5,501 research outputs found
Thermal and non-thermal emission from reconnecting twisted coronal loops
Twisted magnetic fields should be ubiquitous in flare-producing active
regions where the magnetic fields are strongly non-potential. It has been shown
that reconnection in helical magnetic coronal loops results in plasma heating
and particle acceleration distributed within a large volume, including the
lower coronal and chromospheric sections of the loops. This scenario can be an
alternative to the standard flare model, where particles are accelerated only
in a small volume located in the upper corona. We use a combination of MHD
simulations and test-particle methods, which describe the development of kink
instability and magnetic reconnection in twisted coronal loops using resistive
compressible MHD, and incorporate atmospheric stratification and large-scale
loop curvature. The resulting distributions of hot plasma let us estimate
thermal X-ray emission intensities. The electric and magnetic fields obtained
are used to calculate electron trajectories using the guiding-centre
approximation. These trajectories combined with the MHD plasma density
distributions let us deduce synthetic HXR bremsstrahlung intensities. Our
simulations emphasise that the geometry of the emission patterns produced by
hot plasma in flaring twisted coronal loops can differ from the actual geometry
of the underlying magnetic fields. The twist angles revealed by the emission
threads (SXR) are consistently lower than the field-line twist present at the
onset of the kink-instability. HXR emission due to the interaction of energetic
electrons with the stratified background are concentrated at the loop
foot-points in these simulations, even though the electrons are accelerated
everywhere within the coronal volume of the loop. The maximum of HXR emission
consistently precedes that of SXR emission, with the HXR light-curve being
approximately proportional to the temporal derivative of the SXR light-curve.Comment: (accepted for publication on A&A
Three-Dimensional Simulations of Solar and Stellar Dynamos: The Influence of a Tachocline
We review recent advances in modeling global-scale convection and dynamo
processes with the Anelastic Spherical Harmonic (ASH) code. In particular, we
have recently achieved the first global-scale solar convection simulations that
exhibit turbulent pumping of magnetic flux into a simulated tachocline and the
subsequent organization and amplification of toroidal field structures by
rotational shear. The presence of a tachocline not only promotes the generation
of mean toroidal flux, but it also enhances and stabilizes the mean poloidal
field throughout the convection zone, promoting dipolar structure with less
frequent polarity reversals. The magnetic field generated by a convective
dynamo with a tachocline and overshoot region is also more helical overall,
with a sign reversal in the northern and southern hemispheres. Toroidal
tachocline fields exhibit little indication of magnetic buoyancy instabilities
but may be undergoing magneto-shear instabilities.Comment: 14 pages, 5 color figures, to appear in Proc. GONG 2008/SOHO XXI
Meeting on Solar-Stellar Dynamos as Revealed by Helio and Asteroseismology,
held August 15-18, 2008, Boulder, CO, Astronomical Soc. Pac. Conf. Series,
volume TB
Two-fluid and magnetohydrodynamic modelling of magnetic reconnection in the MAST spherical tokamak and the solar corona
Twisted magnetic flux ropes are ubiquitous in space and laboratory plasmas,
and the merging of such flux ropes through magnetic reconnection is an
important mechanism for restructuring magnetic fields and releasing free
magnetic energy. The merging-compression scenario is one possible start up
scheme for spherical tokamaks, which has been used on the Mega Amp Spherical
Tokamak MAST. Two current-carrying plasma rings, or flux ropes, approach each
other through the mutual attraction of their like currents, and merge, through
magnetic reconnection, into a single plasma torus, with substantial plasma
heating. 2D resistive MHD and Hall MHD simulations of this process are
reported, and new results for the temperature distribution of ions and
electrons are presented. A model of the based on relaxation theory is also
described, which is now extended to tight aspect ratio geometry. This model
allows prediction of the final merged state and the heating. The implications
of the relaxation model for heating of the solar corona are also discussed, and
a model of the merger of two or more twisted coronal flux ropes is presented,
allowing for different senses of twist
Dynamo Action in the Solar Convection Zone and Tachocline: Pumping and Organization of Toroidal Fields
We present the first results from three-dimensional spherical shell
simulations of magnetic dynamo action realized by turbulent convection
penetrating downward into a tachocline of rotational shear. This permits us to
assess several dynamical elements believed to be crucial to the operation of
the solar global dynamo, variously involving differential rotation resulting
from convection, magnetic pumping, and amplification of fields by stretching
within the tachocline. The simulations reveal that strong axisymmetric toroidal
magnetic fields (about 3000 G in strength) are realized within the lower stable
layer, unlike in the convection zone where fluctuating fields are predominant.
