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The unprecedented remote-sensing observations obtained by the Wide Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) on board the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) from distances inside Mercury’s orbit are revolutionizing our perception of the fine-scale morphology and evolution of the solar corona. For the first time, the inherent limitations of 1 au observations arising from the superposition of optically thin features along the long lines of sight are being overcome by observing from “within.” The richness of information makes the interpretation of the coronal scene highly subject to the processing performed on the images to remove the background, i.e., the bright, constant emission from interplanetary dust (F-corona). Several customized techniques to reveal the faint, solar-outflowing plasma and the large-scale K-corona structures have already been developed for WISPR. They differ on how the background is estimated. None, however, excels at revealing the faint and diffuse K-corona brightness component that permeates the scene. In this paper, we introduce a new, heuristic approach to model the evolution of the F-corona background as a function of the observer’s location. The methodology exploits WISPR data sets from PSP encounters that share the same orbital parameters. The resulting background-removed data products unveil the morphology and dynamics of the large-scale K-corona with superb clarity and demonstrate that the scientific interpretation of the coronal scene in WISPR images relies on the complementary vision provided by the existing methodologies.

Decayless kink oscillations of solar coronal loops (or decayless oscillations for short) have attracted great attention since their discovery. Coronal bright points (CBPs) are mini-active regions and consist of loops with a small size. However, decayless oscillations in CBPs have not been widely reported. In this study, we identified this kind of oscillations in some CBPs using 171 Å images taken by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. After using the motion magnification algorithm to increase oscillation amplitudes, we made time–distance maps to identify the oscillatory signals. We also estimated the loop lengths and velocity amplitudes. We analyzed 23 CBPs and found 31 oscillation events in 16 of them. The oscillation periods range from 1 to 8 minutes (on average about 5 minutes), and the displacement amplitudes have an average value of 0.07 Mm. The average loop length and velocity amplitude are 23 Mm and 1.57 km s−1, respectively. Relationships between different oscillation parameters are also examined. Additionally, we performed a simple model to illustrate how these subpixel oscillation amplitudes (less than 0.4 Mm) could be detected. Results of the model confirm the reliability of our data processing methods. Our study shows for the first time that decayless oscillations are common in small-scale loops of CBPs. These oscillations allow for seismological diagnostics of the Alfvén speed and magnetic field strength in the corona.

We present EUV solar observations showing evidence for omnipresent jetting activity driven by small-scale magnetic reconnection at the base of the solar corona. We argue that the physical mechanism that heats and drives the solar wind at its source is ubiquitous magnetic reconnection in the form of small-scale jetting activity (a.k.a. jetlets). This jetting activity, like the solar wind and the heating of the coronal plasma, is ubiquitous regardless of the solar cycle phase. Each event arises from small-scale reconnection of opposite-polarity magnetic fields producing a short-lived jet of hot plasma and Alfvén waves into the corona. The discrete nature of these jetlet events leads to intermittent outflows from the corona, which homogenize as they propagate away from the Sun and form the solar wind. This discovery establishes the importance of small-scale magnetic reconnection in solar and stellar atmospheres in understanding ubiquitous phenomena such as coronal heating and solar wind acceleration. Based on previous analyses linking the switchbacks to the magnetic network, we also argue that these new observations might provide the link between the magnetic activity at the base of the corona and the switchback solar wind phenomenon. These new observations need to be put in the bigger picture of the role of magnetic reconnection and the diverse form of jetting in the solar atmosphere.

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.

Kink oscillations of coronal loops, i.e., standing kink waves, is one of the most studied dynamic phenomena in the solar corona. The oscillations are excited by impulsive energy releases, such as low coronal eruptions. Typical periods of the oscillations are from a few to several minutes, and are found to increase linearly with the increase in the major radius of the oscillating loops. It clearly demonstrates that kink oscillations are natural modes of the loops, and can be described as standing fast magnetoacoustic waves with the wavelength determined by the length of the loop. Kink oscillations are observed in two different regimes. In the rapidly decaying regime, the apparent displacement amplitude reaches several minor radii of the loop. The damping time which is about several oscillation periods decreases with the increase in the oscillation amplitude, suggesting a nonlinear nature of the damping. In the decayless regime, the amplitudes are smaller than a minor radius, and the driver is still debated. The review summarises major findings obtained during the last decade, and covers both observational and theoretical results. Observational results include creation and analysis of comprehensive catalogues of the oscillation events, and detection of kink oscillations with imaging and spectral instruments in the EUV and microwave bands. Theoretical results include various approaches to modelling in terms of the magnetohydrodynamic wave theory. Properties of kink oscillations are found to depend on parameters of the oscillating loop, such as the magnetic twist, stratification, steady flows, temperature variations and so on, which make kink oscillations a natural probe of these parameters by the method of magnetohydrodynamic seismology.

The heating of the solar chromosphere and corona to the observed high temperatures, imply the presence of ongoing heating that balances the strong radiative and thermal conduction losses expected in the solar atmosphere. It has been theorized for decades that the required heating mechanisms of the chromospheric and coronal parts of the active regions, quiet-Sun, and coronal holes are associated with the solar magnetic fields. However, the exact physical process that transport and dissipate the magnetic energy which ultimately leads to the solar plasma heating are not yet fully understood. The current understanding of coronal heating relies on two main mechanism: reconnection and MHD waves that may have various degrees of importance in different coronal regions. In this review we focus on recent advances in our understanding of MHD wave heating mechanisms. First, we focus on giving an overview of observational results, where we show that different wave modes have been discovered in the corona in the last decade, many of which are associated with a significant energy flux, either generated in situ or pumped from the lower solar atmosphere. Afterwards, we summarise the recent findings of numerical modelling of waves, motivated by the observational results. Despite the advances, only 3D MHD models with Alfvén wave heating in an unstructured corona can explain the observed coronal temperatures compatible with the quiet Sun, while 3D MHD wave heating models including cross-field density structuring are not yet able to account for the heating of coronal loops in active regions to their observed temperature.