Observing Episodic Coronal Heating Events Rooted in Chromospheric Activity

TL;DR

This study links episodic plasma injections in the solar corona to chromospheric spicules, using multi-wavelength observations to understand coronal heating processes.

Contribution

It provides new observational evidence connecting chromospheric spicules with episodic coronal plasma injections, enhancing understanding of coronal heating mechanisms.

Findings

Episodic plasma blobs are propelled upward along coronal loops.

Source locations and velocities match chromospheric activity signatures.

Supports the connection between chromospheric spicules and coronal heating events.

Abstract

We present results of a multi-wavelength study of episodic plasma injection into the corona of AR 10942. We exploit long-exposure images of the Hinode and Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) spacecraft to study the properties of faint, episodic, "blobs" of plasma that are propelled upward along coronal loops that are rooted in the AR plage. We find that the source location and characteristic velocities of these episodic upflow events match those expected from recent spectroscopic observations of faint coronal upflows that are associated with upper chromospheric activity, in the form of highly dynamic spicules. The analysis presented ties together observations from coronal and chromospheric spectrographs and imagers, providing more evidence of the connection of discrete coronal mass heating and injection events with their source, dynamic spicules, in the chromosphere.