The toroidal fields in the stable layer possess a striking persistent
antisymmetric parity, with fields in the northern hemisphere largely of
opposite polarity to those in the southern hemisphere. The associated mean
poloidal magnetic fields there have a clear dipolar geometry, but we have not
yet observed any distinctive reversals or latitudinal propagation. The presence
of these deep magnetic fields appears to stabilize the sense of mean fields
produced by vigorous dynamo action in the bulk of the convection zone.Comment: 4 pages, 3 color figures (compressed), in press at ApJ
Theoretical limits on magnetic field strengths in low-mass stars
19 pages, 10 figures, accepted to ApJObservations have suggested that some low-mass stars have larger radii than predicted by 1-D structure models. Some theoretical models have invoked very strong interior magnetic fields (of order 1 MG or more) as a possible cause of such large radii. Whether fields of that strength could in principle by generated by dynamo action in these objects is unclear, and we do not address the matter directly. Instead, we examine whether such fields could remain in the interior of a low mass object for a significant time, and whether they would have any other obvious signatures. First, we estimate timescales for the loss of strong fields by magnetic buoyancy instabilities. We consider a range of field strengths and simple morphologies, including both idealized flux tubes and smooth layers of field. We confirm some of our analytical estimates using thin flux tube magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the rise of buoyant fields in a fully-convective M-dwarf. Separately, we consider the Ohmic dissipation of such fields. We find that dissipation provides a complementary constraint to buoyancy: while small-scale, fibril fields might be regenerated faster than they rise, the dissipative heating associated with such fields would in some cases greatly exceed the luminosity of the star. We show how these constraints combine to yield limits on the internal field strength and morphology in low-mass stars. In particular, we find that for stars of 0.3 solar masses, no fields in flux tubes stronger than about 800 kG are simultaneously consistent with both constraints
Solar and Heliospheric Physics with the Square Kilometre Array
The fields of solar radiophysics and solar system radio physics, or radio
heliophysics, will benefit immensely from an instrument with the capabilities
projected for SKA. Potential applications include interplanetary scintillation
(IPS), radio-burst tracking, and solar spectral radio imaging with a superior
sensitivity. These will provide breakthrough new insights and results in topics
of fundamental importance, such as the physics of impulsive energy releases,
magnetohydrodynamic oscillations and turbulence, the dynamics of post-eruptive
processes, energetic particle acceleration, the structure of the solar wind and
the development and evolution of solar wind transients at distances up to and
beyond the orbit of the Earth. The combination of the high spectral, time and
spatial resolution and the unprecedented sensitivity of the SKA will radically
advance our understanding of basic physical processes operating in solar and
heliospheric plasmas and provide a solid foundation for the forecasting of
space weather events.Comment: 15 pages, Proceedings of Advancing Astrophysics with the Square
Kilometre Array (AASKA14). 9 -13 June, 2014. Giardini Naxos, Italy. Online at
http://pos.sissa.it/cgi-bin/reader/conf.cgi?confid=215, id.16
A Nanoflare Distribution Generated by Repeated Relaxations Triggered by Kink Instability
Context: It is thought likely that vast numbers of nanoflares are responsible
for the corona having a temperature of millions of degrees. Current
observational technologies lack the resolving power to confirm the nanoflare
hypothesis. An alternative approach is to construct a magnetohydrodynamic
coronal loop model that has the ability to predict nanoflare energy
distributions.
Aims: This paper presents the initial results generated by such a model. It
predicts heating events with a range of sizes, depending on where the
instability threshold for linear kink modes is encountered. The aims are to
calculate the distribution of event energies and to investigate whether kink
instability can be predicted from a single parameter.
Methods: The loop is represented as a straight line-tied cylinder. The
twisting caused by random photospheric motions is captured by two parameters,
representing the ratio of current density to field strength for specific
regions of the loop. Dissipation of the loop's magnetic energy begins during
the nonlinear stage of the instability, which develops as a consequence of
current sheet reconnection. After flaring, the loop evolves to the state of
lowest energy where, in accordance with relaxation theory, the ratio of current
to field is constant throughout the loop and helicity is conserved.
Results: The results suggest that instability cannot be predicted by any
simple twist-derived property reaching a critical value. The model is applied
such that the loop undergoes repeated episodes of instability followed by
energy-releasing relaxation. Hence, an energy distribution of the nanoflares
produced is collated.
Conclusions: The final energy distribution features two nanoflare populations
that follow different power laws. The power law index for the higher energy
population is more than sufficient for coronal heating.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figure
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