Missing bits of the solar jigsaw puzzle: small-scale, kinetic effects in coronal studies

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in understanding the solar corona by applying full kinetic plasma descriptions, offering new insights into longstanding problems like coronal heating and solar flare particle acceleration.

Contribution

It highlights the importance of small-scale kinetic effects in solving key solar physics problems, contrasting with traditional fluid-like models.

Findings

Kinetic effects provide new explanations for coronal heating.

Small-scale plasma processes are crucial for solar flare particle acceleration.

Kinetic models reveal phenomena overlooked by magnetohydrodynamic approaches.

Abstract

The solar corona, anomalously hot outer atmosphere of the Sun, is traditionally described by magnetohydrodynamic, fluid-like approach. Here we review some recent developments when, instead, a full kinetic description is used. It is shown that some of the main unsolved problems of solar physics, such as coronal heating and solar flare particle acceleration can be viewed in a new light when the small-scale, kinetic plasma description methods are used.