Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence


From Ellerman Bombs to MHD Waves: Can they Heat the Solar Plasma Efficiently?

Robertus Erdelyi (Sheffield University, UK)

Friday May 23, 14u - ROB Meridian Room

Recent satellite (SOHO, TRACE, STEREO, Hinode, SDO) and ground-based (DST/ROSA, IBIS, CoMP, STT/CRISP) observations have provided plenty of clear evidence of small-scale features from Ellerman bombs to spicules, localized waves and jets present in the solar atmosphere. The detection and analysis of these localized features allows us to perform sub-resolution solar magneto-seismology (SMS) of the solar plasma.
  1. First I will outline the latest developments in solar MHD wave and oscillation theory focusing on linear waves and the SMS tool.
  2. Next, I will concentrate on the role of the various localized features from Ellerman bombs, to spicules, RBEs, macro-spicules and localized waves and will discuss the latest status on detecting them. I will discuss their photospheric origin and generation mechanism. I will embark on showing how these small-scale ubiquitous features sail throughout the chromosphere, transition region or into the corona.
  3. Finally, I will make a case how the new observational data on localized small-scale features can be employed towards solving the long-standing solar plasma heating enigma.


This lecture is part of the STCE workshop Physical processes in solar-terrestrial plasmas, held on May 20, 22 and 23, 2014.

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