Abstract

Contributed Talk - Splinter Solar

Tuesday, 10 September 2024, 14:00   (S15)

Energy and mass transport of small scales in the corona

Hardi Peter
MPI für Sonnensystemforschung (MPS) & Institut für Sonnenphysik (KIS)

There is an abundance of mass and energy in the photosphere and chromosphere to heat the corona. However, it remains unclear which of the potential sources are most relevant in which parts of the atmosphere, which are the main channels to transport the energy, and how it is finally dissipated. Small-scale motions in the photosphere will constantly lead to a tangling of the magnetic field and hence will inject energy into the upper atmosphere. This is the base for the fieldline-braiding picture as well as for the injection of waves. Also, reconnection associated with small-scale magnetic features that cancel or emerge will play a crucial role, e.g., in Ellerman bombs, UV bursts, or jets. Still, it is difficult to quantify to what extent these phenomena contribute to the heating of the corona. In the case of reconnection events in the photosphere and chromosphere it is hard to tell from observations what the energy flux into the upper atmosphere really is. In the case of fieldline braiding direct observational evidence is sparse, and for waves it is unclear if they carry a sufficient amount of energy given the constraints from imaging and line broadening analysis. Here realistic simulations have become an integral part to understand the mass and energy transport and to guide the interpretation of observations.