Interrelation of Soft and Hard X-Ray Emissions during Solar Flares. II. Simulation Model

Winglee, R. M., G. A. Dulk, P. L. Bornmann, and J. C. Brown, Interrelation of Soft and Hard X-Ray Emissions during Solar Flares. II. Simulation Model, ApJ, 375, 382 (1991) (ADS)

The cartoon

(click on the image for a larger version)

A sketch from an early attempt to go beyond MHD (or even simple hydrodynamics) in flare modeling, specifically to understand the return current implied by intense particle beams. Here the chromosphere to the right, and cross-field transport may happen there. The Archivist thinks that the "driving current" might be in a current sheet at the top of a loop; see the paper's other cartoons to possibly gain further understanding. This model envisions quasi-static electric fields as a mechanism to explain particle transport, using a 2D particle code (with 3D velocities). Although restricted to small spatial scales because of computer limitations, this kind of modeling is, well, refreshing when compared with MHD models for which there are no particles at all.

  The Wygant cartoon deals with similar electrodynamics in the auroral context.

Date: 2006 October 30

Update: 2019 November 04