Conductive energy exchange for the tracked plasma-sheet blob

Determine whether field-aligned thermal conduction would result in net heating or net cooling of the tracked plasma blob within the 2017 September 10 solar eruption plasma sheet, given that the blob’s temperature is comparable to the temperatures of the regions immediately above and below it and considering the possibility of magnetic isolation if the blob is a plasmoid.

Background

In the discussion of energy balance for the tracked blob within the reconnecting plasma sheet, the authors assess thermal conduction and radiative cooling. They find radiative losses negligible over the observed timescale, but the role of conduction is ambiguous because the blob’s temperature does not stand out relative to adjacent regions.

They note that if the blob is a plasmoid, it may be magnetically isolated, potentially suppressing conduction. Clarifying the sign of conductive heat exchange (heating versus cooling) is therefore necessary to understand the blob’s thermodynamic evolution and the partitioning of energy among heating and cooling processes during the event.