Electric Potentials and Energy Fluxes Available for Particle Acceleration by Alfvenons in the Solar Corona
Author(s) -
K. Stasiewicz,
Jonas Ekeberg
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the astrophysical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.376
H-Index - 489
eISSN - 1538-4357
pISSN - 0004-637X
DOI - 10.1086/589878
Subject(s) - physics , chromosphere , corona (planetary geology) , nanoflares , photosphere , solar wind , particle acceleration , magnetosphere , solar flare , magnetohydrodynamics , astrophysics , plasma , electric field , coronal mass ejection , acceleration , computational physics , coronal loop , magnetic reconnection , electron , astronomy , classical mechanics , spectral line , astrobiology , quantum mechanics , venus
We show that solitary wave solutions of the one- and two-fluid MHD equations, here called alfvenons, represent two types of electric field structures with negative or positive potentials that can explain the acceleration of particles in the solar corona. Negative potentials are created self-consistently by fast alfvenons and can reach hundreds of kilovolts, which could accelerate the electrons that produce X-ray emissions during flares. Slow alfvenons create positive potential structures of a few kV that accelerate solar wind ions. These alfvenons can be powered by irregular plasma flows in the photosphere and chromosphere, as well as by time-varying magnetic fields during reconnection events at the tops of coronal loops. Similar alfvenon structures are observed in the terrestrial magnetosphere, where they accelerate particles related to aurorae
Accelerating Research
Robert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom
Address
John Eccles HouseRobert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom