[Previous] | [Session 16] | [Next]
C. B. Roald, R. Wolfson, P. A. Sturrock (CSSA, Stanford University)
We discuss the possibility that the energy that heats the corona originates in magnetic reconnection in the chromosphere, with reference to a simple 1D supergranulation model. In this model, magnetic elements are assumed to be brought up to the surface by convection in the interior of supergranules, then carried to the network by outflow. They are meanwhile buffetted by randomly-directed granulation flows, leading to collisions (and apparent cancellation via post-reconnection magnetic relaxation) between neighbouring elements. For reasonable assumptions about the magnetic element production rate, sufficient energy to power the quiet corona is released.
Numerical analysis of the model allows us to compute the relationship between the heating flux and the mean unsigned magnetic field in the supergranule. We consider a range of parameters and compute power-law fits for each, then compare these predictions to observations from Yohkoh SXT and SOHO MDI.
This work was supported by NASA grants NAS 8-37334 and NAG 5-4038.
If the author provided an email address or URL for general inquiries, it is a
s follows:
http://hbar.stanford.edu/roald/