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S. Patsourakos, S. Antiochos, J. Klimchuk (NRL)
EUV observations often indicate the presence of bright knots in flare loops. The temperature of the knot plasma is of order 1MK, and the knots themselves are usually localized somewhere near the loop tops. We propose a model in which the formation of EUV knots is due to the spatial structure of the non-flare active region heating. We present the results of a series of 1D hydrodynamic, flare-loop simulations, which include both an impulsive flare heating and a background, active region heating. The simulations demonstrate that the formation of the observed knots depends critically on the spatial distribution of the background heating during the decay phase. In particular, the heating must: (1) be localized, (2) be situated far from the loop apex and (3) have a magnitude comparable with the local radiative losses of the cooling loop. Our results, therefore, provide strong constraints on both coronal heating and post-flare conditions.
Research supported by NASA and ONR.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
© YEAR. The American Astronomical Soceity.