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[56.08] Effects of Heating Mechanism and Field Line Topology on the Thermal Structure of an Active Region

Y. Mok (Univ of Calif, Irvine), R. Lionello, Z. Mikic, J.A. Linker (Science Applications International Corp.)

The thermal structure above an active region is strongly influenced by the complex magnetic field through two mechanisms, plasma heating and thermal conduction. The field line topology determines the path of the heat flow, and the varying cross-section of the flux tube affects its flow rate. Magnetic energy is believed to be the ultimate source responsible for heating the plasma, although the conversion mechanism is not yet understood. We chose Active Region 7986 (August, 1996) to study in details the influence of the magnetic field on the thermal structure. Based on the magnetogram, we have constructed several possible magnetic topologies for this region. Together with these field structures, we use a number of plasma heating models to construct the possible thermal structures in 3-D. The resulting EUV and Soft X-ray emissions are computed from these models to show their possible appearance and measure their resemblance to observations.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
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