Magnetic connections across the chromosphere-corona transition region

TL;DR

This paper investigates the magnetic structure of the Sun's transition region using multi-instrument data, revealing that magnetic connectivity influences emission and that dynamic cool loops are minor contributors to quiet Sun emission.

Contribution

It demonstrates that IRIS line core images reveal magnetic fibrils aligned with coronal loops and re-evaluates the role of cool loops in quiet Sun emission.

Findings

IRIS fibrils align with coronal loops in active regions

Magnetic boundary conditions can be derived from IRIS line cores

Dynamic cool loops contribute minimally to quiet Sun TR emission

Abstract

The plasma contributing to emission from the Sun between the cool chromosphere ($\le 10^4$K) and hot corona ($\ge 10^6$K) has been subjected to many different interpretations. Here we look at the magnetic structure of this transition region (TR) plasma, based upon the implications of CLASP2 data of an active region recently published by Ishikawa et al., and earlier IRIS and SDO data of quiet regions. Ishikawa et al. found that large areas of sunspot plages are magnetically unipolar as measured in the cores of \ion{Mg}{2} resonance lines, formed in the lower transition region under low plasma-$\beta$ conditions. Here we show that IRIS images in the line cores have fibrils which well aligned with the overlying coronal loop segments seen in the 171 \AA{} channel of SDO. When the TR emission in active regions arise from plasma magnetically and thermally connected to the corona, then the line cores can provide the first credible magnetic boundary conditions for force-free calculations extended to the corona. We also re-examine IRIS images of dynamic TR cool loops previously reported as a major contributor to transition region emission from the quiet Sun. Dynamic cool loops contribute only a small fraction of the total TR emission from the quiet Sun.