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Generation of Coronal Currents by the Solar Convection Zone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2013

D. J. Galloway ,
Y. Uchida  and
N. O. Weiss
D. J. Galloway
Affiliation:
School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Y. Uchida
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Science University of Tokyo, Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, 162 Tokyo, Japan
N. O. Weiss
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9EW, UK
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Abstract

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Solar flares are thought to be caused by reconnection of magnetic fields and their associated electric currents in the solar corona. The currents have to be there to provide available energy over and above the current-free minimum energy state, but what generates them has been little discussed. This paper investigates the idea that twisting motions in the turbulent convection zone below may provide a natural source for the currents and explain some of their properties. The twists generate upward-propagating Alfvén waves with a Poynting flux of the right order of magnitude to power a flare. Depending on the depth it takes place, the twisting event that initiates a particular flare may occur hours, days or even months before the flare itself.

Keywords

Sun: magnetic fieldsconvectionMHDSun: coronaSun: flares
Type
Research Article
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , 2001 , pp. 329 - 335
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 2001

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