Heating the Solar Atmosphere by the Self-Enhanced Thermal Waves Caused by the Dynamo Processes
arXiv:1201.4990 · doi:10.1088/0004-637X/751/1/36
Abstract
We discuss a possible mechanism for heating the solar atmosphere by the ensemble of thermal waves, generated by the photospheric dynamo and propagating upwards with increasing magnitudes. These waves are self-sustained and amplified due to the specific dependence of the efficiency of heat release by Ohmic dissipation on the ratio of the collisional to gyro- frequencies, which in its turn is determined by the temperature profile formed in the wave. In the case of sufficiently strong driving, such a mechanism can increase the plasma temperature by a few times, i.e. it may be responsible for heating the chromosphere and the base of the transition region.
v2: A number of minor corrections and additional explanations. AASTeX, 5 pages, 2 EPS figures, submitted to The Astrophysical Journal