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Fossum A, Carlsson M. High-frequency acoustic waves are not sufficient to heat the solar chromosphere. Nature. 2005;435(7044):919-21doi: 10.1038/nature03695.
Fossum, A., & Carlsson, M. (2005). High-frequency acoustic waves are not sufficient to heat the solar chromosphere. Nature, 435(7044), 919-21. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03695
Fossum, Astrid, and Carlsson, Mats. "High-frequency acoustic waves are not sufficient to heat the solar chromosphere." Nature vol. 435,7044 (2005): 919-21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03695
Fossum A, Carlsson M. High-frequency acoustic waves are not sufficient to heat the solar chromosphere. Nature. 2005 Jun 16;435(7044):919-21. doi: 10.1038/nature03695. PMID: 15959510.
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Nature. 2005 Jun 16;435(7044):919-21. doi: 10.1038/nature03695.

High-frequency acoustic waves are not sufficient to heat the solar chromosphere.

Nature

Astrid Fossum, Mats Carlsson

Affiliations

  1. Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PB 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway. [email protected]

PMID: 15959510 DOI: 10.1038/nature03695

Abstract

One of the main unanswered questions in solar physics is why the Sun's outer atmosphere is hotter than its surface. Theory predicts abundant production of high-frequency (10-50 mHz) acoustic waves in subsurface layers of the Sun, and such waves are believed by many to constitute the dominant heating mechanism of the chromosphere (the lower part of the outer solar atmosphere) in non-magnetic regions. Such high-frequency waves are difficult to detect because of high-frequency disturbances in Earth's atmosphere (seeing) and other factors. Here we report the detection of high-frequency waves, and we use numerical simulations to show that the acoustic energy flux of these waves is too low, by a factor of at least ten, to balance the radiative losses in the solar chromosphere. Acoustic waves therefore cannot constitute the dominant heating mechanism of the solar chromosphere.

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