The Coronal Veil
A. Malanushenko, M.C.M. Cheung, C.E. DeForest, J.A. Klimchuk, M., Rempel

TL;DR
This paper investigates the 3D structure of coronal loops using simulations, revealing that observed loops may be projection artifacts and proposing the 'coronal veil' hypothesis as a more accurate interpretation.
Contribution
It introduces the 'coronal veil' hypothesis, challenging the thin flux tube model and providing a new framework for understanding coronal loop observations.
Findings
Many observed loops are projection artifacts, not individual strands.
Complex shapes in simulations can mimic thin bright loops.
The 'coronal veil' model explains constant cross sections and high density scale heights.
Abstract
Coronal loops, seen in solar coronal images, are believed to represent emission from magnetic flux tubes with compact cross-sections. We examine the 3D structure of plasma above an active region in a radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulation to locate volume counterparts for coronal loops. In many cases, a loop cannot be linked to an individual thin strand in the volume. While many thin loops are present in the synthetic images, the bright structures in the volume are fewer, and of complex shape. We demonstrate that this complexity can form impressions of thin bright loops, even in the absence of thin bright plasma strands. We demonstrate the difficulty of discerning from observations whether a particular loop corresponds to a strand in the volume, or a projection artifact. We demonstrate how apparently isolated loops could deceive observers, even when observations from multiple viewing…
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