Transfer of Energy, Potential, and Current by Alfvén Waves in Solar Flares

Abstract

Alfvén waves play three related roles in the impulsive phase of a solar flare: they transport energy from a generator region to an acceleration region; they map the cross-field potential (associated with the driven energy release) from the generator region onto the acceleration region; and within the acceleration region they damp by setting up a parallel electric field that accelerates electrons and transfers the wave energy to them. The Alfvén waves may also be regarded as setting up new closed current loops, with field-aligned currents that close across field lines at boundaries. A model is developed for large-amplitude Alfvén waves that shows how Alfvén waves play these roles in solar flares. A picket-fence structure for the current flow is incorporated into the model to account for the "number problem" and the energy of the accelerated electrons.

References in corpus (3)

• Impulsive phase flare energy transport by large-scale Alfven waves and the electron acceleration problem
• Generic model for magnetic explosions applied to solar flares
• Magnetic explosions: role of the inductive electric field

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Is Cyclotron Maser Emission in Solar Flares Driven by a Horseshoe Distribution?
• Current-driven flare and CME models
• Bulk Energization of Electrons in Solar Flares by Alfvén Waves
• Plasma acceleration by the interaction of parallel propagating Alfvén waves
• Photospheric response to a flare
• Rethinking the solar flare paradigm