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Updated: Apr 22, 2026

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
On the prevalence of small-scale twist in the solar chromosphere and transition region
B De Pontieu1, L Rouppe van der Voort2, S W McIntosh3
1Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), 3251 Hanover Street, Organization A021S, Building 252, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, Post Office Box 1029, Blindern, N-0315 Oslo, Norway. bdp@lmsal.com.
Abstract:
The solar chromosphere and transition region (TR) form an interface between the Sun's surface and its hot outer atmosphere. There, most of the nonthermal energy that powers the solar atmosphere is transformed into heat, although the detailed mechanism remains elusive. High-resolution (0.33-arc second) observations with NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reveal a chromosphere and TR that are replete with twist or torsional motions on sub-arc second scales, occurring in active regions, quiet Sun regions, and coronal holes alike. We coordinated observations with the Swedish 1-meter Solar Telescope (SST) to quantify these twisting motions and their association with rapid heating to at least TR temperatures. This view of the interface region provides insight into what heats the low solar atmosphere.
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