Heating and cooling of coronal loops with turbulent suppression of parallel heat conduction

Abstract

Using the "enthalpy-based thermal evolution of loops" (EBTEL) model, we investigate the hydrodynamics of the plasma in a flaring coronal loop in which heat conduction is limited by turbulent scattering of the electrons that transport the thermal heat flux. The EBTEL equations are solved analytically in each of the two (conduction-dominated and radiation-dominated) cooling phases. Comparison of the results with typical observed cooling times in solar flares shows that the turbulent mean free-path ${\lambda }_T$ lies in a range corresponding to a regime in which classical (collision-dominated) conduction plays at most a limited role. We also consider the magnitude and duration of the heat input that is necessary to account for the enhanced values of temperature and density at the beginning of the cooling phase and for the observed cooling times. We find through numerical modeling that in order to produce a peak temperature $\simeq 1.5\times 10^7$~K and a 200~s cooling time consistent with observations, the flare heating profile must extend over a significant period of time; in particular, its lingering role must be taken into consideration in any description of the cooling phase. Comparison with observationally-inferred values of post-flare loop temperatures, densities, and cooling times thus leads to useful constraints on both the magnitude and duration of the magnetic energy release in the loop, as well as on the value of the turbulent mean free-path ${\lambda }_T$.

16 pages, 4 figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journal

References in corpus (3)

• Highly Efficient Modeling of Dynamic Coronal Loops
• The role of diffusion in the transport of energetic electrons during solar flares
• Anomalous Cooling of Coronal Loops with Turbulent Suppression of Thermal Conduction

Cited by in corpus (5)

• The Atmospheric Response to High Nonthermal Electron Beam Fluxes in Solar Flares. II. Hydrogen Broadening Predictions for Solar Flare Observations with the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope
• Electron Beams Cannot Directly Produce Coronal Rain
• On quasi-parallel whistler waves in the solar wind
• A Model for Gradual Phase Heating Driven by MHD Turbulence in Solar Flares
• Temperature and Differential Emission Measure Profiles in Turbulent Solar Active Region Loops