different to the two-dimensional case. However, we do find that the Alfvén waves can remove similar quantities of energy to the slow MAG waves.     

Stability of Accretion Models

A critical analysis of standard accretion models is presented. We consider the stability of models in the theories of disc accretion onto black holes and spherical/disc accretion onto a magnetosphere. We take into account realistic physics processes and geometry (inner magnetic field in the accreted plasma, finite conductivity, finite length of the field lines, finite rotation of the accreted object, and magnetic shear on the boundary between the magnetosphere and accreted plasma). The influence of these factors leads to radical changes of both the accretion as whole and the energy release in the accreting system. Strong current-sheet and Z-pinch-like structures should arise over the polar region of the accreting object. Particle acceleration in the electric fields of current discharges in these regions may be a source of efficient conversion of energy into nonthermal particles and of the emission observed from many accreting objects.     

The thermal structure of the magnetized solar transition region

The detailed thermal structure of the magnetized solar transition region, as measured by itsdifferential emission measure [DEM(T)], is unknown. Proposals have been made that envision a significant lower-temperature contribution to the energy balance from cross-field (ion) heat flux. In this paper, we describe a self-consistent, 2-D, MHD simulation (including the full effects of anisotropic thermal conduction) of a conceptual model due to Athay (1990). We display the detailed, irregular, thermal and magnetic structure of the transition region, and demonstrate that the predicted DEM agrees with observations, particularly in theT < 10⁵ K regime where previous theories had difficulty.     

Magnetic Reconnection and Turbulent Mixing: From ISM to Clusters of Galaxies

Magnetic reconnection, or the ability of the magnetic field lines that are frozen in plasma to change their topology, is a fundamental problem of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). Webriefly examine the problem starting with the well-known Sweet-Parker scheme, discuss effectsof tearing modes, anomalous resistivity and the concept of hyperresistivity. We show that the field stochasticity by itself provides a way toenable fast reconnection even if, at the scale of individual turbulent wiggles,the reconnection happens at the slow Sweet-Parker rate. We show that fast reconnectionallows efficient mixing of magnetic field in the direction perpendicular tothe local direction of magnetic field. While the idea of stochastic reconnection still requiresnumerical confirmation,our numerical simulations testify that mixing motions perpendicular to the local magnetic field are upto high degree hydrodynamical. This suggests that the turbulent heattransport should be similar to that in non-magnetized turbulent fluid, namely,should have a diffusion coefficient ～V _L L, whereV _L is the amplitude of the turbulent velocity and L is the scale of the turbulent motions. We present numericalsimulations which support this conclusion. The applicationof this idea to thermal conductivity in clusters of galaxies shows that thismechanism may dominate the diffusion of heat and may be efficient enoughto prevent cooling flow formation.     

Similarities and Differences between Coronal Holes and the Quiet Sun: Are Loop Statistics the Key?

Coronal holes (CH) emit significantly less at coronal temperatures than quiet-Sun regions (QS), but can hardly be distinguished in most chromospheric and lower transition region lines. A key quantity for the understanding of this phenomenon is the magnetic field. We use data from SOHO/MDI to reconstruct the magnetic field in coronal holes and the quiet Sun with the help of a potential magnetic model. Starting from a regular grid on the solar surface we then trace field lines, which provide the overall geometry of the 3D magnetic field structure. We distinguish between open and closed field lines, with the closed field lines being assumed to represent magnetic loops. We then try to compute some properties of coronal loops. The loops in the coronal holes (CH) are found to be on average flatter than in the QS. High and long closed loops are extremely rare, whereas short and low-lying loops are almost as abundant in coronal holes as in the quiet Sun. When interpreted in the light of loop scaling laws this result suggests an explanation for the relatively strong chromospheric and transition region emission (many low-lying, short loops), but the weak coronal emission (few high and long loops) in coronal holes. In spite of this contrast our calculations also suggest that a significant fraction of the cool emission in CHs comes from the open flux regions. Despite these insights provided by the magnetic field line statistics further work is needed to obtain a definite answer to the question if loop statistics explain the differences between coronal holes and the quiet Sun.     

