Flow in coronal loops with a mass source

Abstract

This research studies the flow of plasma inside a coronal loop in which an injection of plasma through the lateral surface is permitted. The flow is assumed steady and polytropic. The problem covers two cases: (a) upflow at one footpoint, downflow at the other; (b) downflow at both footpoints. The first case can be shown to be quite similar to that of a mass-conserving flow with variable cross section; the second, instead, is characterized by solutions with a different type of topology; its main new feature is the obvious fact that all the solutions pass through a single point going from negative to positive velocities. In this second case the density ratio between footpoints and top can be much smaller than in a mass conserving flow. This can explain some properties of observed loops.