Coronal Plasma Calculator
Quick physical insight into coronal loops and active regions: scaling laws, characteristic speeds and timescales, and why reconnection in the corona is so special.
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Method, assumptions & references
Assumes a fully ionised hydrogen plasma. Pressure p = 2nkBT. The RTV scaling law (Rosner, Tucker & Vaiana, ApJ 220, 643, 1978) gives the loop-top temperature of a static loop in equilibrium as Tmax ≈ 1400 (pL)1/3 (cgs, L = half-length). Spitzer resistivity η ≈ 5.2×10⁻⁵ lnΛ TeV−3/2 Ω·m with lnΛ = 20. Lundquist number S = μ₀LvA/η.
Conductive cooling time τc = 3nkBL²/(κ₀T5/2) with κ₀ = 9.2×10⁻⁷ cgs. Radiative cooling time τr = 3kBT/(nΛ(T)) with Λ(T) ≈ 1.2×10⁻¹⁹ T−1/2 erg cm³ s⁻¹ (an approximate fit for 1–10 MK; see Cargill 1994). Use these for order-of-magnitude insight.
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