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Slipping magnetic reconnection in coronal loops
Guillaume Aulanier1, Leon Golub, Edward E Deluca
1Observatoire de Paris, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Université Paris Diderot, 92190 Meudon, France. guillaume.aulanier@obspm.fr
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|December 8, 2007
Summary
Solar flares are caused by magnetic reconnection. New evidence suggests a slipping magnetic reconnection process, where field lines slide past each other, is key to understanding solar flares and coronal heating.
Area of Science:
- Plasma physics
- Solar physics
- Astrophysics
Background:
- Magnetic reconnection in solar coronal loops drives solar flares and coronal heating.
- The standard model assumes instantaneous magnetic field line breaking at discontinuous field mappings.
- An alternative slipping magnetic reconnection mode may occur with continuous but steep field gradients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the existence and implications of slipping magnetic reconnection in the Sun's corona.
- To provide observational support for the slipping magnetic reconnection model.
- To inform interpretations of magnetic reconnection in solar and laboratory plasmas.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of soft X-ray observations from the Hinode spacecraft.
- Observation of fast bidirectional motions of coronal loops.
- Comparison of observed phenomena with theoretical models of magnetic reconnection.
Main Results:
- Observed fast bidirectional motions of coronal loops provide evidence for slipping magnetic reconnection.
- This regime operates where magnetic field mapping is continuous but has steep gradients.
- Supports an alternative to the standard instantaneous reconnection model.
Conclusions:
- Slipping magnetic reconnection is a viable process in the solar corona.
- This mechanism should be considered when studying solar flares and coronal heating.
- Findings are relevant for both solar and laboratory plasma reconnection studies.
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