Imaging microwave observations of an eruptive, partially occulted solar flare on 18 April 2001 suggest that the global structure of the event can be described by the helical kink instability of a twisted magnetic flux rope. This model is suggested by the inverse gamma shape of the source exhibiting crossing legs of a rising flux loop and by evidence that the legs interact at or near the crossing point. The interaction is reflected by the location of peak brightness near the crossing point and by the formation of superimposed compact nonthermal sources most likely at or near the crossing point. These sources propagate upward along both legs, merge into a single, bright source at the top of the structure, and continue to rise at a velocity $>\!1000$~km\,s$^{-1}$. The compact sources trap accelerated electrons which radiate in the radio and hard X-ray ranges. This suggests that they are plasmoids, although their internal structure is not revealed by the data. They exhibit variations of the radio brightness temperature at a characteristic time scale of $\sim\!40$~s, anti-correlated to their area, which also support their interpretation as plasmoids. Their propagation path differs from the standard scenario of plasmoid formation and propagation in the flare current sheet, suggesting the helical current sheet formed by the instability instead.
Numerical simulations of the helical ($m\!=\!1$) kink instability of an arched, line-tied flux rope demonstrate that the helical deformation enforces reconnection between the legs of the rope if modes with two helical turns are dominant as a result of high initial twist in the range $Φ\gtrsim6π$. Such reconnection is complex, involving also the ambient field. In addition to breaking up the original rope, it can form a new, low-lying, less twisted flux rope. The new flux rope is pushed downward by the reconnection outflow, which typically forces it to break as well by reconnecting with the ambi…
We firstly report the simultaneous activities of a slipping motion of flare loops and a slipping eruption of a flux rope in 131 Å and 94 Å channels on 2014 February 02. The east hook-like flare ribbon propagated slippingly at a speed of about 50 km s$^{-1}$, which lasted about 40 min and extended by more than 100 Mm, but the west flare ribbon moved in the opposite direction with a speed of 30 km s$^{-1}$. At the later phase of the flare activity, a "bi-fan" system of flare loops was well developed. The east footpoints of the flux rope showed an apparent slipping motion along the hook of the ri…
The eruption of the filament with the kink fashion is often regarded as a signature of the kink instability. However, the kink instability threshold for the filament magnetic structure has been not widely understood. Using the H-alpha observation from the New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST), we present a partial eruptive filament. In the eruption, a filament thread appeared to split from the middle portion of the filament and to break out in a kinklike fashion. During this period, the left filament material remained below, which erupted without the kinking motion later on. The coronal magnetic f…
Solar filament eruptions play a crucial role in triggering coronal mass ejections (CMEs). More than 80 % of eruptions lead to a CME. This correlation has been studied extensively during the past solar cycles and the last long solar minimum. The statistics made on events occurring during the rising phase of the new solar cycle 24 is in agreement with this finding. Both filaments and CMEs have been related to twisted magnetic fields. Therefore, nearly all the MHD CME models include a twisted flux tube, called a flux rope. Either the flux rope is present long before the eruption, or it is built u…
We report a decaying kink oscillation of a flux rope during a confined eruptive flare, observed off the solar limb by SDO/AIA, that lacked a detectable white-light coronal mass ejection. The erupting flux rope underwent kinking, rotation, and apparent leg-leg interaction during the event. The oscillations were observed simultaneously in multiple AIA channels at 304, 171, and 193 Å, indicating that multithermal plasma was entrained in the rope. After reaching the overlying loops in the active region, the flux rope exhibited large-amplitude, decaying kink oscillations with an apparent initial am…
The X1 flare and associated filament eruption occurring in NOAA Active Region 12017 on SOL2014-03-29 has been the source of intense study. In this work, we analyse the results of a series of non linear force free field extrapolations of the pre and post flare period of the flare. In combination with observational data provided by the IRIS, Hinode and SDO missions, we have confirmed the existence of two flux ropes present within the active region prior to flaring. Of these two flux ropes, we find that intriguingly only one erupts during the X1 flare. We propose that the reason for this is due t…
