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SUMMARY:Heating of the solar corona by nanoflares: Speculative past\, quan
 titative present and uncertain future - Prof. Peter Cargill (St. Andrew's)
DTSTART:20200311T140000Z
DTEND:20200311T150000Z
UID:TALK136492@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Chris Hamilton
DESCRIPTION:Heating of the solar corona by nanoflares (commonly defined as
  small burst of energy release\, much smaller than a flare) had its origin
 s in the 1960s and 70s. The energy release is assumed to be facilitated by
  small-scale magnetic reconnection\, though in fact that is not an essenti
 al condition for a nanoflare. Proposals by the speaker and others for how 
 nanoflares might be detected originated in the early 1990s but it is only 
 with data from in particular the Hinode and Solar Dynamics Observatory spa
 cecraft that a quantitative assessment of their reality has proved possibl
 e. I will focus on a number of ways nanoflare properties are being inferre
 d\, in particular the distribution of plasma as a function of temperature 
 between 1 and 3 MK\, the presence of a weak "hot" (10 MK) plasma component
  in the non-flaring corona\, the possibility of fine-scale energy release 
 as represented through a small filling factor\, and spectral line broadeni
 ng by small-scale plasma flows. I will mention briefly evidence for flare-
 like particle acceleration in nanoflares. Future observational prospects w
 ill be mentioned as well as challenges (perhaps insurmountable) facing the
 ory.
LOCATION:MR15\, Centre for Mathematical Sciences\, Wilberforce Road\, Camb
 ridge.
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