Temperature Profiles along Coronal Loops
                                                                                                                            Kerry Neal
                                                                                                                   Advisor: Trae Winter
                                                                                                     Montana State University, Summer 2005



 
 

The motivation behind this project was that determining temperature profiles along coronal loops may offer clues regarding the heating of the corona.  The coronal heating problem is a mystery that has been troubling solar physicists for the past fifty years.  Many different methods are roaming around the solar physics realm to try and solve this mystery.  Studying the heating of coronal loops is just one possible method.

Background:

For many years it was thought that coronal loops were insensitive to heating.  In 2000, Priest et al published a paper that claimed that loops were sensitive to heating and their temperature profiles could be determined.  Since then, many have applied various methods to determine the temperature along the loops.  It does not seem to be a very difficult task, but it has proven to be one.