Signatures of Type III Solar Radio Bursts from Nanoflares: Modeling

There is a wide consensus that the ubiquitous presence of magnetic reconnection events and the associated impulsive heating (nanoflares) are strong candidates for solving the solar coronal heating problem. Whether nanoflares accelerate particles to high energies like full-sized flares is unknown. We investigate this question by studying the type III radio bursts that the nanoflares may produce on closed loops. The characteristic frequency drifts that type III bursts exhibit can be detected using a novel application of the time-lag technique developed by Viall & Klimchuk (2012) even when there are multiple overlapping events. We present a simple numerical model that simulates the expected radio emission from nanoflares in an active region, which we use to test and calibrate the technique. We find that in the case of closed loops the frequency spectrum of type III bursts is expected to be extremely steep such that significant emission is produced at a given frequency only for a rather narrow range of loop lengths. We also find that the signature of bursts in the time-lag signal diminishes as: (1) the variety of participating loops within that range increases; (2) the occurrence rate of bursts increases; (3) the duration of bursts increases; and (4) the brightness of bursts decreases relative to noise. In addition, our model suggests a possible origin of type I bursts as a natural consequence of type III emission in a closed-loop geometry.

Turbulence modulation in thermally expanding and contracting flows

We present direct numerical simulations of developing turbulent channel flows subjected to thermal expansion or contraction downstream of a heated or cooled wall. Using different constitutive relations for viscosity we analyse the response of variable property flows to streamwise acceleration/deceleration by separating the effect of streamwise acceleration/deceleration from the effect of wall-normal property variations. We demonstrate that, beyond a certain streamwise location, the flow can be considered in a state of ‘quasi-equilibrium’ regarding semilocally scaled variables. As such, we claim that the development of turbulent quantities due to streamwise acceleration/deceleration is localized to the region of impulsive heating/cooling, while changes in turbulence occurring farther downstream can be attributed solely to property variations. This finding allows us to study turbulence modulation in accelerating/decelerating flows using the semilocal scaling framework. By investigating the energy redistribution among the turbulent velocity fluctuations, we conclude that a change in bulk streamwise velocity has a non-local effect which originates from the change in mean shear and modifies the energy pathways through velocity-pressure-gradient correlations. On the other hand, the wall-normal property gradients have a local effect and act through the modification of the viscous dissipation. We show that it is possible to superimpose and compare the two different effects when using the semilocal scaling framework.

A fully general, non-perturbative treatment of impulsive heating

ABSTRACT Impulsive encounters between astrophysical objects are usually treated using the distant tide approximation (DTA) for which the impact parameter, b, is assumed to be significantly larger than the characteristic radii of the subject, rS, and the perturber, rP. The perturber potential is then expanded as a multipole series and truncated at the quadrupole term. When the perturber is more extended than the subject, this standard approach can be extended to the case where rS ≪ b < rP. However, for encounters with b of order rS or smaller, the DTA typically overpredicts the impulse, Δv, and hence the internal energy change of the subject, ΔEint. This is unfortunate, as these close encounters are the most interesting, potentially leading to tidal capture, mass stripping, or tidal disruption. Another drawback of the DTA is that ΔEint is proportional to the moment of inertia, which diverges unless the subject is truncated or has a density profile that falls off faster than r−5. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper presents a fully general, non-perturbative treatment of impulsive encounters which is valid for any impact parameter, and not hampered by divergence issues, thereby negating the necessity to truncate the subject. We present analytical expressions for Δv for a variety of perturber profiles, apply our formalism to both straight-path encounters and eccentric orbits, and discuss the mass-loss due to tidal shocks in gravitational encounters between equal-mass galaxies.

