Trace-derived temperature and emission measure profiles along long-lived coronal loops: The role of filamentation

In a recent Letter, Lent et al. have shown evidence of uniform temperature along steady long coronal loops observed by TRACE in two different passbands (171 and 195 Angstrom filters). We propose that such a piece of evidence can be explained by the subarcsecond structuring of the loops across the magnetic field lines. In this perspective, we present a model of a bundle of six thin parallel hydrostatic filaments with temperature stratification dictated by detailed energy balance and with temperatures at their apex ranging between 0.8 and 5 MK. If analyzed as a single loop, the bundle would appear isothermal along most of its length.