Impulsively generated waves in two-fluid plasma in the solar chromosphere: Heating and generation of plasma outflows

¹ Institute of Physics, University of M. Curie-Skłodowska, Pl. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 1, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
² Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
³ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Numerical Prediction for Space Storm, Institute of Space Science and Applied Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, 518055 Shenzhen, PR China
e-mail: kuzma@hit.edu.cn
⁴ Key Laboratory of Solar Activity and Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, PR China

Received: 7 December 2022
Accepted: 21 October 2023

Abstract

Context. We present new insights into impulsively generated Alfvén and magneto-acoustic waves in the partially ionized two-fluid plasma of the solar atmosphere and their contribution to chromospheric heating and plasma outflows.

Aims. Our study attempts to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for chromospheric heating and excitation of plasma outflows that may contribute to the generation of the solar wind in the upper atmospheric layers. The main aim of this work is to investigate the impulsively generated waves by taking into account two-fluid effects. These effects may alter the wave propagation leading to attenuation and collisional plasma heating.

Methods. The two-fluid equations were solved by the JOint ANalytical Numerical Approach (JOANNA) code in a 2.5-dimensional (2.5D) framework to simulate the dynamics of the solar atmosphere. Here, electrons + ions (protons) and neutrals (hydrogen atoms) are treated as separate fluids, which are coupled via ion-neutral collisions. The latter acts as a dissipation mechanism for the energy carried by the waves in two-fluid plasma and may ultimately lead to the frictional heating of the partially ionized plasma. The waves in two-fluid plasma, which are launched from the top of the photosphere, are excited by perturbations induced by localized Gaussian pulses in the horizontal components of the ion and neutral velocities.

Results. In the middle and upper chromosphere, a substantial fraction of the energy carried by large amplitude waves in the two-fluid plasma is dissipated in ion-neutral collisions, resulting in the thermalization of wave energy and generation of plasma outflows. We find that coupled Alfvén and magneto-acoustic waves are more effective in heating the chromosphere than magneto-acoustic waves.

Conclusions. Large-amplitude waves in the two-fluid plasma may be responsible for heating the chromosphere. The net flow of ions is directed outward, leading to plasma outflows in the lower solar corona, which may contribute to the solar wind at higher altitudes The primary source of wave energy dissipation in the current paradigm comes from collisions between ions and neutrals.