Context. Ultraviolet (UV) bursts and Ellerman bombs (EBs) are small-scale magnetic reconnection events taking place in the highly stratified, low solar atmosphere. The plasma density, reconnection mechanisms, radiative cooling and transfer processes clearly differ from one layer of the atmosphere to the next. In particular, EBs are believed to form in the upper photosphere or the low chromosphere. It is still not clear whether UV bursts have to be generated at a higher atmospheric layer than the EBs or whether both UV bursts and EBs can occur in the low chromosphere. Aims. We numerically studied the low β magnetic reconnection process around the solar temperature minimum region (TMR) by including more realistic physical diffusions and radiative cooling models. We aim to find out whether UV bursts may occur in the low chromosphere and to investigate the dominant mechanism that accounts for heating in the UV burst in the chromosphere. Methods. We used the single-fluid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code NIRVANA to perform the simulations. The time-dependent ionization degrees of hydrogen and helium are included in the code, which lead to a more realistic magnetic diffusion caused by electron-neutral collision and ambipolar diffusion. A more realistic radiative cooling model is also included in the simulations. The initial mass density and temperature are 1.66057 × 10 −6 kg m −3 and 4400 K, respectively, values that are typical for the plasma environment around TMR. Results. Our results in high resolution indicate that the plasmas in the reconnection region are heated up to more than 20, 000 K if the reconnecting magnetic field is as strong as 500 G, which suggests that UV bursts can be generated in the dense low chromosphere. The dominant mechanism for producing the UV burst in the low chromosphere is heating, as a result of the local compression in the reconnection process. The thermal energy occurring in the reconnection region rapidly increases after the turbulent reconnection mediated by plasmoids is invoked. The average power density of the generated thermal energy in the reconnection region can reach over 1000 erg cm −3 s −1 , which is comparable to the average power density accounting for a UV burst. With the strength of the reconnecting magnetic field exceeding 900 G, the width of the synthesized Si IV 1394 Å line profile with multiple peaks can reach up to 100 km s −1 , which is consistent with observations.
Ellerman bombs (EBs) and ultraviolet (UV) bursts are common brightening phenomena, which are usually generated in the low solar atmosphere of emerging flux regions. In this paper, we have investigated the emergence of an initial un-twisted magnetic flux rope based on three-dimensional (3D) magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. The EB-like and UV burst-like activities successively appear in the U-shaped part of the undulating magnetic fields triggered by the Parker instability. The EB-like activity starts to appear earlier and lasts for about 80 seconds. Six minutes later, a much hotter UV burst-like event starts to appear and lasts for about 60 seconds. Along the direction vertical to the solar surface, both the EB and UV burst start in the low chromosphere, but the UV burst extends to a higher altitude in the up chromosphere. The regions with apparent temperature increase in the EB and UV burst are both located inside the small twisted flux ropes generated in magnetic reconnection processes, which are consistent with the previous 2D simulations that most hot regions are usually located inside the magnetic islands. However, the twisted flux rope corresponding to the EB is only strongly heated after it floats up to an altitude much higher than the reconnection site during that period. Our analyses show that the EB is heated by the shocks driven by the strong horizontal flows at two sides of the U-shaped magnetic fields. The twisted flux rope corresponding to the UV burst is heated by the driven magnetic reconnection process.
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