The structure and heating of the chromosphere-corona transition region

The structure and heating (or energy balance) of the transition region and the role of the transition region in the structure and heating of the solar atmosphere as a whole are investigated. The features of the structure of the atmosphere and radiative energy losses of the atmosphere are summarized. A static, planar model of the solar temperature which has a temperature profile representative of the actual solar atmosphere is considered. Then a static, planar model of the transition region which is heated by thermal conduction from the corona and cooled by radiative losses is developed. A general conclusion is that the temperature profile of the transition region and lower corona results primarily from the energy balance of the corona, while the number density is determined by the energy balance of the transition region.