Enhanced phase mixing of Alfvén waves propagating in stratified and divergent coronal structures

DOI10.1051/0004-6361:20078218zbMATH Open1135.85002arXiv0707.3884OpenAlexW3101170515WikidataQ68856081 ScholiaQ68856081MaRDI QIDQ5437473FDOQ5437473

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Publication date: 21 January 2008

Published in: Astronomy & Astrophysics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Corrected analytical solutions describing the enhanced phase mixing of Alfven waves propagating in divergent stratified coronal structures are presented. These show that the enhanced phase mixing mechanism can dissipate Alfven waves at heights less than half that is predicted by the previous analytical solutions. The enhanced phase mixing of 0.1 Hz harmonic Alfven waves propagating in strongly divergent, H_b=5 Mm, stratified coronal structures, H_rho=50 Mm, can fulfill 100% of an active region heating requirement, by generating viscous heating fluxes of F_H~2100 J /m^2 /s. The Alfven waves in this configuration are fully dissipated within 20 Mm, which is six times lower than would occur as a result of standard phase mixing in uniform magnetic fields. This results in the heating scale height, s_H, being lowered by a factor of six, to less than half of an active regions density scale height. Using the corrected analytical solutions it was found that, for a given wave frequency, the generation of a heating scale height of s_H<=50 Mm, by enhanced phase mixing in strongly divergent magnetic fields, requires a shear viscosity eight orders of magnitude lower, than required by standard phase mixing in uniform magnetic fields. It was also found that the enhanced phase mixing of observable, 0.01 rads /s Alfven waves, in strongly divergent magnetic fields, H_b=5 Mm, can generate heating scale heights within a density scale height, H_rho=50 Mm, using classical Braginskii viscosity. It is therefore not necessary to invoke anomalous viscosity in corona, if phase mixing takes place in strongly divergent magnetic fields. This study shows that the importance of enhanced phase mixing as a mechanism for dissipating Alfven waves in the solar corona (a stratified and divergent medium), has been seriously underestimated.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/0707.3884

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zbMATH Keywords

numerical methodsmagnetohydrodynamicsanalytical methodssolar coronasolar oscillationssolar waves, coronal heating

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Magnetohydrodynamics and electrohydrodynamics (76W05) Galactic and stellar structure (85A15) Hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic problems in astronomy and astrophysics (85A30)

Cited In (6)

• On the coronal heating mechanism by the resonant absorption of Alfvén waves
• Torsional Alfvén waves in stratified and expanding magnetic flux tubes
• Coronal heating by the phase mixing of individual pulses propagating in coronal holes
• The problem of phase mixed shear Alfvén waves in the solar corona revisited
• Alfvén wave mixing and non-JWKB waves in stellar winds
• Phase mixing of nonlinear visco-resistive Alfvén waves

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