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Solar flares, microflares, nanoflares, and coronal heating

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Abstract

Solar flare occurrence follows a power-law distribution against total flare energy W: dN/dW ∼ W −α with an index α ∼ 1.8 as determined by several studies. This implies (a) that microflares must have a different, steeper distribution if they are energetically significant, and (b) there must be a high-energy cutoff of the observed distribution. We identify the distinct ‘soft’ distribution needed for coronal heating, if such a distribution exists, with Parker's nanoflares.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, University of California, 92093, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, U.S.A.

    H. S. Hudson

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  1. H. S. Hudson
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This paper considers a ‘microflare’ to be a member of the normal X-ray burst population, with comparable physical parameters except for a smaller total energy.

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Hudson, H.S. Solar flares, microflares, nanoflares, and coronal heating. Sol Phys 133, 357–369 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00149894

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00149894

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