The Missing Mechanism: Picoflare Heating in the Solar Corona

Abstract: The coronal heating problem has been explored through wave heating and impulsive nanoflare paradigms. Solar Orbiter observations reveal picoflares (10^20-10^24 erg) extending below the Parker-Aschwanden minimal coronal nanoflare limit. These events involve two distinct mechanisms: short-duration looptop tearing-mode reconnection and long-duration footpoint anomalous resistivity. This dual-mechanism framework resolves the long-standing energy partition paradox and bridges photospheric energy injection with coronal thermalization.