The solar chromosphere as induction disk and the inverse Joule-Thomson effect

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel model linking the solar chromosphere to the inverse Joule-Thomson effect, explaining coronal heating and solar wind variations, with implications for long-term space weather forecasting.

Contribution

It introduces a new perspective on solar energy transfer mechanisms, emphasizing electromagnetic induction and the inverse Joule-Thomson effect in the solar atmosphere.

Findings

Solar wind velocity reflects short-term solar activity better than sunspots.

Reconstruction of solar activity from cosmic ray isotopes over 800,000 years.

Solar wind shutdown indicates its velocity as a key indicator of coronal heating.

Abstract

The connection between nuclear fusion in the Sun's core and solar irradiance is obscured among other things by uncertainty over the mechanism of coronal heating. Data for solar wind density and velocity, sunspot number, and EUV flux suggest that electromagnetic energy from the Sun's convection zone is converted by induction through the chromosphere into thermal energy. The helium and hydrogen mixture exhaled by the Sun is then heated by the inverse Joule-Thomson effect when it expands via the corona into space. The almost complete shutdown of the solar wind on 10-11 May 1999 demonstrated that its velocity is a more faithful indicator of solar activity than are sunspots as it reflects short-term variations in coronal heating rather than quasicyclical fluctuations in the Sun's magnetism. Its reconstruction from the cosmic ray flux using isotopes spanning over 800,000 yr should therefore benefit the analysis and long-term forecasting of Earth and space weather.