Coronal Plume Heating and Kinetic Dissipation of Kinetic Alfven Waves

Abstract

Coronal plumes are steady-state (for periods of at least 24 hr) bright rays that extend nearly radially from the photosphere to approximately 12 R in coronal holes and are believed to be denser than the surrounding media. In a low-plasma such as coronal holes, kinetic dissipation of Alfvén waves due to the wave-particle resonant interaction can directly lead to electron heating. On the basis of an empirical model of coronal plumes, we investigate the kinetic dissipation of Alfvén waves in a plume embedded in the coronal hole. The results show that in the main body of the dense plume, which is embedded in a nearly uniformly magnetized coronal hole, the dissipation of the wave energy can provide an additional local electron heating that is enough to balance the extra radiative loss of the dense bright plume.