Collisional heating by nonthermal electrons in a tapered magnetic loop

We examine the behavior of non-thermal electrons injected into a tapered magnetic loop, under the action of both Coulomb collisional and magnetic field gradient forces. An approximate analytic formula for the heating rate as a function of distance along the loop is developed, and found to be in good agreement with exact numerical solutions of the relevant equations. Such a formula is useful as a source term in many situations, such as hydrodynamic simulations of atmospheric response to flare energy input.Presidential Young Investigator.