Vortex Flows in the Solar Atmosphere: Detection and Heating Mechanisms in 3D MHD Numerical Simulations

Vortex flows are structures associated with the rotation of the plasma and/or the magnetic field that are present throughout the solar atmosphere. In recent years, their study has become increasingly important, as they are present on a wide variety of temporal and spatial scales and can connect several layers of the solar atmosphere. In this work, we focused on the detection and analysis of these structures in an automatic way. We use realistic 3D MHD numerical simulations obtained with the Mancha3D code at different magnetic field configurations and spatial resolutions. The vortex detection has been performed using the novel SWIRL code. We have been able to determine multiple structures associated with small and large scale vortices that extend in height in our simulations. We performed a statistical analysis of these structures, quantifying their number and typical sizes, as well as their temperature and heating profiles, confirming their importance in the energy transport.