Spicules are rapidly evolving fine-scale jets of magnetized plasma in the solar chromosphere. It remains unclear how these prevalent jets originate from the solar surface and what role they play in heating the solar atmosphere. Using the Goode Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory, we observed spicules emerging within minutes of the appearance of opposite-polarity magnetic flux around dominant-polarity magnetic field concentrations. Data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory showed subsequent heating of the adjacent corona. The dynamic interaction of magnetic fields (likely due to magnetic reconnection) in the partially ionized lower solar atmosphere appears to generate these spicules and heat the upper solar atmosphere.
Two of the central problems in our understanding of the solar chromosphere are how the upper chromosphere is heated and what drives spicules. Estimates of the required chromospheric heating, based on radiative and conductive losses suggest a rate of ${\sim} 0.1 \mathrm{\:erg\:cm^{-3}\:s^{-1}}$ in the lower chromosphere dropping to ${\sim} 10^{-3} \mathrm{\:erg\:cm^{-3}\:s^{-1}}$ in the upper chromosphere (\citet{Avrett1981}). The chromosphere is also permeated by spicules, higher density plasma from the lower atmosphere propelled upwards at speeds of ${\sim} 10-20 \mathrm{\:km\:s^{-1}}$, for s…
Spicules have been proposed as significant contributors to the mass and energy balance of the corona. While previous observations have provided a glimpse of short-lived transient brightenings in the corona that are associated with spicules, these observations have been contested and are the subject of a vigorous debate both on the modeling and the observational side. Therefore, it remains unclear whether plasma is heated to coronal temperatures in association with spicules. We use high-resolution observations of the chromosphere and transition region with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrogr…
We present results from an observing campaign in support of the VAULT2.0 sounding rocket launch on September 30, 2014. VAULT2.0 is a Ly$α$ (1216 Å) spectroheliograph capable of providing spectroheliograms at high cadence. Ly$α$ observations are highly complementary to the IRIS observations of the upper chromosphere and the low transition region (TR) but have previously been unavailable. The VAULT2.0 data provide new constraints on upper-chromospheric conditions for numerical models. The observing campaign was closely coordinated with the IRIS mission. Taking advantage of this simultaneous mult…
Alfvén waves are responsible for the transfer of magnetic energy in the magnetized plasma. They are involved in heating solar atmosphere and driving solar wind through various nonlinear processes. Since the magnetic field configurations directly affect the nonlinearity of Alfvén waves, it is important to investigate how they relate to the solar atmosphere and wind structure through the nonlinear propagation of Alfvén waves. In this study, we carried out the one-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations to realize the above relation. The results show that when the nonlinearity of Alfvén waves…
We examine the suggestion that most of the hot plasma in the Sun's corona comes from type II spicule material that is heated as it is ejected from the chromosphere. This contrasts with the traditional view that the corona is filled via chromospheric evaporation that results from coronal heating. We explore the observational consequences of a hypothetical spicule dominated corona and conclude from the large discrepancy between predicted and actual observations that only a small fraction of the hot plasma can be supplied by spicules (<2% in active regions, <5% in the quiet Sun, and <8% in corona…
The question how the outer solar atmosphere is heated from solar photospheric temperatures of about 5800K up to solar chromospheric and coronal temperatures of about 20.000K and millions of degrees respectively, remained without any satisfying answer for centuries. On 4 May 2005, I recorded several time series of Halpha line scans with the GREGOR Fabry-Perot Interferometer, still deployed at the German Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT), for different solar limb and on-disk positions as well as for quiet sun at solar disk center. The spatially and temporally highly resolved time series of Halpha lin…
We have performed MHD simulations of Alfven wave propagation along an open flux tube in the solar atmosphere. In our numerical model, Alfven waves are generated by the photospheric granular motion. As the wave generator, we used a derived temporal spectrum of the photospheric granular motion from G-band movies of Hinode/SOT. It is shown that the total energy flux at the corona becomes larger and the transition region height becomes higher in the case when we use the observed spectrum rather than white/pink noise spectrum as the wave generator. This difference can be explained by the Alfven wav…
