Observations of solar chromospheric heating at sub-arcsec spatial resolution

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution balloon-borne and satellite observations to reveal the small-scale magnetic structures involved in solar chromospheric heating during UV bursts, linking these to larger flare phenomena.

Contribution

It provides the first diffraction-limited imaging of UV bursts at 0.1'' resolution, uncovering dynamic sub-structures and complex magnetic topologies that connect small-scale bursts to large flares.

Findings

Revealed sub-arcsecond magnetic loop-like features in UV bursts.

Identified a complex fan-spine magnetic topology associated with heating.

Linked small-scale bursts to large-scale flare phenomena.

Abstract

A wide variety of phenomena such as gentle but persistent brightening, dynamic slender features (~100 km), and compact (~1'') ultraviolet (UV) bursts are associated with the heating of the solar chromosphere. High spatio-temporal resolution is required to capture the finer details of the likely magnetic reconnection-driven, rapidly evolving bursts. Such observations are also needed to reveal their similarities to large-scale flares, which are also thought to be reconnection driven, and more generally their role in chromospheric heating. Here we report observations of chromospheric heating in the form of a UV burst obtained with the balloon-borne observatory, SUNRISE. The observed burst displayed a spatial morphology similar to that of a large-scale solar flare with circular ribbon. While the co-temporal UV observations at 1.5'' spatial resolution and 24s cadence from the Solar Dynamics Observatory showed a compact brightening, the SUNRISE observations at diffraction-limited spatial resolution of 0.1'' at 7s cadence revealed a dynamic sub-structure of the burst that it is composed of extended ribbon-like features and a rapidly evolving arcade of thin (~0.1'' wide) magnetic loop-like features, similar to post-flare loops. Such a dynamic sub-structure reveals the small-scale nature of chromospheric heating in these bursts. Furthermore, based on magnetic field extrapolations, this heating event is associated with a complex fan-spine magnetic topology. Our observations strongly hint at a unified picture of magnetic heating in the solar atmosphere from some large-scale flares to small-scale bursts, all being associated with such a magnetic topology.