skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: CLUSTERS OF SMALL ERUPTIVE FLARES PRODUCED BY MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN THE SUN

Abstract

We report on the formation of small solar flares produced by patchy magnetic reconnection between interacting magnetic loops. A three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical experiment was performed, where a uniform magnetic flux sheet was injected into a fully developed convective layer. The gradual emergence of the field into the solar atmosphere results in a network of magnetic loops, which interact dynamically forming current layers at their interfaces. The formation and ejection of plasmoids out of the current layers leads to patchy reconnection and the spontaneous formation of several small (size ≈1-2 Mm) flares. We find that these flares are short-lived (30 s–3 minutes) bursts of energy in the range O(10{sup 25}-10{sup 27}) erg, which is basically the nanoflare-microflare range. Their persistent formation and co-operative action and evolution leads to recurrent emission of fast EUV/X-ray jets and considerable plasma heating in the active corona.

Authors:
 [1]
  1. School of Mathematics and Statistics, St. Andrews University, St. Andrews, KY16 9SS (United Kingdom)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22365811
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 788; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION; JETS; LAYERS; MAGNETIC FIELDS; MAGNETIC FLUX; MAGNETIC RECONNECTION; MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS; PLASMA HEATING; PLASMOIDS; SOLAR ATMOSPHERE; SOLAR FLARES; SUN; THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS; X RADIATION

Citation Formats

Archontis, V., and Hansteen, V., E-mail: vasilis@mcs.st-and.ac.uk. CLUSTERS OF SMALL ERUPTIVE FLARES PRODUCED BY MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN THE SUN. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/788/1/L2.
Archontis, V., & Hansteen, V., E-mail: vasilis@mcs.st-and.ac.uk. CLUSTERS OF SMALL ERUPTIVE FLARES PRODUCED BY MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN THE SUN. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/788/1/L2
Archontis, V., and Hansteen, V., E-mail: vasilis@mcs.st-and.ac.uk. 2014. "CLUSTERS OF SMALL ERUPTIVE FLARES PRODUCED BY MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN THE SUN". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/788/1/L2.
@article{osti_22365811,
title = {CLUSTERS OF SMALL ERUPTIVE FLARES PRODUCED BY MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN THE SUN},
author = {Archontis, V. and Hansteen, V., E-mail: vasilis@mcs.st-and.ac.uk},
abstractNote = {We report on the formation of small solar flares produced by patchy magnetic reconnection between interacting magnetic loops. A three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical experiment was performed, where a uniform magnetic flux sheet was injected into a fully developed convective layer. The gradual emergence of the field into the solar atmosphere results in a network of magnetic loops, which interact dynamically forming current layers at their interfaces. The formation and ejection of plasmoids out of the current layers leads to patchy reconnection and the spontaneous formation of several small (size ≈1-2 Mm) flares. We find that these flares are short-lived (30 s–3 minutes) bursts of energy in the range O(10{sup 25}-10{sup 27}) erg, which is basically the nanoflare-microflare range. Their persistent formation and co-operative action and evolution leads to recurrent emission of fast EUV/X-ray jets and considerable plasma heating in the active corona.},
doi = {10.1088/2041-8205/788/1/L2},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22365811}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal Letters},
issn = {2041-8205},
number = 1,
volume = 788,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Tue Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}