Spicules are the most ubuiquitous type of jets in the solar atmosphere. The advent of high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and ground-based observatories has revealed the presence of very high apparent motions of order 100-300 km/s in spicules, as measured in the plane of the sky. However, line-of-sight measurements of such high speeds have been difficult to obtain, with values deduced from Doppler shifts in spectral lines typically of order 30-70 km/s. In this work we resolve this long-standing discrepancy using recent 2.5D radiative M…
We report on the properties of coronal loop foot-point heating with observations at the highest resolution, from the CRisp Imaging Spectro-Polarimeter (CRISP) located at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) and co-aligned NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observations, of Type II spicules in the chromosphere and their signatures in the EUV corona. Here, we address one important issue, as to why there is not always a one-to-one correspondence, between Type II spicules and hot coronal plasma signatures, i.e. beyond TR temperatures. We do not detect any difference in their spectral propertie…
The type II spicule has been speculated to provide enough hot plasma to play an important role in the mass loading and heating of the corona. We analyse the disc counterpart to type II spicules, RBEs, in three high quality datasets from CRISP at the SST. In a quiet Sun region at disc centre we find lower Doppler velocities, 15-40km/s, and Doppler widths, 2-15km/s, of RBEs than in earlier coronal hole studies, 30-50km/s and 7-23km/s, respectively. We examine the spatial dependence of Doppler velocities and widths along RBE axes and conclude that there is no clear trend over the FOV or in indivi…
We use coordinated observations with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) to identify the disk counterpart of type II spicules in upper-chromospheric and transition region (TR) diagnostics. These disk counterparts were earlier identified through short-lived asymmetries in chromospheric spectral lines: rapid blue- or red-shifted excursions (RBEs or RREs). We find clear signatures of RBEs and RREs in Mg II h & k, often with excursions of the central h3 and k3 absorption features in concert with asymmetries in co-temporal and co-spatial H-alph…
Solar spicules have eluded modelers and observers for decades. Since the discovery of the more energetic type II, spicules have become a heated topic but their contribution to the energy balance of the low solar atmosphere remains unknown. Here we give a first glimpse of what quiet Sun spicules look like when observed with NASA's recently launched Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). Using IRIS spectra and filtergrams that sample the chromosphere and transition region we compare the properties and evolution of spicules as observed in a coordinated campaign with Hinode and the Atmosphe…
A solar filament is a dense cool condensation that is supported and thermally insulated by magnetic fields in the rarefied hot corona. Its evolution and stability, leading to either an eruption or disappearance, depend on its coupling with the surrounding hot corona through a thin transition region, where the temperature steeply rises. However, the heating and dynamics of this transition region remain elusive. We report extreme-ultraviolet observations of quiescent filaments from the Solar Dynamics Observatory that reveal prominence spicules propagating through the transition region of the fil…
We take stock of recent observations that identify the episodic plasma heating and injection of Alfvenic energy at the base of fast solar wind (in coronal holes). The plasma heating is associated with the occurrence of chromospheric spicules that leave the lower solar atmosphere at speeds of order 100km/s, the hotter coronal counterpart of the spicule emits radiation characteristic of root heating that rapidly reaches temperatures of the order of 1MK. Furthermore, the same spicules and their coronal counterparts ("Propagating Coronal Disturbances"; PCD) exhibit large amplitude, high speed, Alf…
In the lower solar atmosphere, the chromosphere is permeated by jets known as spicules, in which plasma is propelled at speeds of 50 to 150 kilometers per second into the corona. The origin of the spicules is poorly understood, although they are expected to play a role in heating the million-degree corona and are associated with Alfvénic waves that help drive the solar wind. We compare magnetohydrodynamic simulations of spicules with observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph and the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. Spicules are shown to occur when magnetic tension is amplified an…
Alfvenic waves are thought to play an important role in coronal heating and solar wind acceleration. Recent observations by Hinode/SOT showed that the spicules mostly exhibit upward propagating high frequency waves. Here we investigate the dissipation of such waves due to phase mixing in stratified environment of solar spicules. Since they are highly dynamic structures with speeds at about significant fractions of the Alfven phase speed, we take into account the effects of steady flows. Our numerical simulations show that in the presence of stratification due to gravity, damping takes place in…