The structure of coronal arcades and the formation of solar prominences

The temperature and density are obtained for coronal plasma in thermal and hydrostatic equilibrium and located in a force-free magnetic arcade. The isotherms are found to be inclined to the magnetic field lines and so care should be taken in inferring the magnetic structure from observed emission.When the coronal pressure becomes too great, the equilibrium ceases to exist and the material cools to form a quiescent prominence. The same process can be initiated at low heating rates when the width or shear of the arcade exceeds a critical value.We suggest that the prominence should be modelled as a dynamic structure with plasma always draining downwards. Material is continually sucked up along field lines of the ambient arcade and into the region lacking a hot equilibrium, where it cools to form new prominence material.     

Magnetic properties of Civ Doppler shift patterns

The relationship between Doppler shift patterns observed in the transition region and magnetic field patterns observed in the photosphere is studied using coaligned pairs of Civ Dopplergrams and Fei magnetograms. Categories of magnetic features are defined - including neutral lines, unipolar regions, strong field regions, weak field regions, and magnetic boundaries - and from these, magnetic associations are determined for 159 V ₀ lines separating areas of relative blueshift and redshift observed in and around active regions. The cases are subdivided on the basis of whether blueshifts or redshifts are observed on the side of the V ₀ line nearest the solar limb.Two main results are that V ₀ lines associated with neutral lines tend to have limbward blueshifts, while V ₀ lines associated with unipolar regions tend to have limbward redshifts. These and other results provide supportive evidence for the active region model proposed recently by Klimchuk, in which relative redshifts occur where strong vertical fields penetrate the surface, and relative blueshifts occur where these same fields have spread out to become horizontal. It is likely that the relative blueshifts correspond to absolute Doppler shifts of very small amplitude, possibly even absolute redshifts.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

An explanation of the observed differences between coronal holes and quiet coronal regions

The main differences between a coronal hole and quiet coronal regions are explained by a reduction of the thermal conduction coefficient by transverse components of the magnetic field in the transition region of quiet coronal regions.Calculations of minimum flux coronae show that if the flux of energy heating the corona is maintained constant while the thermal conductivity in the transition region is reduced, the coronal temperature, the pressure in the transition region and the corona, and the temperature gradient in the transition region all increase. At the same time the intensities of lines emitted from the transition region are almost unchanged. Thus all the main spectroscopically observed differences between coronal holes and quiet coronal regions are explained.The flux of energy heating the corona in both coronal holes and quiet coronal regions is 3.0 × 10⁵ erg cm^-2 s^-1.The energy lost from coronal holes by the high speed streams in the solar wind is not sufficient to explain the difference in the coronal temperature in coronal holes and quiet coronal regions. The most likely explanation of the high velocity streams in the solar wind associated with coronal holes is that of Durney and Hundhausen.     

Damping of slow magnetoacoustic waves in an inhomogeneous coronal plasma

We study the propagation and dissipation of slow magnetoacoustic waves in an inhomogeneous viscous coronal loop plasma permeated by uniform magnetic field. Only viscosity and thermal conductivity are taken into account as dissipative processes in the coronal loop. The damping length of slow-mode waves exhibit varying behaviour depending upon the physical parameters of the loop in an active region AR8270 observed by TRACE. The wave energy flux associated with slow magnetoacoustic waves turns out to be of the order of 10⁶ erg cm^?2 s^?1 which is high enough to replace the energy lost through optically thin coronal emission and the thermal conduction below to the transition region. It is also found that only those slow-mode waves which have periods more than 240s provide the required heating rate to balance the energy losses in the solar corona. Our calculated wave periods for slow-mode waves nearly match with the oscillation periods of loop observed by TRACE.     