Self-consistent 3D radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations of coronal rain formation and evolution

Context. Coronal rain consists of cool and dense plasma condensations formed in coronal loops as a result of thermal instability. Aims. Previous numerical simulations of thermal instability and coronal rain formation have relied on the practice of artificially adding a coronal heating term to the energy equation. To reproduce large-scale characteristics of the corona, the use of more realistic coronal heating prescription is necessary. Methods. We analysed coronal rain formation and evolution in a three-dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulation spanning from convection zone to corona which is self-consistently heated by magnetic field braiding as a result of convective motions. Results. We investigate the spatial and temporal evolution of energy dissipation along coronal loops which become thermally unstable. Ohmic dissipation in the model leads to the heating events capable of inducing sufficient chromospheric evaporation into the loop to trigger thermal instability and condensation formation. The cooling of the thermally unstable plasma occurs on timescales that are comparable to the duration of the individual impulsive heating events. The impulsive heating has sufficient duration to trigger thermal instability in the loop but does not last long enough to lead to coronal rain limit cycles. We show that condensations can either survive and fall into the chromosphere or be destroyed by strong bursts of Joule heating associated with a magnetic reconnection events. In addition, we find that condensations can also form along open magnetic field lines. Conclusions. We modelled, for the first time, coronal rain formation in a self-consistent 3D radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulation, in which the heating occurs mainly through the braiding and subsequent Ohmic dissipation of the magnetic field. The heating is stratified enough and lasts for long enough along specific field lines to produce the necessary chromospheric evaporation that triggers thermal instability in the corona.

Modelling the solar transition region using an adaptive conduction method

Modelling the solar Transition Region with the use of an Adaptive Conduction (TRAC) method permits fast and accurate numerical solutions of the field-aligned hydrodynamic equations, capturing the enthalpy exchange between the corona and transition region, when the corona undergoes impulsive heating. The TRAC method eliminates the need for highly resolved numerical grids in the transition region and the commensurate very short time steps that are required for numerical stability. When employed with coarse spatial resolutions, typically achieved in multi-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic codes, the errors at peak density are less than 5% and the computation time is three orders of magnitude faster than fully resolved field-aligned models. This paper presents further examples that demonstrate the versatility and robustness of the method over a range of heating events, including impulsive and quasi-steady footpoint heating. A detailed analytical assessment of the TRAC method is also presented, showing that the approach works through all phases of an impulsive heating event because (i) the total radiative losses and (ii) the total heating when integrated over the transition region are both preserved at all temperatures under the broadening modifications of the method. The results from the numerical simulations complement this conclusion.

Formation of coronal rain triggered by impulsive heating associated with magnetic reconnection

Context. Coronal rain consists of cool plasma condensations formed in coronal loops as a result of thermal instability. The standard models of coronal rain formation assume that the heating is quasi-steady and localised at the coronal loop footpoints. Aims. We present an observation of magnetic reconnection in the corona and the associated impulsive heating triggering formation of coronal rain condensations. Methods. We analyse combined SDO/AIA and IRIS observations of a coronal rain event following a reconnection between threads of a low-lying prominence flux rope and surrounding coronal field lines. Results. The reconnection of the twisted flux rope and open field lines leads to a release of magnetic twist. Evolution of the emission of one of the coronal loops involved in the reconnection process in different AIA bandpasses suggests that the loop becomes thermally unstable and is subject to the formation of coronal rain condensations following the reconnection and that the associated heating is localised in the upper part of the loop leg. Conclusions. In addition to the standard models of thermally unstable coronal loops with heating localised exclusively in the footpoints, thermal instability and subsequent formation of condensations can be triggered by the impulsive heating associated with magnetic reconnection occurring anywhere along a magnetic field line.

Signatures of red-shifted foot points in the quiescent coronal loop system

We observed quiescent coronal loops using multi-wavelength observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) on 13 April 2016. The flows at the foot points of such loop systems are studied using spectral data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). The Doppler velocity distributions at the foot points lying in the moss region show the negligible or small flows at the Ni I, Mg II k3, and C II line corresponding to upper photospheric and chromospheric emissions. Significant red shifts (downflows) ranging from 1 to 7 km s−1 are observed at Si IV (1393.78 Å; log⁡(T/K)=4.8), which is found to be consistent with the existing results regarding dynamical loop systems and moss regions. Such downflows agree well with the impulsive heating mechanism reported earlier.