Heating and reconnection of the emerging magnetic flux-tubes and the role of the interchange instability

We propose in the present paper that the basic behaviors of newly-emerged magnetic regions (NEMR) as seen in EUV and soft X-rays from space are interpreted by the interchange instability of the magnetic field of NEMR in the global situation surrounding it.It is shown that the situation with the NEMR is unstable against the interchange instability, and a continual relaxation to the lower energy state, or a continual invasion of the magnetic flux of the NEMR to the ambient region in the form of fine bundles or thin sheets, will take place in a short time scale of ₁ L/V _A following the change in the boundary condition at the photosphere. The second and the final relaxation is shown to be the enhanced Joule dissipation in a time scale of hours to several days occurring in the thin current sheets on the interface of this intermingled structure which is distributed in a large volume. This hypothesis may provide an explanation for the heating of NEMR to an X-ray emitting temperature, which is otherwise rather difficult to explain. The observed fast reconnection without appreciable flares (except for some smaller brightenings) is another aspect which can be explained in the present hypothesis. Namely, since the situation with the NEMR is unstable for the interchange from the beginning, the stressed configuration is relaxed before storing appreciable energy in the form of magnetic stress and therefore without a drastic release of a large amount of stored stress energy in the form of a flare.