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Context. The study explores the photospheric magnetic properties of bright and faint small-scale loop systems in the solar atmosphere of the quiet Sun, also known as X-ray or coronal bright points. Aims. To understand how plasma confined in small-scale loops is heated to million degrees, the loop-associated photospheric and coronal magnetic flux properties should be known because the magnetic field is generally assumed to be the main energy source or waveguide. This and follow-up studies aim to provide a qualitative and quantitative investigation of these magnetic properties and their impact on the heating of plasma to million degrees. Methods. We used quasi-temporal imaging observations taken in the 193 Å channel of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and line-of-sight magnetograms from the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The observations cover 48 h of data at a 6 min cadence with a field of view of 400″ × 400″, from which 90 loop systems (of which 83 are CBPs) were extracted and analysed in full detail. Results. We obtain the evolution properties of both faint and bright small-scale loop systems (SSLSs) related to either magnetic flux emergence or magnetic flux coalescence and a chance encounter of magnetic fluxes. We estimate the lifetimes of the two loop systems and the impact of the magnetic flux evolution on their life span. The photospheric magnetic flux associated with SSLSs confining plasma heated to coronal temperatures is found to cover at least two orders of magnitude from 3.0 × 1018 Mx to 1.8 × 1020 Mx. The analysis of the maximum intensity of SSLSs during their lifetime shows numerous spikes of intensity that are identified as small (a few AIA pixels) compact brightenings associated with cancelling magnetic fluxes. Most of them are identified as microflares. The intensity flux range of these spikes is reported. The coronal intensity flux evolution of SSLSs is strongly correlated with the total unsigned photospheric magnetic flux evolution when there is little or no contamination in the selected field of view of the SSLSs by unrelated magnetic fluxes or intensity features. We report on the footpoint separation and change during the lifetime of the faint and bright SSLSs. The magnetic flux emergence and decay rates of some of the SSLSs are also provided in this study. Conclusions. The power-law index α of the logarithm of the total unsigned magnetic flux and the total intensity for the full lifetime of SSLSs is 1.10 ± 0.02, compared with 1.14 ± 0.03 for a previous study of the whole disc in the same intensity range (Fe XII 193–195 Å). This indicates that the emission of the corona of the quiet Sun at ∼1.25 MK is mostly confined to small-scale loops (some brighter, others fainter). Therefore, it is imperative to understand the mechanism that heats the plasma in these loops.
Context. The study explores the photospheric magnetic properties of bright and faint small-scale loop systems in the solar atmosphere of the quiet Sun, also known as X-ray or coronal bright points. Aims. To understand how plasma confined in small-scale loops is heated to million degrees, the loop-associated photospheric and coronal magnetic flux properties should be known because the magnetic field is generally assumed to be the main energy source or waveguide. This and follow-up studies aim to provide a qualitative and quantitative investigation of these magnetic properties and their impact on the heating of plasma to million degrees. Methods. We used quasi-temporal imaging observations taken in the 193 Å channel of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and line-of-sight magnetograms from the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The observations cover 48 h of data at a 6 min cadence with a field of view of 400″ × 400″, from which 90 loop systems (of which 83 are CBPs) were extracted and analysed in full detail. Results. We obtain the evolution properties of both faint and bright small-scale loop systems (SSLSs) related to either magnetic flux emergence or magnetic flux coalescence and a chance encounter of magnetic fluxes. We estimate the lifetimes of the two loop systems and the impact of the magnetic flux evolution on their life span. The photospheric magnetic flux associated with SSLSs confining plasma heated to coronal temperatures is found to cover at least two orders of magnitude from 3.0 × 1018 Mx to 1.8 × 1020 Mx. The analysis of the maximum intensity of SSLSs during their lifetime shows numerous spikes of intensity that are identified as small (a few AIA pixels) compact brightenings associated with cancelling magnetic fluxes. Most of them are identified as microflares. The intensity flux range of these spikes is reported. The coronal intensity flux evolution of SSLSs is strongly correlated with the total unsigned photospheric magnetic flux evolution when there is little or no contamination in the selected field of view of the SSLSs by unrelated magnetic fluxes or intensity features. We report on the footpoint separation and change during the lifetime of the faint and bright SSLSs. The magnetic flux emergence and decay rates of some of the SSLSs are also provided in this study. Conclusions. The power-law index α of the logarithm of the total unsigned magnetic flux and the total intensity for the full lifetime of SSLSs is 1.10 ± 0.02, compared with 1.14 ± 0.03 for a previous study of the whole disc in the same intensity range (Fe XII 193–195 Å). This indicates that the emission of the corona of the quiet Sun at ∼1.25 MK is mostly confined to small-scale loops (some brighter, others fainter). Therefore, it is imperative to understand the mechanism that heats the plasma in these loops.
The present study provides statistical information on the coronal magnetic field and intensity properties of small-scale bright and faint loops in the quiet Sun. We aim to quantitatively investigate the morphological and topological properties of the coronal magnetic field in bright and faint small-scale loops, with the former known as coronal bright points (CBPs). We analyse 126 small-scale loops of all sizes using quasi-temporal imaging and line-of-sight magnetic field observations. These observations are taken by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) in the Fe xii channel and the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We employ a recently developed automatic tool that uses a linear magneto-hydro-static (LMHS) model to compute the magnetic field in the solar atmosphere and automatically match individual magnetic field lines with small-scale loops. For most of the loops, we automatically obtain an excellent agreement of the magnetic field lines from the LMHS model and the loops seen in the AIA 193 channel. One stand-out result is that the magnetic field is non-potential. We obtain the typical ranges of loop heights, lengths, intensities, mean magnetic field strength along the loops and at loop tops, and magnetic field strength at loop footpoints. We investigate the relationship between all those parameters. We find that loops below the classic chromospheric height of 1.5 Mm are flatter, suggesting that non-magnetic forces (one of which is the plasma pressure) play an important role below this height. We find a strong correlation (Pearson coefficient of 0.9) between loop heights and lengths. An anti-correlation is found between the magnetic field strength at loop tops and loop heights and lengths. The average intensity along the loops correlates stronger with the average magnetic field along the loops than with the field strength at loop tops. The latter correlation indicates that the energy release in the loops is more likely linked to the average magnetic field along the loops than the field strength on the loop tops. In other words, the energy is probably released all along the loops, but not just at the loop top. This result is consistent with a recent benchmarking radiative 3D MHD model.
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