Avalanche Models of Coronal Loop Heating and Cooling: is the Sun Heated by a Domino Effect?

Vadim Uritsky
Physics Department, The Catholic University of America
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Wed, September 11, 2018 - 4:00 PM
Karl Herzfeld Auditorium of Hannan Hall - Rm 108

The enormous temperature (up to 10^7 K) of the solar corona is several orders of magnitude higher than the temperature of the underlying solar regions.

How is the magnetic free energy of the Sun converted into heat? Does the heating occur in a steady or impulsive fashion? Which mechanisms trigger and quench the process? What kinetic scales and plasma structures are in charge?

I will review some of the recent theoretical advances in this research area and show how high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic simulations of slowly driven coronal loop systems, along with cutting-edge coronal imaging techniques, may contribute to resolving the long-standing mystery of the overheated corona.

Refreshments served at 3:45 PM

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