Transient Modulation of Cosmic Ray Intensity: Role of Magnetic Clouds and Turbulent Interaction Regions

Two distinct regions of shock-associated magnetic clouds, (i) magnetically turbulent regions formed due to interaction between magnetic cloud and ambient magnetic field i.e. turbulent interaction region (TIR), and magnetically quiet region called magnetic cloud have been considered separately and correlation of interplanetary plasma and field parameters, magnetic field strength (B) and solar wind speed (V), with cosmic ray intensity (I) have been studied during the passage of these two regions. A good correlation between B and I and between V and I has been obtained during the passage of sheath when the magnetic field is high and turbulent, while these correlation have been found to be poor during the passage of magnetic clouds when the field is strong and smooth. Further, there is a positive correlation between enhancement in field strength and its variance in the sheath region. These results strongly support the hypothesis that most Forbush decreases are due to scattering of particles by region of enhanced magnetic turbulence. These results also suggest that it will provide a better insight if not the magnetic field enhancement alone but in addition, the nature of magnetic field enhancement is also considered while correlating the field enhancements with depressions in cosmic rays. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Solar-wind model including the effects of rotation,magnetic fields,and anisotropic heat conduction

A time-independent solar-wind model is considered in the case of spherical symmetry and of radial magnetic field at the sun's surface. The energy equation includes besides the usual terms also the heat conduction and magnetic-energy convection (Poynting vector) terms. The dependence of the thermal conductivity on the magnetic field is taken into account. Numerical integrations of the basic equations were performed under the following assumptions: (i) close to the sun the magnetic field is the dominant azimuthal term and solid-body rotation is enforced; (ii) beyond the Alfvénic point the terms quadratic inB are neglected. The model leads to azimuthal velocity at earth between 0.6 and 2.7 km/sec, to radial velocity at earth between 350 and 500 km/sec, and to angular momentum loss of 5×10¹⁸ cm²/sec per unit mass of gas leaving the solar equator. The dependence of the solutions on the reduction of the effective thermal conductivity caused by the micro-structures in the solar wind suggests that the conditions at earth may be largely determined by a transition region in the solar wind, in which the conduction régime changes into an almost adiabatic flow.Presented at the Trieste Colloquium on Mass Loss from Stars, September 12–16, 1968.     

Magnetic Energy Storage and Current Density Distributions for Different Force-Free Models

In the last decades, force-free-field modelling has been used extensively to describe the coronal magnetic field and to better understand the physics of solar eruptions at different scales. Especially the evolution of active regions has been studied by successive equilibria in which each computed magnetic configuration is subject to an evolving photospheric distribution of magnetic field and/or electric-current density. This technique of successive equilibria has been successful in describing the rate of change of the energetics for observed active regions. Nevertheless the change in magnetic configuration due to the increase/decrease of electric current for different force-free models (potential, linear and nonlinear force-free fields) has never been studied in detail before. Here we focus especially on the evolution of the free magnetic energy, the location of the excess of energy, and the distribution of electric currents in the corona. For this purpose, we use an idealised active region characterised by four main polarities and a satellite polarity, allowing us to specify a complex topology and sheared arcades to the coronal magnetic field but no twisted flux bundles. We investigate the changes in the geometry and connectivity of field lines, the magnetic energy and current-density content as well as the evolution of null points. Increasing the photospheric current density in the magnetic configuration does not dramatically change the energy-storage processes within the active region even if the magnetic topology is slightly modified. We conclude that for reasonable values of the photospheric current density (the force-free parameter α<0.25 Mm⁻¹), the magnetic configurations studied do change but not dramatically: i) the original null point stays nearly at the same location, ii) the field-line geometry and connectivity are slightly modified, iii) even if the free magnetic energy is significantly increased, the energy storage happens at the same location. This extensive study of different force-free models for a simple magnetic configuration shows that some topological elements of an observed active region, such as null points, can be reproduced with confidence only by considering the potential-field approximation. This study is a preliminary work aiming at understanding the effects of electric currents generated by characteristic photospheric motions on the structure and evolution of the coronal magnetic field.     

