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Type-II Spicules as Important Sources of Both Heating and Sustain the Mass Loss of Solar Corona

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Abstract

Heat fluxes from hot open magnetic flux tubes into the surrounding corona as a possible source of corona heating are determined. In order to compensate for radiation and thermal conduction losses, approximately 104 hot Type-II spicules are required, which is about 1% of the number of spicules simultaneously observed on the solar disk. It is shown that the main driver for coronal heating is the convective motion of the photosphere which creates emf. The emf supports the electric current in the Type-II spicule and the dissipation of the current in the partially ionized plasma heats the spicule to the temperature >106 K. Model of Type-II spicule as an open magnetic flux tube is discussed. The analysis shows also that Type-II spicules play an important role in the replenishing the solar corona with hot plasma.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Russian Science Foundation projects no. 20-12-00268 (Section 3), by grants of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research no. 20-02-00108 (Section 5), no. 19-02-00704 (Section 4), as well as the State Assignments nos. 0030-2021-0002, and 1021032422589-5 (Sections 1, 2, and 6).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Applied Physics, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

    V. V. Zaitsev & P. V. Kronshtadtov

  2. Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia

    A. V. Stepanov

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  1. V. V. Zaitsev
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  2. A. V. Stepanov
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  3. P. V. Kronshtadtov
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Correspondence to A. V. Stepanov.

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Zaitsev, V.V., Stepanov, A.V. & Kronshtadtov, P.V. Type-II Spicules as Important Sources of Both Heating and Sustain the Mass Loss of Solar Corona. Geomagn. Aeron. 61, 1116–1121 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793221080235

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793221080235

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