Coronal Loop Interaction

Abstract

High-resolution images of post-flare loop systems in Fe XIV (5303Å) and FeX (6374Å) display transient enhancements at the projected intersections of some loops. The brightness of such enhancements gradually increases to a marked maximum and then fades with a typical lifetime of about thirty minutes. The maximum in the red line lags that of the green line by about ten minutes, while Hα reaches a maximum about ten minutes later; this sequence gives a measure of the cooling time, and hence electron density. The observed phenomenon is interpreted as localized loop coalescence and partial magnetic reconnection, with the possibility of an increase in the current density, and heating of the plasma in the immediate vicinity of the X-point.