Alfvenic waves are thought to play an important role in coronal heating and solar wind acceleration. Here we investigate the dissipation of such waves due to phase mixing at the presence of shear flow and field in the stratified atmosphere of solar spicules. The initial flow is assumed to be directed along spicule axis and to vary linearly in the x direction and the equilibrium magnetic field is taken 2-dimensional and divergence-free. It is determined that the shear flow and field can fasten the damping of standing Alfven waves. In spite of propagating Alfven waves, standing Alfven waves in S…
Solar spicules are the fundamental magnetic structures in the chromosphere and considered to play a key role in channelling the chromosphere and corona. Recently, it was suggested by De Pontieu et al. that there were two types of spicules with very different dynamic properties, which were detected by space- time plot technique in the Ca ii H line (3968 A) wavelength from Hinode/SOT observations. 'Type I' spicule, with a 3-7 minute lifetime, undergoes a cycle of upward and downward motion; in contrast, 'Type II' spicule fades away within dozens of seconds, without descending phase. We are motiv…
Alfvenic waves are thought to play an important role in coronal heating and solar wind acceleration. Here we investigate the dissipation of standing Alfven waves due to phase mixing at the presence of steady flow and sheared magnetic field in the stratified atmosphere of solar spicules. The transition region between chromosphere and corona has also been considered. The initial flow is assumed to be directed along spicule axis, and the equilibrium magnetic field is taken 2-dimensional and divergence-free. It is determined that in contrast to propagating Alfven waves, standing Alfven waves dissi…
Aims. We study the coherency of solar spicules intensity oscillations with increasing height above the solar limb in quiet Sun, active Sun and active region using observations from HINODE/SOT. Existence of coherency up to transition region strengthens the theory of the coronal heating and solar wind through energy transport and photospheric oscillations. Methods. Using time sequences from the HINODE/SOT in Ca II H line, we investigate oscillations found in intensity profiles at different heights above the solar limb. We use the Fourier and wavelet analysis to measure dominant frequency peaks o…
Alfvénic waves are thought to play an important role in coronal heating and acceleration of solar wind. Here we investigated the statistical properties of Alfvénic waves along spicules (jets that protrude into the corona) in a polar coronal hole using high cadence observations of the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) onboard \emph{Hinode}. We developed a technique for the automated detection of spicules and high-frequency waves. We detected 89 spicules, and found: (1) a mix of upward propagating, downward propagating, as well as standing waves (occurrence rates of 59%, 21%, and 20%, respectively).…
Spicules of the so-called type II were suggested to be relevant for coronal heating because of their ubiquity on the solar surface and their eventual extension into the corona. We investigate whether solar spicules are heated to transition-region or coronal temperatures and reach coronal heights (>6 Mm) using multi-wavelength observations of limb spicules in different chromospheric spectral lines (Ca II H, Hepsilon, Halpha, Ca II IR at 854.2 nm, He I at 1083 nm). We determine the line width of individual spicules and throughout the field of view and estimate the maximal height that different t…
Multi-thermal dynamics and transverse oscillations of solar spicules revealed by coordinated SST, IRIS, and SDO observations
Physical Research Laboratory(物理研究实验室);Udaipur Solar Observatory, Physical Research Laboratory(乌代浦尔太阳观测站,物理研究实验室);Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar(甘地纳加尔印度理工学院);Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, University of Oslo(奥斯陆大学罗斯兰太阳物理中心);Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo(奥斯陆大学理论天体物理研究所)
Recent high-resolution imaging and spectroscopic observations have generated renewed interest in spicules' role in explaining the hot corona. Some studies suggest that some spicules, often classified as type II, may provide significant mass and energy to the corona. Here we use numerical simulations to investigate whether such spicules can produce the observed coronal emission without any additional coronal heating agent. Model spicules consisting of a cold body and hot tip are injected into the base of a warm ($0.5$ MK) equilibrium loop with different tip temperatures and injection velocities…
A magnetohydrodynamic model is used to determine conditions under which the Lorentz force accelerates plasma to type 2 spicule speeds in the chromosphere. The model generalizes a previous model to include a more realistic pre-spicule state, and the vertical viscous force. Two cases of acceleration under upper chromospheric conditions are considered. The magnetic field strength for these cases is <= 12.5 and 25 G. Plasma is accelerated to terminal vertical speeds of 66 and 78 km/s in 100 s, compared with 124 and 397 km/s for the case of zero viscosity. The flows are localized within horizontal …
