Descripción: Fil:Saraceno, M. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.

Descripción: Recent observations of coronal loops in solar active regions show that their heating must be a truly dynamic process. Even though it seems clear that the energy source is the magnetic field that confines the coronal plasma, the details of how it dissipates are still a matter of debate. In this presentation we review the theoretical models of coronal heating, which have been traditionally clasified as DC or AC depending on the electrodynamic response of the loops to the photospheric driving motions. Also, we show results from numerical simulations of the internal dynamics of coronal loops within the framework of the reduced MHD approximation. These simulations indicate that the application of a stationary velocity field at the photospheric boundary leads to a turbulent stationary regime after several photospheric turnover times. Once this turbulent regime is set, both DC and AC stresses dissipate at faster rates as a result of a direct energy cascade. © International Astronomical Union 2011.

Descripción: Context. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are routinely tracked with imagers in the interplanetary space, while magnetic clouds (MCs) properties are measured locally by spacecraft. However, both imager and in situ data do not provide any direct estimation of the general flux rope properties. Aims. The main aim of this study is to constrain the global shape of the flux rope axis from local measurements and to compare the results from in-situ data with imager observations. Methods. We performed a statistical analysis of the set of MCs observed by WIND spacecraft over 15 years in the vicinity of Earth. We analyzed the correlation between different MC parameters and studied the statistical distributions of the angles defining the local axis orientation. With the hypothesis of having a sample of MCs with a uniform distribution of spacecraft crossing along their axis, we show that a mean axis shape can be derived from the distribution of the axis orientation. As a complement, while heliospheric imagers do not typically observe MCs but only their sheath region, we analyze one event where the flux rope axis can be estimated from the STEREO imagers. Results. From the analysis of a set of theoretical models, we show that the distribution of the local axis orientation is strongly affected by the overall axis shape. Next, we derive the mean axis shape from the integration of the observed orientation distribution. This shape is robust because it is mostly determined from the overall shape of the distribution. Moreover, we find no dependence on the flux rope inclination on the ecliptic. Finally, the derived shape is fully consistent with the one derived from heliospheric imager observations of the June 2008 event. Conclusions. We have derived a mean shape of MC axis that only depends on one free parameter, the angular separation of the legs (as viewed from the Sun). This mean shape can be used in various contexts, such as studies of high-energy particles or space weather forecasts. © ESO, 2013.

Descripción: Context: Observations of magnetic clouds (MCs) are consistent with the presence of flux ropes detected in the solar wind (SW) a few days after their expulsion from the Sun as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Aims: Both the in situ observations of plasma velocity profiles and the increase of their size with solar distance show that MCs are typically expanding structures. The aim of this work is to derive the expansion properties of MCs in the inner heliosphere from 0.3 to 1 AU. Methods: We analyze MCs observed by the two Helios spacecraft using in situ magnetic field and velocity measurements. We split the sample in two subsets: those MCs with a velocity profile that is significantly perturbed from the expected linear profile and those that are not. From the slope of the in situ measured bulk velocity along the Sun-Earth direction, we compute an expansion speed with respect to the cloud center for each of the analyzed MCs. Results: We analyze how the expansion speed depends on the MC size, the translation velocity, and the heliocentric distance, finding that allMCs in the subset of non-perturbed MCs expand with almost the same non-dimensional expansion rate (ζ).We find departures from this general rule for ζ only for perturbed MCs, and we interpret the departures as the consequence of a local and strong SW perturbation by SW fast streams, affecting the MC even inside its interior, in addition to the direct interaction region between the SW and the MC. We also compute the dependence of the mean total SW pressure on the solar distance and we confirm that the decrease of the total SW pressure with distance is the main origin of the observed MC expansion rate. We found that ζ was 0.91 ± 0.23 for non-perturbed MCs while ζ was 0.48 ± 0.79 for perturbed MCs, the larger spread in the last ones being due to the influence of the solar wind local environment conditions on the expansion. © ESO 2010.

Descripción: Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence has been proposed as a mechanism for the heating of coronal active regions, and has therefore been actively investigated in recent years. According to this scenario, a turbulent regime is driven by footpoint motions. The energy being pumped this way into active region loops, is efficiently transferred to small scales due to a direct energy cascade. The ensuing generation of fine scale structures, which is a natural outcome of turbulent regimes, helps to enhance the dissipation of either waves or DC currents. We present an updated overview of recent results on turbulent coronal heating. To illustrate this theoretical scenario, we simulate the internal dynamics of a coronal loop within the reduced MHD approximation. The application of a stationary velocity field at the photospheric boundary leads to a turbulent stationary regime after several photospheric turnover times. This regime is characterized by a broadband power spectrum and energy dissipation rate levels compatible with the heating requirements of active region loops. Also, the energy dissipation rate displays a complex superposition of impulsive events, which we associate to the so-called nanoflares. A statistical analysis yields a power law distribution as a function of their energies, which is consistent with those obtained from observations. We also study the distributions of peak dissipation rate and duration of these events. © 2008 International Astronomical Union.