Full text (FTP)
George H. Fisher
Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley
To appear in the Astrophysical Journal, May 10, 1996
We compare the lengths of coronal loops observed on the Sun using the SXT telescope on Yohkoh with those predicted from the theoretical model of Hawley et al. This model relates the temporal behavior of coronal emission observed during flares on active stars to the length of the loops undergoing flaring. The observations show a strong correlation between the loop length and the temporal behavior of coronal emission, with the theoretical relationship consistent with observed loop lengths in most cases. For a few loops, the theoretical model tends to somewhat overpredict the loop length. We derive an empirical relationship between the loop length and the temporal behavior of coronal emission, but we offer no quantitative theoretical justification for this relationship. We do, however, suggest several reasons why the Hawley et al model overpredicts loop lengths in some cases.
Subject headings: Stars: Activity --- Stars: Flare --- Stars: Magnetic Fields --- Sun: Flares --- Sun: X-Rays --- X-Rays: Stars