A simple model for the evolution of multi-stranded coronal loops

• Autores: Lopez Fuentes, Marcelo Claudio; Klimchuk, J. A.
• Año de publicación: 2010
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Sun: Corona; Sun: Flares; Sun: Magnetic Topology; Sun: X-Rays, Gamma Rays
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

We develop and analyze a simple cellular automaton model that reproduces the main properties of the evolution of soft X-ray coronal loops. We are motivated by the observation that these loops evolve in three distinguishable phases that suggest the development, maintenance, and decay of a self-organized system. The model is based on the idea that loops are made of elemental strands that are heated by the relaxation of magnetic stress in the form of nanoflares. In this vision, usually called the “Parker conjecture,” the origin of stress is the displacement of the strand footpoints due to photospheric convective motions. Modeling the response and evolution of the plasma we obtain synthetic light curves that have the same characteristic properties (intensity, fluctuations, and timescales) as the observed cases. We study the dependence of these properties on the model parameters and find scaling laws that can be used as observational predictions of the model. We discuss the implications of our results for the interpretation of recent loop observations in different wavelengths.
Fil: Lopez Fuentes, Marcelo Claudio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina
Fil: Klimchuk, J. A.. National Aeronautics And Space Administration. Goddart Institute For Space Studies; Estados Unidos