A Contemporary View of Coronal Heating

Abstract

Determining the heating mechanism (or mechanisms) that causes the outer atmosphere of the Sun, and many other stars, to reach temperatures orders of magnitude higher than their surface temperatures has long been a key problem. For decades the problem has been known as the coronal heating problem, but it is now clear that `coronal heating' cannot be treated or explained in isolation and that the heating of the whole solar atmosphere must be studied as a highly coupled system. The magnetic field of the star is known to play a key role, but, despite significant advancements in solar telescopes, computing power and much greater understanding of theoretical mechanisms, the question of which mechanism or mechanisms are the dominant supplier of energy to the chromosphere and corona is still open. Following substantial recent progress, we consider the most likely contenders and discuss the key factors that have made, and still make, determining the actual (coronal) heating mechanism (or mechanisms) so difficult.

References in corpus (11)

• Alfven Waves in the Lower Solar Atmosphere
• Observing the Roots of Solar Coronal Heating - in the Chromosphere
• Jets in coronal holes: Hinode observations and 3D computer modelling
• Twisted flux tube emergence from the convection zone to the corona
• Coronal Heating, Weak MHD Turbulence and Scaling Laws
• Diagnostics of stellar flares from X-ray observations: from the decay to the rise phase
• Observations of Active Region Loops with the EUV Imaging Spectrometer on Hinode
• Hinode X-Ray Telescope Detection of Hot Emission from Quiescent Active Regions: A Nanoflare Signature?
• Magnetohydrodynamic evolution of magnetic skeletons
• Twisted flux tube emergence from the convection zone to the corona II: Later states
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Cited by in corpus (15)

• Key Aspects of Coronal Heating
• The Magnetic Field in the Solar Atmosphere
• Magnetohydrodynamic kink waves in nonuniform solar flux tubes: phase mixing and energy cascade to small scales
• Suprathermal Electrons in the Solar Corona: Can Nonlocal Transport Explain Heliospheric Charge States?
• Ensemble Simulations of Proton Heating in the Solar Wind via Turbulence and Ion Cyclotron Resonance
• Forward Modelling of Standing Slow Modes in Flaring Coronal Loops
• Are Chromospheric Nanoflares a Primary Source of Coronal Plasma?
• Evolution of fast magnetoacoustic pulses in randomly structured coronal plasmas
• The detection of upwardly propagating waves channelling energy from the chromosphere to the low corona
• Statistical Evidence for the Existence of Alfvénic Turbulence in Solar Coronal Loops
• Structure and Dynamics of the 13/14 November 2012 Eclipse White-Light Corona
• The coronal energy input from magnetic braiding
• Is Magnetic Topology Important for Heating the Solar Atmosphere?
• Solar Magnetic Carpet III: Coronal Modelling of Synthetic Magnetograms
• Hinode 7: Conference Summary and Future Suggestions