The Role of Magnetic Reconnection in Self-Organization of the Corona: Theory and Observations

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2740 Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics, 4410 Bifurcations And Attractors, 4485 Self-Organization, 7524 Magnetic Fields, 7835 Magnetic Reconnection (2723, 7526)

Scientific paper

Based on observations that solar flares obey power law statistics, it was suggested that the solar corona is in a state of self-organized criticality [1]. However, the physical mechanism underlying the dynamics is not well understood. A recent model [2] describing the catastrophic onset of fast (Hall) magnetic reconnection in weakly collisional plasmas may potentially contribute to this discussion. We suggest that the condition at which the catastrophic onset of reconnection occurs sets the critical state of the corona and the physics of reconnection organizes the corona into this critical state [3]. (See also [4].) The model makes a quantitative prediction for the conditions of the corona at the onset of eruptions, which is known to be consistent with observations of the solar corona. We present new observational evidence from stellar flares (107 events in 37 sun-like stars) that stellar coronae are near the same critical state at flare onset. This provides observational evidence in support of the model and suggests that magnetic reconnection plays an active role in constraining the conditions in solar and stellar coronae. Implications for self-organization in coronal heating and solar eruptions will be discussed. [1] E. T. Lu and R. J. Hamilton, Ap. J., 380, L89, 1991; [2] P. A. Cassak et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, 235002, 2005; P. A. Cassak et al., Ap. J. Lett., 644, L145, 2006; [3] P. A. Cassak et al., Ap. J. Lett., 676, L69, 2008; [4] D. A. Uzdensky, Ap. J., 671, 2139, 2007.

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