PLASMA TURBULENCE IN SOLAR FLARES AS AN EXPLANATION OF SOME OBSERVED PHENOMENA

It is suggested that, in Petschek's model of magnetic field annihilation, plasma which flows through the boundary layer where its magnetic energy is released is rendered highly turbulent by current driven electrostatic instability. This leads to a physical insight into the mechanism of dissipation, and, by analogy with laboratory experiments on turbulent plasma, can explain the observed X-ray and microwave emissions. When the microstructure is calculated using electrical conductivity appropriate to highly turbulent plasma, a field configuration exists in which protons can be accelerated to very high energies. The results of some numerical calculations of this process are presented. © 1969 D. Reidel Publishing Company.