Formation of the Transition Region for the Quiet Sun

Abstract

Abstract We propose a partially ionized collisional two-fluid model of the formation of the transition region between the cool dense chromosphere and hot tenuous corona for the quiet Sun. The chromosphere is treated as an isothermal gravity-bound two-fluid stratified atmosphere without appreciable vertical flow, on average. The different scale heights of the two fluids result in vertical evolution of the ionization state, and the transition region can be defined according to the ionization fraction. The transition region starts at the altitude where the ionization fraction reaches 0.5, the demarcation between the weakly and strongly ionized gas. The upper border of the region is defined as the temperature at which the particles possess enough energy for ionization, i.e., the first ionization potential. Within the transition region is a diffusion process in which the cold chromospheric particles gain energy and ionize through random collisions with hot coronal particles diffusing upward into the corona, whereas, when colliding with cold chromospheric particles, hot coronal particles lose energy, recombine, and fall into the chromosphere. The type II spicules can be generated when and where the local heating rate is so high that the conditions for a stratified chromosphere are not satisfied; upward flow is formed, penetrating the corona where the chromospheric gas in the spicule is ionized and dispersed. The enhanced radiation via those chromospheric neutral particles cools the coronal gas, and more recombination occurs, producing enhanced downward diffusion. The model reproduces key structural features of the transition region from first principles and a minimum of arbitrary parameters.