Abstract
We examine the possibility that turbulent Alfven waves, created in the upper transition region or lower corona, can be the source of the heating of solar and stellar coronae, and the origin of solar and stellar winds. The model avoids the general problem of energy transfer of waves through the photosphere and chromosphere. We show that energy fluxes of ∼10^6 ergs/cm^2 -s and power law spectra in phase space W(k)≡ k-β for the turbulent Alfven waves (B∼O (white noise) to B∼3.5 (Kolmogorov spectra)), and reasonable values for the density and magnetic fields for the atmosphere, produce observed coronal temperatures (∼10^6 K) and ejection velocities (≳ 100 km/s). When the heating is impulsive, as in solar flares, the predicted time interval between the hard X-ray burst and the microwave burst is ∼0.1 - 1 second, as observed.
