Expansion and Stability of a Magnetic Arcade during a Solar Flare
Martinell, Julio J., Expansion and Stability of a Magnetic Arcade during a Solar Flare, ApJ, 365, 342 (1990) (ADS)
(click on the image for a larger version)
An early and almost uniformly uncited view of how magnetic reconnection
could release SEP particles (see also the
Masson cartoon).
In a fat way, this seems to be a re-sketch of the original cartooon of
Heyvaerts.
The paper appears to back up this geometrically somewhat implausible idea
with quite a detailed discussion of plasma instabilities that could lead
to a quantitative understanding of this sort of thing.
But the cartoon is very non-intuitive.
What drives the fields together so violently as to sustain magnetic
reconnection, when energy is being extracted from the same fields and
thus requiring them to implode?
The author imagines a flare explosion, in fact, which could instead
absorb energy.
Note that the fields suggestively lean together (why?) to make reconnection possible.
It may be that 3D evolution may allow the desired mixing, and the
paper explains that with a ballooning instability, possible if the arcade loops become
dense enough.
An early and almost uniformly uncited view of how magnetic reconnection could release SEP particles (see also the Masson cartoon). In a fat way, this seems to be a re-sketch of the original cartooon of Heyvaerts. The paper appears to back up this geometrically somewhat implausible idea with quite a detailed discussion of plasma instabilities that could lead to a quantitative understanding of this sort of thing. But the cartoon is very non-intuitive. What drives the fields together so violently as to sustain magnetic reconnection, when energy is being extracted from the same fields and thus requiring them to implode? The author imagines a flare explosion, in fact, which could instead absorb energy. Note that the fields suggestively lean together (why?) to make reconnection possible. It may be that 3D evolution may allow the desired mixing, and the paper explains that with a ballooning instability, possible if the arcade loops become dense enough.