[Loops] summaries on nanoflare debates in "coronal loop workshops"

Petrus Martens pmartens at cfa.harvard.edu
Thu Mar 5 15:32:06 MST 2009


Hugh,

> The Parker problem seems now to me too abstract to apply to real 
> observations, for a couple of other reasons. First, at least for flares, 
> I think it is wrong to think of the footpoint perturbations as "random" 
> - the magnetic field is arguably following coherent marching orders from 
> deep in the convection zone. So if the mathematics of "random" is 
> important, that would be a flaw in the concept

Hugh, I think that there is a miscommunication here.  I only meant to say
that in flares we have good evidence that the flaring loops coincide with
separators.  I didn't mean to imply that flares are caused by Parker's
mechanism.

> Second, the analysis of 
> coronal current systems really must involve consideration of what 
> species carries the currents, and how the conductivity tensor varies 
> through the medium. This seems to be the language of the magnetosphere, 
> where people can directly sample the medium. So I'd relegate the Parker 
> problem to being, well, interesting but abstract.

I don't quite see the logical step from a to b.  You still have to figure
out what drives the currents before you can worry about what dissipates
them, and Parker's model focuses on what drives them.

Cheers,

Piet

> 
> Hugh
> 
> On Mar 5, 2009, at 1:09 PM, Petrus Martens wrote:
> 
>> Marco et al.,
>>
>>> this is an interesting conversation. My tuppence: parker nanoflares  
>>> work precisely in unipolar reasons, as it is the tangential stresses  
>>> which are relaxed in the original parker scenario.
>>
>> Agreed, that is certainly what Parker described.  The problem I have with
>> the Parker scenario is:  why loops?  Why not a uniform distribution of
>> nanoflares throughout the AR?  "Why loops?" also applies to any mechanism
>> that places the origin of the heating in the upper chromosphere or below.
>>
>> Stick and slip reconnection along separators, a scenario that Dana
>> Longcope has been working on for years, answers the "Why loops?" question
>> seamlessly.  I am aware of course that observational studies have so far
>> found no clear relation between separators and loops, except in flaring
>> loops.  This may be a resolution issue, or an issue related to the large
>> amount of horizontal flux missed in magnetograms.  Or there is no such
>> relation, in which case we are back where we started.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Piet
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>   The presence of multiple polarities
>>> changes this in a way which has never been quantitatively estimated.
>>> I would like to point you to the 2008/07 papers by Rappazzo and myself  
>>> which I believe contain the only scalings for the Parker flt scenario
>>> which have numerical simulation confirmation.
>>>
>>> @ARTICLE{2008ApJ...677.1348R, author = {{Rappazzo}, A.~F. and {Velli},  
>>> M. and {Einaudi}, G. and {Dahlburg}, R.~B. }, title = "{Nonlinear  
>>> Dynamics of the Parker Scenario for Coronal Heating}", journal =  
>>> {\apj}, archivePrefix = "arXiv", eprint = {0709.3687}, keywords =  
>>> {Magnetohydrodynamics: MHD, Sun: Corona, Sun: Magnetic Fields,  
>>> Turbulence}, year = 2008, month = apr, volume = 677, pages =  
>>> {1348-1366}, doi = {10.1086/528786}, adsurl = 
>>> {http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008ApJ...677.1348R 
>>> }, adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System} }
>>>
>>> On Mar 5, 2009, at 7:31 AM, Harry Warren wrote:
>>>
>>>> Markus et al.,
>>>>
>>>> It is unambiguous that there is a lot of dynamic activity going on  
>>>> in the
>>>> transition region. However:
>>>>
>>>> . . . a significant fraction of the Sun's magnetic flux closes at low
>>>> heights (several Mm), so it is unclear how much of this activity is  
>>>> related
>>>> to what we see in the corona.
>>>>
>>>> . . . my impression of SOT magnetic field measurements is that  
>>>> active region
>>>> plage (where many active region loops are rooted) is unipolar. It is  
>>>> hard to
>>>> see how small-scale reconnection in the transition region could be  
>>>> important
>>>> here. I could be wrong about this! I'm sure that an SOT person could  
>>>> provide
>>>> a more definitive answer.
>>>>
>>>> Best wishes,
>>>>
>>>> Harry
>>>>
>>>> //  
>>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> // Harry P. Warren             phone : 202-404-1453
>>>> // Naval Research Laboratory   fax   : 202-404-7997