have forced the definition of a new type of spicule, "type II's", that are characterized by rising rapidly, having short lives, and by fading away at the end of their lifetimes. Here, we report on features found in realistic 3D simulations of the outer solar atmosphere that resemble the observed type II spicules. These features evolve naturally from the simulations as a consequence of the magnetohydrodynamical evolution of the model atmosphere. The simulations span from the upper layer of the convection zone to the lower corona and include the emergence of horizontal magnetic flux. The state-o…
Coronal Bright Points (CBPs) are ubiquitous structures in the solar atmosphere composed of hot small-scale loops observed in EUV or X-Rays in the quiet Sun and coronal holes. They are key elements to understand the heating of the corona; nonetheless, basic questions regarding their heating mechanisms, the chromosphere underneath, or the effects of flux emergence in these structures remain open. We have used the Bifrost code to carry out a 2D experiment in which a coronal-hole magnetic nullpoint configuration evolves perturbed by realistic granulation. To compare with observations, synthetic SD…
Using high cadence observations from the Hydrogen-alpha Rapid Dynamics camera imaging system on the Dunn Solar Telescope, we present an investigation of the statistical properties of transverse oscillations in spicules captured above the solar limb. At five equally separated atmospheric heights, spanning approximately 4900-7500 km, we have detected a total of 15 959 individual wave events, with a mean displacement amplitude of 151 +/- 124 km, a mean period of 54 +/- 45 s, and a mean projected velocity amplitude of 21 +/- 13 km s^-1. We find that both the displacement and velocity amplitudes in…
Energy and mass transport associated with impulsive spicular flows in solar coronal holes
Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院云南天文台);University of Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院大学);Indian Institute of Astrophysics(印度天体物理研究所);University of Sheffield(谢菲尔德大学);Eötvös Loránd University(罗兰大学)
We investigate the role of active region spicules in the mass balance of the solar wind and energy supply for heating the solar atmosphere. We use high cadence observations from the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) onboard the Hinode satellite in the Ca II H line filter obtained on 26 January 2007. The observational technique provides the high spatio-temporal resolution required to detect fine structures such as spicules. We apply Fourier power spectrum and wavelet analysis to SOT/Hinode time series of an active region data to explore the existence of coherent intensity oscillations. The presence…
Wave theories of heating the chromosphere, corona, and solar wind due to photospheric fluctuations are strengthened by the existence of observed wave coherency up to the transition region (TR). The coherency of solar spicules' intensity oscillations was explored using the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on the Hinode spacecraft with a height increase above the solar limb in active region (AR). We used time sequences near the southeast region from the Hinode/SOT in Ca II H line obtained on April 3, 2015 and applied the de-convolution procedure to the spicule in order to illustrate how effectively…
The Sun's corona is millions of degrees hotter than its 5,000 K photosphere. This heating enigma is typically addressed by invoking the deposition at coronal heights of non-thermal energy generated by the interplay between convection and magnetic field near the photosphere. However, it remains unclear how and where coronal heating occurs and how the corona is filled with hot plasma. We show that energy deposition at coronal heights cannot be the only source of coronal heating, by revealing a significant coronal mass supply mechanism that is driven from below, in the chromosphere. We quantify t…
Popular scientific summary -- The atmosphere of the Sun is envisioned as composed of inherently complex, non-homogeneous, and dynamic layers. A detailed understanding of the physical processes involved in these layers is still lacking. For example, it is largely unknown why the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere (the solar corona) is so much hotter than the photosphere by millions of degrees. Astrophysicists think that the layer sandwiched between the photosphere and the corona, known as the interface region, may hold the key to a better understanding of the nature of this enigma. With th…
In the present work we derive a Differential Emission Measure (DEM) dis- tribution from a region dominated by spicules. We use spectral data from the Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation (SUMER) spectrometer on-board the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SoHO) covering the entire SUMER wavelength range taken off-limb in the Northern polar coronal hole to construct this DEM distribution using the CHIANTI atomic database. This distribution is then used to study the thermal properties of the emission contributing to the 171 Å channel in the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on-board…
