Heating mechanisms in the low solar atmosphere through magnetic reconnection in current sheets

TL;DR

This study uses simulations to explore magnetic reconnection in the low solar atmosphere, revealing how different plasma conditions lead to various heating events and mechanisms, including shocks and plasmoid formation.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the heating mechanisms in the low solar atmosphere by including radiation cooling, heat conduction, and ambipolar diffusion in simulations, and distinguishes between high and low temperature reconnection events.

Findings

High temperature reconnection can reach over 8×10^4 K.

Low temperature events are mainly Joule heating driven.

Gravity affects plasmoid instability and shock formation.

Abstract

We simulate several magnetic reconnection processes in the low solar chromosphere/photosphere, the radiation cooling, heat conduction and ambipolar diffusion are all included. Our numerical results indicate that both the high temperature($ \gtrsim 8\times10^4$~K) and low temperature($\sim 10^4$~K) magnetic reconnection events can happen in the low solar atmosphere ($100\sim600$~km above the solar surface). The plasma $\beta$ controlled by plasma density and magnetic fields is one important factor to decide how much the plasma can be heated up. The low temperature event is formed in a high $\beta$ magnetic reconnection process, Joule heating is the main mechanism to heat plasma and the maximum temperature increase is only several thousand Kelvin. The high temperature explosions can be generated in a low $\beta$ magnetic reconnection process, slow and fast-mode shocks attached at the edges of the well developed plasmoids are the main physical mechanisms to heat the plasma from several thousand Kelvin to over $8\times10^4$~K. Gravity in the low chromosphere can strongly hinder the plasmoind instability and the formation of slow-mode shocks in a vertical current sheet. Only small secondary islands are formed; these islands, however, are not well developed as those in the horizontal current sheets. This work can be applied for understanding the heating mechanism in the low solar atmosphere and could possibly be extended to explain the formation of common low temperature EBs ($\sim10^4$~K) and the high tenperature IRIS bombs ($\gtrsim 8\times10^4$) in the future.