The sources of solar flares. I. Introduction and Memoriam for the Late Professor Katsuo Tanaka

Abstract

We discuss some of the ideas in Tanaka's last paper. While for a long time it has been known that most, if not all, major flares are caused by shear associated with flux eruption and spot motion, the source of this behavior is unknown. Tanaka tried to explain some of the shear by the changing photospheric intersection with the three-dimensional twisted erupting flux loops. In this paper we address the general problem of the origin of such features, and their possible connection with the ultimate source deep in the Sun.

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