Evidence of ubiquitous Alfvén pulses transporting energy from the photosphere to the upper chromosphere

Jiajia Liu (), Chris J. Nelson, Ben Snow, Yuming Wang and Robert Erdélyi
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Jiajia Liu: The University of Sheffield
Chris J. Nelson: The University of Sheffield
Ben Snow: The University of Sheffield
Yuming Wang: University of Science and Technology of China
Robert Erdélyi: The University of Sheffield

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The multi-million degree temperature increase from the middle to the upper solar atmosphere is one of the most fascinating puzzles in plasma-astrophysics. Although magnetic waves might transport enough energy from the photosphere to heat up the local chromosphere and corona, observationally validating their ubiquity has proved challenging. Here, we show observational evidence that ubiquitous Alfvén pulses are excited by prevalent intensity swirls in the solar photosphere. Correlation analysis between swirls detected at different heights in the solar atmosphere, together with realistic numerical simulations, show that these Alfvén pulses propagate upwards and reach chromospheric layers. We found that Alfvén pulses carry sufficient energy flux (1.9 to 7.7 kW m−2) to balance the local upper chromospheric energy losses (~0.1 kW m−2) in quiet regions. Whether this wave energy flux is actually dissipated in the chromosphere and can lead to heating that balances the losses is still an open question.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11495-0

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