Observational Plasma Astrophysics: Five Years of Yohkoh and Beyond, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1998 Astrophysics and Space Science Library Series, Vol. 229

Since its launch in 1991, the Yohkoh satellite has been returning unprecedented observations of solar flares and the dynamic solar corona. This book is a collection of papers presented at a meeting held in: Yoyogi, Tokyo, on the occasion of Yohkoh's fifth anniversary of operation. The papers constitute a summary of observations and results over the five years, including contributions based on data from Yohkoh's hard and soft X-ray telescopes and its spectrometer experiments. The five years of data, covering approximately one-half of a solar cycle, reveal a fresh perspective on solar science, with a new picture of solar flares and the active Sun emerging. Also, for the first time there are extensive results from Yohkoh observations of the Sun during the solar minimum period.
This wide-ranging volume will be of interest to workers in solar physics and X-ray astronomy. It also contains material appropriate for supplemental reading for graduate students in solar physics.

I. Basic Properties of Cosmic Plasmas.- Evolution of the Solar Corona from the Maximum to the Minimum.- Density, Temperature and Magnetic Field Structure of High Latitude Corona.- Studies of Coronal Temperature.- The Behavior of Coronal Holes.- Deep Survey of Solar Nano-Flares with Yohkoh.- The Sun as an X-Ray Star: Overview of the Method.- Coronal Heating due to Twisting Faculae of 1 km Radii.- Comparison between Statistical Features of X-ray Fluctuations from the Solar Corona and Accretion Disks.- From the Sun to the Galaxy Clusters.- High Energy Emission from Blazars — ASCA Observation of Blazars and Multiband Analysis —.- II. Origin of Cosmic Plasma Dynamics.- Magnetic Reconnection and Dynamos in Laboratory Plasmas.- A Mechanism Driving Solar Flares.- On the Origin of Helicity in Active Region Magnetic Fields.- SXR Coronal Polar Jets and Recurrent Flashes.- The Filament Disappearance of May 7, 1992.- An Interdisciplinary Study of the Eruptive Prominence of 28 August 1992.- Yohkoh Observations of Superhot Plasma in Solar Flares.- Non-thermal Velocities Observed by Yohkoh.- Magnetohydrodynamics of Accretion Disks.- Magnetic Loops in the Hot Universe.- III. Magnetic Reconnection as an Engine of Cosmic Explosions.- Computer Simulations of Twisted Flux Tubes and Magnetic Reconnection.- Magnetic Reconnection and Flares in Star Forming Regions: Flares in Protostars.- Magnetically Driven Jets from Accretion Disks.- Numerical Simulation of Relativistic Jet Formation in Black Hole Magnetosphere.- Pair Production Cascade in a Black Hole Magnetosphere.- MHD Simulations of Magnetic Reconnection in the Solar Corona and Flares.- Several Problems with Classical “Reclosing of Opened-up Simple Arcade” Models for Arcade Flares and Arcade Formation Events.- Plasmoid Formationin Eruptive Flares.- Plasma Motion in Solar Flares Observed by the Radio-heliograph.- Current Sheet Formation and Reconnection on Separator Field Lines.- Bifurcation-Transition Dynamics in Solar Coronal Plasma.- A Unified Model of Solar Flares.- Activity Caused by Interacting Loops and Evolution of Magnetic Field.- Loop-loop Interaction in Impulsive Solar Flares Inferred from Microwave and X-Ray Images.- Horseshoe Shaped Ha Solar Flares on 13 Oct 1995 and Emerging Flux Model of Flares.- SoHO — Yohkoh Science Collaboration.- The Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer on SoHO.- NOAA 7978: the Last Best Old-Cycle Region.- S XV Spectral Properties of an Active Region from the Yohkoh Bragg Crystal Spectrometer.- The Relationship between UV and X-Ray Brightenings.- Joint Observations and an Active Region with SoHO and Yohkoh.- IV. High-Energy Particle Acceleration in Cosmic Plasmas.- Summary of Coronal Hard X-Ray Sources Observed with Yohkoh/HXT.- Hard X-Ray Emission from a Mirror Trap at the Top of Reconnecting Loops.- Energy Release and Particle Acceleration in Solar Flares with Respect to Flaring Magnetic Loops.- What did Yohkoh and COMPTON Change in Our Perception of Particle Acceleration in Solar Flares?.- Microwave and Hard X-ray Observations of an X-Class Limb Flare.- Magnetic Reconnection and Particle Acceleration in Solar Flares.- Activity in NOAA AR 7172.- Acceleration of Particles in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection.- The Formation and Evolution of the Coronal Holes Associated with NOAA Region 7978.- Horizontal Flow Field in the Solar Photosphere.- Local Three-Dimensional MHD Simulations of the Parker Instability in Differentially Rotating Disks.- Limits on the Temperature of Impulsive Phase Solar Flare Hard X-Ray Emission, and the Amount of Thermal X-Rays Presentin the Yohkoh HXT-LO (14 – 24 keV) Channel.- Homologous Flare Series of February 1992.- Simulation Study on Magneto-Gravity Instabilities in Magnetic Shear Field.- X-ray Plasma Ejections and Jets From Solar Compact Flares Observed with the Yohkoh Soft X-Ray Telescope.- Nonthermal Effects in Fe XXV Spectra Observed by Yohkoh/BCS.- Using the Yohkoh BCS to Check Element Abundances and Ionization Fractions.- Maximum Energy of Force-Free Magnetic Fields.- A Study of Preflare X-ray Brightenings.- Non-Linear Evolution of Erupting Coronal Magnetic Fields.- Study of Solar X-Ray Jets Observed by Yohkoh Soft X-Ray Telescope.- Deconvolution of Yohkoh Soft X-ray Images.- Post-Flare Structures Rising with Decreasing or Constant Speed.- Soft X-ray Features of Prominence Eruption and Disappearance.- Yohkoh Observations and Interplanetary Disturbances.- Evolution of Coronal Active Regions Observed with the Yohkoh Soft X-Ray Telescope.- XUV Doppler Telescope aboard Sounding Rocket.- Magnetic Shear and Soft X-Ray Flares in a Delta Sunspot Region (NOAA 7070) in February 1992.- List of Participants.

Since its launch in 1991, the Yohkoh satellite has been returning unprecedented observations of solar flares and the dynamic solar corona. This book is a collection of papers presented at a meeting held in: Yoyogi, Tokyo, on the occasion of Yohkoh's fifth anniversary of operation. The papers constitute a summary of observations and results over the five years, including contributions based on data from Yohkoh's hard and soft X-ray telescopes and its spectrometer experiments. The five years of data, covering approximately one-half of a solar cycle, reveal a fresh perspective on solar science, with a new picture of solar flares and the active Sun emerging. Also, for the first time there are extensive results from Yohkoh observations of the Sun during the solar minimum period. This wide-rangi