Evidence of impulsive heating in active region core loops

Abstract

Using a full spectral scan of an active region from the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) we have obtained emission measure EM(T ) distributions in two different moss regions within the same active region.We have compared these with theoretical transition region EMs derived for three limiting cases, namely, static equilibrium, strong condensation, and strong evaporation from Klimchuk et al. The EM distributions in both the moss regions are strikingly similar and show a monotonically increasing trend from log T [K] = 5.15-6.3. Using photospheric abundances, we obtain a consistent EM distribution for all ions. Comparing the observed and theoretical EM distributions, we find that the observed EM distribution is best explained by the strong condensation case (EMcon), suggesting that a downward enthalpy flux plays an important and possibly dominant role in powering the transition region moss emission. The downflows could be due to unresolved coronal plasma that is cooling and draining after having been impulsively heated. This supports the idea that the hot loops (with temperatures of 3-5 MK) seen in the core of active regions are heated by nanoflares. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society.