Solar flares, similar to many other astrophysical energetic processes, are related to magnetic reconnection. During these events magnetic energy is transferred from other forms of energy, mostly heat and energetic particles. Traditionally, the goal of various models of magnetic reconnection was to explain the rate of this energy transfer. However, the flares are just one of the processes that involve magnetic reconnection. If one imagines any complex motion in a highly conducting medium, the magnetic field, which is assumed to be frozen into the fluid as a result of the famous Alfven (1942) theorem, should create intersections of “knots” that have to arrest the motion of the fluid, unless the magnetic reconnection is fast. Turbulent motions, that are ubiquitous for high Reynolds number astrophysical fluids, present a typical example of such complex fluid motions.
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Source: Phys.org