Locating Current Sheets in the Solar Corona |
| |
Authors: | J Büchner |
| |
Institution: | (1) Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Max-Planck 2, 37191 Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany |
| |
Abstract: | Current sheets are essential for energy dissipation in the solar corona, in particular by enabling magnetic reconnection.
Unfortunately, sufficiently thin current sheets cannot be resolved observationally and the theory of their formation is an
unresolved issue as well. We consider two predictors of coronal current concentrations, both based on geometrical or even
topological properties of a force-free coronal magnetic field. First, there are separatrices related to magnetic nulls. Through
separatrices the magnetic connectivity changes discontinuously. Coronal magnetic nulls are, however, very rare. Second, inspired
by the concept of generalized magnetic reconnection without nulls, quasi-separatrix layers (QSL) were suggested. Through QSL
the magnetic connectivity changes continuously, though strongly. The strength of the connectivity change can be quantified
by measuring the squashing of the flux tubes which connect the magnetically conjugated photospheres.
We verify the QSL and separatrix concepts by comparing the sites of magnetic nulls and enhanced squashing with the location
of current concentrations in the corona. Due to the known difficulties of their direct observation, we simulated coronal current
sheets by numerically calculating the response of the corona to energy input from the photosphere, heating a simultaneously
observed Extreme Ultraviolet Bright Point. We did not find coronal current sheets at separatrices but at several QSL locations.
The reason is that, although the geometrical properties of force-free extrapolated magnetic fields can indeed hint at possible
current concentrations, a necessary condition for current sheet formation is the local energy input into the corona. |
| |
Keywords: | corona heating current sheets energy release magnetic reconnection magnetic topology numerical simulation |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|