MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN MAGNETOPLASMA OF SOLAR FLARES

  • Shin, Jong-Yeob (Department of Astronomy, Seoul National University) ;
  • Yun, Hong-Sik (Department of Astronomy, Seoul National University) ;
  • Min, Kyoung-Wook (Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
  • Published : 1990.06.30

Abstract

The magnetic reconnection mechanism is a primary candidate for "flare" processes in solar coronal regions. Numerical simulations of two-dimensional magnetic reconnection are carried out for four different cases: (1) adiabatic condition with constant resistivity, (2) adiabatic condition with temperature-dependent resistivity, (3) energetics with radiation loss and constant resistivity and (4) energetics with radiation loss and temperature-dependent resistivity. It is found that the thermal instability prompts the magnetic reconnection process, thus increasing the conversion rate of magnetic energy into kinematic energy of the fluid. We demonstrated that the observed microflares can be accounted for by our magnetic reconnection models, when the effects of the radiation loss and the temperature-dependent resistivity are taken into account.

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