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[10.02] The Role of Magnetic Reconnection in the Formation of Transequatorial Loops

P.C.H. Martens (Physics Department, Montana State University)

Transequatorial loops often bridge large regions of very small field strength in which no emergence other than that of tiny dipoles is observed. It is very unlikely on theoretical grounds, and has never been observed, that such loops emerge as pre-existing flux tubes from below the chromosphere. Moreover, of the two active regions that these loops connect one is usually demonstrably older than the other, so that a loop connecting them could not have emerged with the older one, because it would have had nowhere to connect to. Taken together this is nearly indisputable evidence of reconnection in the corona.

I will review a number of recently published observations that support the statements above, and consider the implications for dynamo models from the coronal formation of transequatorial loops

If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://solar.physics.montana.edu/martens/. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35 #3
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.