Physical Processes in Solar Flares

Solar flares are very complex electromagnetic phenomena of a cataclysmic nature. Particles are accelerated to very high velocities and a variety of physical processes happen inside and outside flares. These processes can be studied by a large number of techniques from Earth and from space. The aim is to discover the physics behind solar flares. This goal is complicated because information about the flare mechanism can be obtained only in an indirect way by studying the secondary effects.
This book provides three stages in the solution of the solar flare problem. Chapter one describes the connection between observational data and theoretical concepts, where it is stressed that next to investigating flares, the related non-stationary large-scale phenomena must be studied as well. The second chapter deals with secondary physical processes, in particular the study of high-temperature plasma dynamics during impulsive heating. The last chapter presents a model built on the knowledge of the two previous chapters and it constructs a theory of non-neutral turbulent current sheets.
The author believes that this model will help to solve the problem of solar flares.
For solar physicists, plasma physicists, high-energy particle physicists.

Inhalt

Introduction. 1. Magnetic Reconnection as a Heating Mechanism for the X-Ray Emitting Flare Loops and for Slow Coronal Transients. 2. The Neutral High-Temperature Turbulent Current Sheet. 3. The High-Temperature Turbulent Current Sheet with a Small Transverse Magnetic Field. 4. The Current Sheet Structure under the Fast and Slow Reconnection Regimes. 5. The Effect of Longitudinal Magnetic Field in the Current Sheets on the Sun. Conclusions. References. Index.