Energy Transfer in Solar Flares

T.G. Forbes

University of New Hampshire

Most models of solar flares assume that magnetic energy stored in the corona is suddenly released at flare onset. The key questions for these models are: How is the energy stored? How does it build up in the corona? What is the mechanism that initiates the sudden release of energy? How fast and over what time scale is the energy released? And, what fraction of the released magnetic energy is converted into heat, kinetic energy, radiation, energetic particles, etc.? I will discuss some of the proposed answers that have been discussed by the solar community during the last 10 years.