Effects of Fieldline Topology on Energy Propagation in the Corona

Abstract

We study the effect of photospheric footpoint motions on magnetic field structures containing magnetic nulls. The footpoint motions are prescribed on the photospheric boundary as a velocity field which entangles the magnetic field. We investigate the propagation of the injected energy, the conversion of energy, emergence of current layers and other consequences of the non-trivial magnetic field topology in this situation. These boundary motions lead initially to an increase in magnetic and kinetic energy. Following this, the energy input from the photosphere is partially dissipated and partially transported out of the domain through the Poynting flux. The presence of separatrix layers and magnetic null-points fundamentally alters the propagation behavior of disturbances from the photosphere into the corona. Depending on the field line topology close to the photosphere, the energy is either trapped or free to propagate into the corona.