Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2011-12-14
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Accepted for publication by The Astrophysical Journal
Scientific paper
In this paper, we study the heating of the magnetized solar chromosphere induced by the large fraction of neutral atoms present in this layer. The presence of neutrals, together with the decrease with height of the collisional coupling, leads to deviations from the classical MHD behavior of the chromospheric plasma. A relative net motion appears between the neutral and ionized components, usually referred to as ambipolar diffusion. The dissipation of currents in the chromosphere is enhanced orders of magnitude due to the action of ambipolar diffusion, as compared to the standard ohmic diffusion. We propose that a significant amount of magnetic energy can be released to the chromosphere just by existing force-free 10--40 G magnetic fields there. As a consequence, we conclude that ambipolar diffusion is an important process that should be included in chromospheric heating models, as it has the potential to rapidly heat the chromosphere. We perform analytical estimations and numerical simulations to prove this idea.
Collados Manuel
Khomenko Elena
No associations
LandOfFree
Heating of the magnetized solar chromosphere by partial ionization effects does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Heating of the magnetized solar chromosphere by partial ionization effects, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Heating of the magnetized solar chromosphere by partial ionization effects will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-561490