>>>> // Code 7673HW                 email : hwarren at nrl.navy.mil 
>>>> <mailto:hwarren at nrl.navy.mil>
>>>> // Washington, DC 20375        www   : http://tcrb.nrl.navy.mil/~hwarren
>>>> //  
>>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> From: loops-bounces at mithra.physics.montana.edu 
>>>> <mailto:loops-bounces at mithra.physics.montana.edu>
>>>> [mailto:loops-bounces at mithra.physics.montana.edu] On Behalf Of  
>>>> Markus J.
>>>> Aschwanden
>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 10:16 AM
>>>> To: Hugh Hudson; A mailing list for scientists involved in the  
>>>> observation
>>>> and modeling of solar loop structures
>>>> Subject: [Loops] summaries on nanoflare debates in "coronal loop  
>>>> workshops"
>>>>
>>>> Dear Hugh,
>>>>
>>>> Jim Klimchuk sent a great summary of the current status of a  
>>>> nanoflare model
>>>> around,
>>>> so it deals with all the PROs. An outside reader who wants to hear  
>>>> both
>>>> sides might be
>>>> interested to hear also the CONs, which you could find in the ApJ  
>>>> Letter
>>>> entitled
>>>> "An observational test that disproves coronal nanoflare heating  
>>>> models"
>>>> (Aschwanden
>>>> 2008, ApJ 672, L135). The arguments made therein do not dismiss  
>>>> nanoflares
>>>> altogether, but come to the conclusion that they occur in the  
>>>> transition
>>>> region,
>>>> rather than in the corona (as Parker originally suggested).
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Markus
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mar 3, 2009, at 7:32 AM, Klimchuk, James A. (GSFC-6710) wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Dear loops friends,
>>>>
>>>>      Here is a paper I wrote for the Hinode II conference  
>>>> proceedings.  In
>>>> it, I try to do three things:  (1) review the arguments leading to the
>>>> conclusion that warm EUV loops must by bundles of strands heated by  
>>>> storms
>>>> of nanoflares (the flow chart some of you have asked about); (2)  
>>>> reconcile
>>>> the isothermal/multi-thermal debate in terms of the duration of the
>>>> nanoflare storm; and (3) address the possibility that loops can be  
>>>> explained
>>>> by thermal nonequilibrium.  Comments are welcomed.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> James A. Klimchuk
>>>>
>>>> ____________________________________________
>>>> Dr. Markus J. Aschwanden
>>>> Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory
>>>> Lockheed Martin Advanced Techology Center
>>>> Org. ADBS, Bldg. 252
>>>> 3251 Hanover St., Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
>>>> Phone: 650-424-4001, FAX: 650-424-3994
>>>> URL: http://www.lmsal.com/~aschwand/
>>>> e-mail: aschwanden at lmsal.com <mailto:aschwanden at lmsal.com>
>>>> _______________________________________
>>>> ____________________________________
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Loops mailing list
>>>> Loops at solar.physics.montana.edu <mailto:Loops at solar.physics.montana.edu>
>>>> https://mithra.physics.montana.edu/mailman/listinfo/loops
>>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Loops mailing list
>>> Loops at solar.physics.montana.edu <mailto:Loops at solar.physics.montana.edu>
>>> https://mithra.physics.montana.edu/mailman/listinfo/loops
>>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>   Piet Martens              Tel:   617-496-7769
>>   Center for Astrophysics   Fax:   617-496-7577
>>   60 Garden Street, MS 58   Cell:  617-999-0353
>>   Cambridge, MA 02138       pmartens at cfa.harvard.edu 
>> <mailto:pmartens at cfa.harvard.edu>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>> _______________________________________________
>> Loops mailing list
>> Loops at solar.physics.montana.edu <mailto:Loops at solar.physics.montana.edu>
>> https://mithra.physics.montana.edu/mailman/listinfo/loops
> 
> +++++++++++++++++++++
> 
> In medias res
> hhudson at ssl.berkeley.edu <mailto:hhudson at ssl.berkeley.edu>
> +1 (510) 643-0333
> 
> AST:7731^29u18e3
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Loops mailing list
> Loops at solar.physics.montana.edu
> https://mithra.physics.montana.edu/mailman/listinfo/loops


-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
  Piet Martens              Tel:   617-496-7769
  Center for Astrophysics   Fax:   617-496-7577
  60 Garden Street, MS 58   Cell:  617-999-0353
  Cambridge, MA 02138       pmartens at cfa.harvard.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------


More information about the Loops mailing list