Antolin, Patrick, Paolo Pagano, Paola Testa, Antonino Petralia, and Fabio Reale, Reconnection nanojets in the solar corona, Nature Astronomy, 5, 54-62 (2021) (ADS)
(click on the image for a larger version)
In an uninspired neologism, the nano prefix has now been co-opted into the interesting world of jet formation
in the solar atmosphere, and of course with the obligatory interpretation in terms of magnetic reconnection.
The magnetic aspect of these solar nanojets distinguishes them from photonic ones found in laser plasmas and
of course fluid ones found in oral hygiene.
This cartoon illustrates how weak shearing can lead to reconnection, much in the same geometry as the
minifilament process, and to be sharply distinguished from
the antiparallel flux reconnection that inspired early numerical
modeling of the soft X-ray jets discovered by \textit{Yohkoh}.
But in (yet again) solving the problem of coronal heating with these commonly occurring features, has this paper
overinterpreted the physics behind the observation for the sake of a cartoon?
Is this kind of small-angle reconnection exoergic (thus justifying the term heating), or endoergic?
The Archivist also does not quite understand why the resulting jet is jet-like, ie well collimated, when
outflow is perpendicular to the field rather than along it.
In an uninspired neologism, the nano prefix has now been co-opted into the interesting world of jet formation in the solar atmosphere, and of course with the obligatory interpretation in terms of magnetic reconnection. The magnetic aspect of these solar nanojets distinguishes them from photonic ones found in laser plasmas and of course fluid ones found in oral hygiene. This cartoon illustrates how weak shearing can lead to reconnection, much in the same geometry as the minifilament process, and to be sharply distinguished from the antiparallel flux reconnection that inspired early numerical modeling of the soft X-ray jets discovered by \textit{Yohkoh}.
But in (yet again) solving the problem of coronal heating with these commonly occurring features, has this paper overinterpreted the physics behind the observation for the sake of a cartoon? Is this kind of small-angle reconnection exoergic (thus justifying the term heating), or endoergic? The Archivist also does not quite understand why the resulting jet is jet-like, ie well collimated, when outflow is perpendicular to the field rather than along it.