Energy release in the solar corona from spatially resolved magnetic braids
@article{Cirtain2013EnergyRI, title={Energy release in the solar corona from spatially resolved magnetic braids}, author={Jonathan W. Cirtain and Leon Golub and Amy R. Winebarger and Bart De Pontieu and K. Kobayashi and R. L. Moore and Robert W. Walsh and Kelly E. Korreck and M. Weber and Patrick I. McCauley and Alan M. Title and S. Kuzin and Craig E. Deforest}, journal={Nature}, year={2013}, volume={493}, pages={501-503} }
It is now apparent that there are at least two heating mechanisms in the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona. Wave heating may be the prevalent mechanism in quiet solar periods and may contribute to heating the corona to 1,500,000 K (refs 1, 2, 3). The active corona needs additional heating to reach 2,000,000–4,000,000 K; this heat has been theoretically proposed to come from the reconnection and unravelling of magnetic ‘braids’. Evidence favouring that process has been inferred, but has not been…
218 Citations
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