NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF SPICULE ACCELERATION

Abstract

Observations in the Hα line of hydrogen and the H and K lines of singly ionized calcium on the solar limb reveal the existence of structures with jet-like behavior, usually designated as spicules. The driving mechanism for such structures remains poorly understood. Sterling et al. shed some light on the problem mimicking reconnection events in the chromosphere with a one-dimensional code by injecting energy with different spatial and temporal distributions and tracing the thermodynamic evolution of the upper chromospheric plasma. They found three different classes of jets resulting from these injections. We follow their approach but improve the physical description by including non-LTE cooling in strong spectral lines and non-equilibrium hydrogen ionization. Increased cooling and conversion of injected energy into hydrogen ionization energy instead of thermal energy both lead to weaker jets and smaller final extent of the spicules compared with Sterling et al. In our simulations we find different behavior depending on the timescale for hydrogen ionization/recombination. Radiation-driven ionization fronts also form. Reproduced with permission from the Astrophysical Journal. © IOP Publishing