The fast collisionless reconnection condition and the self-organization of solar coronal heating

I propose that solar coronal heating is a self-regulating process that keeps the coronal plasma roughly marginally collisionless. The proposed self-regulating mechanism is based on the interplay of two effects. First, plasma density controls coronal energy release via the transition between the slow collisional Sweet-Parker regime and the fast collisionless reconnection regime. This transition takes place when the Sweet-Parker layer becomes thinner than the characteristic collisionless reconnection scale. I present a simple criterion for this transition in terms of the upstream plasma density (n(e)), the reconnecting (B-0) and guide (B-z) magnetic field components, and the global length (L) of the reconnection layer: L <= 6; 10(9) cm (n(e)/10(10) cm(-3))(-3)(B-0/30G)(4)(B-0/B-z)(2). Next, coronal energy release by reconnection raises the ambient plasma density via chromospheric evaporation, and this in turn temporarily inhibits subsequent reconnection involving the newly reconnected loops. Over time, however, radiative cooling gradually lowers the density again below the critical value and fast reconnection again becomes possible. As a result, the density is highly inhomogeneous and intermittent but, statistically, does not deviate strongly from the critical value, which is comparable with the observed coronal density. Thus, in the long run the coronal heating process can be represented by repeating cycles that consist of fast reconnection events (i.e., nanoflares), followed by rapid evaporation episodes, followed by relatively long periods (less than or similar to 1 hr) during which magnetic stresses build up and the plasma simultaneously cools down and precipitates.