A unified theory of electrodynamic coupling in coronal magnetic loops: The coronal heating problem

The major emphasis of this article is the development of a general theory of coronal heating which unveils a variety of new heating mechanisms and which unifies previously proposed mechanisms that are usually through of as unique in their own right. This theory is represented by an expression for the heating flux, F/sub H/, given ty F/sub H/ = F/sub max/epsilon, where F/sub max/ = 4(B/B/sub betaapproximately-greater-than1/)(4v/sub A/β> or approx. =1/v/sub A/ (1/2rhov/sub tot/2)/sub betaapproximately-greater-than1/ is the maximum flux of energy that could enter the coronal portion of a loop and where epsilon is an electrodynamic coupling efficiency describing the fraction that enters and heats the contained plasma. The electrodynamics coupling efficiency is parameterized in terms of a coronal loop's Alfven transit time, tau/sub A/; the coronal energy dissipation time, tau/sub diss/; the phase-mixing time, tau/sub phase/; a magnetic stress leakage time, tau/sub leak/; the correlation time, tau/sub c/, of the β> or approx. =1 convection; and the period, tau/sub peak/; at which the convection spectrum peaks