Spicules are small hairy like structures seen at the solar limb mainly at chromospheric and transition region lines. They generally live for 3-10 minutes. We observe these spicules in a south polar region of the Sun with a coordinated observations using the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instruments on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Propagating disturbances (PDs) are observed everywhere in the polar off-limb regions of the Sun at coronal heights. From this simultaneous observations we show that the spicules and the PDs may be orig…
On the Relationship between Solar Spicules and Propagating Coronal Disturbances: The Role of Shocks
Udaipur Solar Observatory, Physical Research Laboratory(乌代浦尔太阳观测台,物理研究实验室);Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar(印度理工学院,甘地纳加尔);Indian Institute of Astrophysics(印度天体物理研究所);Pondicherry University(本地治里大学);School of Science, University of Newcastle(纽卡斯尔大学理学院);Solar Physics and Space Plasma Research Centre (SP2RC), School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Sheffield(谢菲尔德大学数学与物理科学学院太阳物理与空间等离子体研究中心);Department of Astronomy, Eötvös Loránd University(罗兰大学天文系);Gyula Bay Zoltán Solar Observatory (GSO), Hungarian Solar Physics Foundation (HSPF)(久洛·拜·佐尔坦太阳观测台,匈牙利太阳物理基金会)
Determining the preferred spatial location of the energy input to solar coronal loops would be an important step forward towards a more complete understanding of the coronal heating problem. Following on from Sarkar & Walsh (2008) this paper presents a short 10e9 cm "global loop" as 125 individual strands, where each strand is modelled independently by a one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulation. The strands undergo small-scale episodic heating and are coupled together through the frequency distribution of the total energy input to the loop which follows a power law distribution with index ~ 2.2…
Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave activity is ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere. MHD seismology aims to determine difficult to measure physical parameters in solar atmospheric magnetic and plasma structures by a combination of observed and theoretical properties of MHD waves and oscillations. This technique, similar to seismology or helio-seismology, demands the solution of two problems. The direct problem involves the computation of wave properties of given theoretical models. The inverse problem implies the calculation of unknown physical parameters, by means of a comparison of observed and th…
Jet phenomena with a bright loop in their footpoint, called anemone jets, have been observed in the solar corona and chromosphere. These jets are formed as a consequence of magnetic reconnection, and from the scale universality of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), it can be expected that anemone jets exist even in the solar photosphere. However, it is not necessarily apparent that jets can be generated as a result of magnetic reconnection in the photosphere, where the magnetic energy is not dominant. Furthermore, MHD waves generated from the photospheric jets could contribute to chromospheric heatin…
We have analyzed IRIS spectral and slit-jaw observations of a quiet region near the South Pole. In this article we present an overview of the observations, the corrections, and the absolute calibration of the intensity. We focus on the average profiles of strong (Mg ii h and k, C ii and Si iv), as well as of weak spectral lines in the near ultraviolet (NUV) and the far ultraviolet (FUV), including the Mg ii triplet, thus probing the solar atmosphere from the low chromosphere to the transition region. We give the radial variation of bulk spectral parameters as well as line ratios and turbulent …
Formation Dynamics of a Rotating Solar Spicule-like Event and Associated Energy-Mass Transport
Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院云南天文台);University of Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院大学);Yunnan Key Laboratory of Solar Physics and Space Science(云南省太阳物理与空间科学重点实验室);National Key Laboratory of Deep Space Exploration, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China(中国科学技术大学地球和空间科学学院深空探测全国重点实验室);CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology/CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment/Mengcheng National Geophysical Observatory, University of Science and Technology of China(中国科学技术大学中国科学院比较行星学卓越创新中心/中国科学院空间环境重点实验室/蒙城国家地球物理观测站)
Macrospicules are typically described as solar jets that are larger and longer-lived than spicules, and visible mostly in transition-region spectral lines. They show a broad variation in properties, which pose substantial difficulties for their identification, modelling, and the understanding of their role in the mass and energy balance of the solar atmosphere. In this study, we focused on a sub-population of these jets that undergo parabolic trajectories when observed in the He II 304 Å line using high-cadence observations of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics …
