Van Ballegooijen, A. A. and S. R. Cranmer, Tangled Magnetic Fields in Solar Prominences, ApJ, 711, 164-178 (2010) (ADS)
(click on the image for a larger version)
Flares (and CMEs) are closely connected to prominences and/or
filament cavities observationally, and in many models.
This paper proposes a radically new view of prominence structure.
Left: the old orderly 2D view; right, the new sloppy 3D view.
The new view represents a tangled-field current sheet, presumably
representing turbulence, a dynamically important property that
is hard to render in a cartoon (sometimes we see
bubbles or
little random arrows for
similar purposes).
Note that, from a cartoon critic's point of view, this cartoon
makes an excellent point: the tangled region ostensibly supporting
the prominence (right panel) has lines that begin and end.
Magnetic field lines don't do that, ∇ x B = 0, and so we
apparently don't need to worry about them where the microphysics takes place.
On the other hand, what is there about a prominence that looks like
a current sheet, observationally?
Why would the orderly flows that are observed in prominences
persist if a profound tangling describes the medium?
For that matter, can such a medium maintain a
DC current?
Flares (and CMEs) are closely connected to prominences and/or filament cavities observationally, and in many models. This paper proposes a radically new view of prominence structure. Left: the old orderly 2D view; right, the new sloppy 3D view. The new view represents a tangled-field current sheet, presumably representing turbulence, a dynamically important property that is hard to render in a cartoon (sometimes we see bubbles or little random arrows for similar purposes).
Note that, from a cartoon critic's point of view, this cartoon makes an excellent point: the tangled region ostensibly supporting the prominence (right panel) has lines that begin and end. Magnetic field lines don't do that, ∇ x B = 0, and so we apparently don't need to worry about them where the microphysics takes place. On the other hand, what is there about a prominence that looks like a current sheet, observationally? Why would the orderly flows that are observed in prominences persist if a profound tangling describes the medium? For that matter, can such a medium maintain a DC current?