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We derive the nonthermal velocities (NTVs) in the transition region of an active region using the Si iv 1393.78 Å line observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph and compare them with the line-of-sight photospheric magnetic fields obtained by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The active region consists of two strong field regions with opposite polarity, separated by a weak field corridor that widened as the active region evolved. The means of the NTV distributions in strong field regions (weak field corridors) range between ∼18–20 (16–18) km s−1, albeit the NTV maps show a much larger range. In addition, we identify a narrow lane in the middle of the corridor with significantly reduced NTV. The NTVs do not show a strong center-to-limb variation, albeit they show somewhat larger values near the disk center. The NTVs are well correlated with redshifts as well as line intensities. The results obtained here and those presented in our companion paper on Doppler shifts suggest two populations of plasma in the active region emitting in Si iv. The first population exists in the strong field regions and extends partway into the weak field corridor between them. We attribute this plasma to spicules heated to ∼0.1 MK (often called type II spicules). They have a range of inclinations relative to vertical. The second population exists in the center of the corridor, is relatively faint, and has smaller velocities, likely horizontal. These results provide further insights into the heating of the transition region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has previously been argued that (1) spicules do not provide enough pre-heated plasma to fill the corona, and (2) even if they did, additional heating would be required to keep the plasma hot as it expands upward. Here we address whether spicules play an important role by injecting plasma at cooler temperatures (<2 MK), which then gets heated to coronal values at higher altitudes. We measure red-blue asymmetries in line profiles formed over a wide range of temperatures in the bright moss areas of two active regions. We derive emission measure distributions from the excess wing emission. We find that the asymmetries and emission measures are small and conclude that spicules do not inject an important (dominant) mass flux into the cores of active regions at temperatures >0.6 MK (log T > 5.8). These conclusions apply not only to spicules but also to any process that suddenly heats and accelerates chromospheric plasma (e.g., a chromospheric nanoflare). The traditional picture of coronal heating and chromospheric evaporation appears to remain the most likely explanation of the active region corona. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solar flare is composed of impulsive energy release events by magnetic reconnection, which forms and heats flare loops. Recent studies have revealed a two-phase evolution pattern of UV 1600 Å emission at the feet of these loops: a rapid pulse lasting for a few seconds to a few minutes, followed by a gradual decay on timescales of a few tens of minutes. Multiple band EUV observations by the Atmosphere Imaging Assembly further reveal very similar signatures. These two phases represent different but related signatures of an impulsive energy release in the corona. The rapid pulse is an immediate response of the lower atmosphere to an intense thermal conduction flux resulting from the sudden heating of the corona to high temperatures (we rule out energetic particles due to a lack of significant hard X-ray emission). The gradual phase is associated with the cooling of hot plasma that has been evaporated into the corona. The observed footpoint emission is again powered by thermal conduction (and enthalpy), but now during a period when approximate steady-state conditions are established in the loop. UV and EUV light curves of individual pixels may therefore be separated into contributions from two distinct physical mechanisms to shed light on the nature of energy transport in a flare. We demonstrate this technique using coordinated, spatially resolved observations of UV and EUV emissions from the footpoints of a C3.2 thermal flare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New solar extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance observations from the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) EUV Variability Experiment provide full coverage in the EUV range from 0.1 to 106 nm and continuously at a cadence of 10 s for spectra at 0.1 nm resolution and even faster, 0.25 s, for six EUV bands. These observations can be decomposed into four distinct characteristics during flares. First, the emissions that dominate during the flare's impulsive phase are the transition region emissions, such as the He II 30.4 nm. Second, the hot coronal emissions above 5 MK dominate during the gradual phase and are highly correlated with the GOES X-ray. A third flare characteristic in the EUV is coronal dimming, seen best in the cool corona, such as the Fe IX 17.1 nm. As the post-flare loops reconnect and cool, many of the EUV coronal emissions peak a few minutes after the GOES X-ray peak. One interesting variation of the post-eruptive loop reconnection is that warm coronal emissions (e.g., Fe XVI 33.5 nm) sometimes exhibit a second large peak separated from the primary flare event by many minutes to hours, with EUV emission originating not from the original flare site and its immediate vicinity, but rather from a volume of higher loops. We refer to this second peak as the EUV late phase. The characterization of many flares during the SDO mission is provided, including quantification of the spectral irradiance from the EUV late phase that cannot be inferred from GOES X-ray diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We highlight 10 key aspects of coronal heating that must be understood before we can consider the problem to be solved. (1) All coronal heating is impulsive. (2) The details of coronal heating matter. (3) The corona is filled with elemental magnetic stands. (4) The corona is densely populated with current sheets. (5) The strands must reconnect to prevent an infinite build-up of stress. (6) Nanoflares repeat with different frequencies. (7) What is the characteristic magnitude of energy release? (8) What causes the collective behaviour responsible for loops? (9) What are the onset conditions for energy release? (10) Chromospheric nanoflares are not a primary source of coronal plasma. Significant progress in solving the coronal heating problem will require coordination of approaches: observational studies, field-aligned hydrodynamic simulations, large-scale and localized three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations, and possibly also kinetic simulations. There is a unique value to each of these approaches, and the community must strive to coordinate better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides background and analysis for a paper which presents evident for the existence of bi-directional outflow jets in the sun. How the evidence fits the standard reconnection model which explains the sudden release of solar magnetic energy; The paper by Innes and others in the April 24, 1997 issue of `Nature.'