Evidence for small-scale torsional Alfven waves in the solar corona.

ABSTRACT: The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere. Its plasma is accelerated and flows out into interplanetary space as a heated, supersonic wind. The details of energy and momentum transfer to the plasma remain debated. Alfvén waves are a favoured mechanism, and in a plasma composed of inhomogeneous flux tubes, the only pure Alfvén mode is torsional in nature. Large-scale modes have been observed sporadically, but a prevalent, small-scale counterpart in the corona has yet to be established. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope has begun to provide unprecedented views of the Sun, with the Cryo-NIRSP instrument delivering coronal observations with a high spatial and spectral resolution. Here the data reveal that the quiescent corona supports torsional Alfvén waves, which continuousl

SUBMITTER: Morton RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12827048 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature