Living Reviews in Solar Physics: "Coronal bright points"

Madjarska, M.S., Coronal bright points, Living Rev Sol Phys (2019) 16: 2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41116-019-0018-8​​​​​​​

Open Access | Review Article

First Online: 15 March 2019

"The author has done a great job in summarizing our current understanding of CBPs."

Abstract:

Coronal bright points (CBPs) are a fundamental class of solar activity. They represent a set of low-corona small-scale loops with enhanced emission in the extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray spectrum that connect magnetic flux concentrations of opposite polarities. CBPs are one of the main building blocks of the solar atmosphere outside active regions uniformly populating the solar atmosphere including active region latitudes and coronal holes. Their plasma properties classify them as downscaled active regions. Most importantly, their simple structure and short lifetimes of less than 20 h that allow to follow their full lifetime evolution present a unique opportunity to investigate outstanding questions in solar physics including coronal heating. The present Living Review is the first review of this essential class of solar phenomena and aims to give an overview of the current knowledge about the CBP general, plasma and magnetic properties. Several transient dynamic phenomena associated with CBPs are also briefly introduced. The observationally derived energetics and the theoretical modelling that aims at explaining the CBP formation and eruptive behaviour are reviewed.

The author:

Maria S. Madjarska is a senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen since 2016. Previously she was a research fellow at Armagh Observatory.