Probing the Quiet Solar Atmosphere from the Photosphere to the Corona

We investigate the morphology and temporal variability of a quiet-Sun network region in different solar layers. The emission in several extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral lines through both raster and slot time-series, recorded by the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on board the Hinode spacecraft is studied along with \(\mbox{H}\upalpha\) observations and high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of the photospheric magnetic field. The photospheric magnetic field is extrapolated up to the corona, showing a multitude of large- and small-scale structures. We show for the first time that the smallest magnetic structures at both the network and internetwork contribute significantly to the emission in EUV lines, with temperatures ranging from \(8\times 10^{4}~\mbox{K}\) to \(6\times 10^{5}~\mbox{K}\). Two components of transition region emission are present, one associated with small-scale loops that do not reach coronal temperatures, and another component that acts as an interface between coronal and chromospheric plasma. Both components are associated with persistent chromospheric structures. The temporal variability of the EUV intensity at the network region is also associated with chromospheric motions, pointing to a connection between transition region and chromospheric features. Intensity enhancements in the EUV transition region lines are preferentially produced by \(\mbox{H}\upalpha\) upflows. Examination of two individual chromospheric jets shows that their evolution is associated with intensity variations in transition region and coronal temperatures.     

Heat blanketing envelopes and thermal radiation of strongly magnetized neutron stars

Strong (B?10⁹ G) and superstrong (B?10¹⁴ G) magnetic fields profoundly affect many thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics of dense plasmas in neutron star envelopes. In particular, they produce strongly anisotropic thermal conductivity in the neutron star crust and modify the equation of state and radiative opacities in the atmosphere, which are major ingredients of the cooling theory and spectral atmosphere models. As a result, both the radiation spectrum and the thermal luminosity of a neutron star can be affected by the magnetic field. We briefly review these effects and demonstrate the influence of magnetic field strength on the thermal structure of an isolated neutron star, putting emphasis on the differences brought about by the superstrong fields and high temperatures of magnetars. For the latter objects, it is important to take proper account of a combined effect of the magnetic field on thermal conduction and neutrino emission at densities ρ?10¹⁰ g?cm^?3. We show that the neutrino emission puts a B-dependent upper limit on the effective surface temperature of a cooling neutron star.     

The XUV structure of solar active regions

XUV spectroheliograms of 2 active regions are studied. The images are due to lines emitted at temperatures between 8 x 10⁴ K and 2 x 10⁶ K and thus are indicative of transition region and coronal structures. The hot coronal lines are formed solely in loop structures which connect regions of opposite photospheric magnetic polarity but are not observed over sunspots. Transition region lines are emitted in plages overlying regions of intense photospheric magnetic field and in loops or loop-segments connecting such regions. The hot coronal loops are supported hydrostatically while only some of the transition zone loops are. The coronal and transition zone loops are distinctly separated and are not coaxial. A comparison of direct measurements of electron densities using density sensitive line ratios with indirect measurements using emission measures and path lengths shows the existence of fine structures of less than a second of arc in transition region loops. From a similar analysis, hot coronal loops do not have any fine structure below about 2 seconds of arc.     

Magnetic reconnection induced by Kelvin Helmholtz instability

MHD simulation study is performed to investigate magnetic reconnection induced by the Kelvin Helmholtz instability in the initially sheared magnetic field geometry as well as in the uniform magnetic field geometry. Slow mode rarefaction structures seen in the uniform field case are not observed in the sheared field case. Dynamo action is less prominent and the conversion of plasma flow energy into the other forms of energy is also smaller in the sheared field case than in the uniform field case. Momentum transport is mostly due to the hydrodynamic stress in the sheared field case, while the electromagnetic stress is dominant in the uniform field case. The long term evolutions are also markedly different in the two cases. In the uniform field geometry, the magnetic field lines twisted due to the Kelvin Helmholtz instability become reconnected and flattened so that they resume the straight field line structure which resembles the initial field geometry. The magnetic field, however, is not uniform with smaller intensity in the central region where the pressure balance is partially maintained by the enhanced thermal pressure. In the initially sheared magnetic field geometry, magnetic reconnection continues to operate until the end of the simulation and the conversion of the flow energy into the thermal energy is still seen.     

