Numerical simulations of multi-shell plasma twisters in the solar atmosphere

TL;DR

This study uses 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations to investigate multi-shell plasma twisters in the solar atmosphere, suggesting they contribute to coronal heating and solar wind formation, and could be observed with high-resolution instruments.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed numerical model of multi-shell magnetic twisters in the solar atmosphere, linking their properties to coronal heating and solar wind generation.

Findings

Multi-shell magnetic twisters can heat the lower solar corona.

These twisters may play a role in solar wind formation.

High-resolution observations could verify the existence of these twisters.

Abstract

We perform numerical simulations of impulsively generated Alfv\'en waves in an isolated photospheric flux tube, and explore the propagation of these waves along such magnetic structure that extends from the photosphere, where these waves are triggered, to the solar corona, and analyze resulting magnetic shells. Our model of the solar atmosphere is constructed by adopting the temperature distribution based on the semi-empirical model and specifying the curved magnetic field lines that constitute the magnetic flux tube which is rooted in the solar photosphere. The evolution of the solar atmosphere is described by 3D, ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations that are numerically solved by the FLASH code. Our numerical simulations reveal, based on the physical properties of the multi-shell magnetic twisters and the amount of energy and momentum associated with them, that these multi-shell magnetic twisters may be responsible for the observed heating of the lower solar corona and for the formation of solar wind. Moreover, it is likely that the existence of these twisters can be verified by high-resolution observations.