The Sun and sun-like stars commonly host the multi-million-Kelvin coronae and the 10,000-Kelvin chromospheres. These extremely hot gases generate X-ray and Extreme Ultraviolet emissions that may impact the erosion and chemistry of (exo)planetary atmospheres, influencing the climate and conditions of habitability. However, the mechanism of coronal and chromospheric heating is still poorly understood. While the magnetic field most probably plays a key role in driving and transporting energy from the stellar surface upwards, it is not clear if the atmospheric heating mechanisms of the Sun and act…
Coronal Bright Points (CBPs) are sets of small-scale coronal loops, connecting opposite magnetic polarities, primarily characterized by their enhanced extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray emission. Being ubiquitous, they are thought to play an important role in heating the solar corona. We aim at characterizing the barely-explored chromosphere underneath CBPs, focusing on the related spicular activity and on the effects of small-scale magnetic flux emergence on CBPs. We used high-resolution observations of a CBP in H$β$ and Fe I 617.3 nm from the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) in coordinatio…
Even in quiet areas underneath coronal holes the solar chromosphere contains ubiquitous heating events. They tend to be small scale and short lived, hence difficult to identify. Here we do not address their much-debated contribution to outer-atmosphere heating, but their aftermaths. We performed a statistical analysis of high-resolution observations in the Balmer H-alpha line to suggest that many slender dark H-alpha fibrils spreading out from network represent cooling gas that outlines tracks of preceding rapid type II spicule events or smaller similar but as yet unresolved heating agents in …
The solar coronal heating is a longstanding mystery in astrophysics. Considering that the solar magnetic field is spatially inhomogeneous with considerable magnetic gradient from solar surface to the corona, this work proposes a magnetic gradient pumping (MGP) mechanism and try to explain the formation of hot plasma upflows, such as the hot type II spicules and hot plasma ejections, etc. In MGP mechanism, the magnetic gradients drive the energetic particles to move upwards from the underlying solar atmosphere and form hot upflows. These upflow energetic particles deposit in corona and make it …
Observations show various jets in the solar atmosphere with significant rotational motions, which may undergo instabilities leading to heat ambient plasma. We study the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability of twisted and rotating jets caused by the velocity jumps near the jet surface. We derive a dispersion equation with appropriate boundary condition for total pressure (including centrifugal force of tube rotation), which governs the dynamics of incompressible jets. Then, we obtain analytical instability criteria of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in various cases, which were verified by numerical …
Coronal loops form the basic building blocks of the magnetically closed solar corona yet much is still to be determined concerning their possible fine-scale structuring and the rate of heat deposition within them. Using an improved multi-stranded loop model to better approximate the numerically challenging transition region, this paper examines synthetic NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory's (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) emission simulated in response to a series of prescribed spatially and temporally random, impulsive and localised heating events across numerous sub-loop elements with …
We study processes occurring after a sudden heating of the chromosphere at the flare arcade footpoints which is assumed to be caused by particle beams. For the numerical simulations we adopt a 2-D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model, in which we solve a full set of the time-dependent MHD equations by means of the FLASH code, using the Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) method. In the initial state we consider a model of the solar atmosphere with densities according to the VAL-C model and the magnetic field arcade having the X-point structure above, where the magnetic reconnection is assumed. We found …
Atmospheric escape is an important process that controls the long-term evolution of close-in planets. We perform radiation hydrodynamics simulations of photo-evaporation of exoplanets' atmospheres to study the effect of photoelectric heating by far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation. Specifically, we consider a close-in hot Jupiter around a hot A-star. Hot main-sequence stars emit not only extreme ultraviolet radiation but also FUV radiation, and thus can drive strong atmospheric escape by photoelectric heating. We show that the planetary atmosphere escapes at a rate as large as $\dot{M}\sim10^{14}\,…