A model for active region emission at centimeter wavelengths

We present multi-frequency observations and model computations of the microwave emission of a solar active region. The radio observations were obtained with the RATAN-600 at several wavelengths between 0.8 and 31.6 cm and with the VLA at 6 and 20 cm. The active region was also observed in the EUV O Iv lines by the HRTS instrument aboard the Space Shuttle Spacelab-2 mission. These lines are formed in the chromosphere-corona transition region and their intensity ratio is sensitive to pressure. Photospheric magnetograms provided both the longitudinal and the transverse component of the magnetic field. The microwave observations were checked against model computations taking into account both the free-free and the gyro-resonance emission mechanisms and using the pressure data from the O IV lines. The magnetic field was computed through constant- force-free extrapolations of the longitudinal photospheric field. We computed both the flux from 2 to 20 cm and the spatial structure of the microwave emission at 6 and 20 cm. The comparison of the computed and observed flux spectra allowed us to estimate the magnetic field strength at the base of the transition region and in the low corona, as well as the values of the conductive flux and the height of the base of the transition region. The model maps at 6 cm and 20 cm showed that was not constant above the active region; the same conclusion was reached on the basis of the photospheric observations. The use of pressure measurements allowed us to identify microwave structures which were determined by pressure enhancements. At 6 cm the computations confirmed the fact that the magnetic field is the principal factor that determines the structure of sunspot-associated sources and showed that the effect of pressure variations was small. Pressure variations were more important at 20 cm, where the peak of the emission was associated with the sunspot and a diffuse component was associated with the plage which had an average pressure higher by a factor of 1.54 than the sunspot.     

Current sheet models of solar flares

Current sheets have been suggested as the site for flare energy release because they can convert magnetic energy very rapidly into both heat and directed plasma energy. Also they contain electric fields with the potential of accelerating particles to high energies.The basic properties of current sheets are first reviewed. For instance, magnetic flux may be carried into a current sheet and annihilated. An exact solution for such a process in an infinitely long sheet has been found; it describes the annihilation of fields which are inclined at any angle, not just 180°. Moreover, field lines which are expelled from the ends of a current sheet can be described as having been reconnected. The only workable model for fast reconnection in the solar atmosphere, namely Petschek's mechanism, has recently been put on a firm foundation; it gives a reconnection rate which depends on the electrical conductivity but is typically a tenth or a hundredth of the Alfvén speed. A current sheet may be formed when the sources of an initially potential field start to move; a simple analytic technique for finding the position and shape of such a sheet in two dimensions now exists. Finally, a sheet with no transverse magnetic field component is subject to the tearing-mode instability, which rapidly produces a series of loops in the field.The main ways in which current sheets have been used for solar flare models is described. Syrovatskii's mechanism relies on the increase of the electric current density during the formation of a sheet, to a value in excess of the critical value j ^* for the onset of microinstabilities. But Anzer has recently demonstrated that the critical value is most unlikely to be reached during the initial formation process. Sturrock, on the other hand, has advocated the occurrence of the tearing-mode instability in an open streamer-like configuration (which may result from the eruption of a force-free field). But recent observations do not point to that as the relevant configuration. Rather, they suggest that flares are triggered by the emergence of new magnetic flux from below the solar photosphere. This has led Heyvaerts, Priest, and Rust (1976) to propose a new emerging flux model, according to which, as more and more flux emerges, so reconnection occurs, producing some preflare heating. When the current sheet reaches such a height (around the transition region) that its current density exceeds j ^*, then the impulsive phase of the flare is triggered. The main phase is caused by an enhanced level of magnetic energy conversion in a turbulent current sheet. The type of flare depends on the magnetic environment in which the emerging flux finds itself. A surge flare results if the flux appears near a strong unipolar region such as a simple sunspot, whereas a two ribbon flare may be produced by flux emergence near an active region filament, in which case the main phase energy is released from the field that surrounds the filament.