We present the multi-wavelength observations of a flux rope that was trying to erupt from NOAA AR 11045 and the associated M-class solar flare on 12 February 2010 using space and ground based observations from TRACE, STEREO, SOHO/MDI, Hinode/XRT and BBSO. While the flux rope was rising from the active region, an M1.1/2F class flare was triggered nearby one of its footpoints. We suggest that the flare triggering was due to the reconnection of a rising flux rope with the surrounding low-lying magnetic loops. The flux rope reached a projected height of ~0.15 Rs with a speed of ~90 km/s while the …
Two X-class solar flares occurred on 2017 September 6 from active region NOAA 12673: the first one is a confined X2.2 flare, and it is followed only $\sim 3$ hours later by the second one, which is the strongest flare in solar cycle 24, reaching X9.3 class and accompanied with a coronal mass ejection. Why these two X-class flares occurred in the same position with similar magnetic configurations, but one is eruptive while the other is not? Here we track the coronal magnetic field evolution via nonlinear force-free field extrapolations from a time sequence of vector magnetograms with high caden…
In this work the dynamic magnetic field within a tearing-unstable three-dimensional (3D) current sheet about a magnetic null point is described in detail. We focus on the evolution of the magnetic null points and flux ropes that are formed during the tearing process. Generally, we find that both magnetic structures are created prolifically within the layer and are non-trivially related. We examine how nulls are created and annihilated during bifurcation processes, and describe how they evolve within the current layer. The type of null bifurcation first observed is associated with the formation…
Context. Large-amplitude oscillations (LAOs) of the solar prominences are very spectacular but poorly understood phenomena. These motions have amplitudes larger than $10 {\mathrm{\, km \,s^{-1}}}$ and can be triggered by the external perturbations, e.g., Moreton or EIT waves. Aims. Our aim is to analyze the properties of large-amplitude oscillations using realistic prominence models and the triggering mechanism by external disturbances. Methods. We perform time-dependent numerical simulations of LAOs using a magnetic flux rope model with two values of the shear angle and the density contrast. …
We report multi-wavelength study of a complex M-class solar eruptive flare that consists of three different sets of flare ribbons, viz. circular, parallel, and remote ribbons. Magnetic field modeling of source active region NOAA 12242 exhibits the presence of 3D null-point magnetic topology which encompasses an inner bipolar region. The event initiates with the faint signatures of the circular ribbon along with remote brightening right from the pre-flare phase which points toward the ongoing slow yet persistent null-point reconnection. We first detected flux cancellation and an associated brig…
The temporal evolution of a solar prominence inserted in a three-dimensional magnetic flux rope is investigated numerically. Using the model of Titov Demoulin (1999) under the regime of weak twist, the cold and dense prominence counteracts gravity by modifying the initially force-free magnetic configuration. In some cases a quasi-stationary situation is achieved after the relaxation phase, characterized by the excitation of standing vertical oscillations. These oscillations show a strong attenuation with time produced by the mechanism of continuum damping due to the inhomogeneous transition be…
Sympathetic eruptions on the Sun have been observed for several decades, but the mechanisms by which one eruption can trigger another one remain poorly understood. We present a 3D MHD simulation that suggests two possible magnetic trigger mechanisms for sympathetic eruptions. We consider a configuration that contains two coronal flux ropes located within a pseudo-streamer and one rope located next to it. A sequence of eruptions is initiated by triggering the eruption of the flux rope next to the streamer. The expansion of the rope leads to two consecutive reconnection events, each of which tri…
In this paper, we present multiwavelength observations of the triggering of a failed-eruptive M-class flare from the active region NOAA 11302, and investigate the possible reasons for the associated failed eruption. Photospheric observations and Non-Linear Force Free Field extrapolated coronal magnetic field revealed that the flaring region had a complex quadrupolar configuration with a pre-existing coronal null point situated above the core field. Prior to the onset of the M-class flare, we observed multiple periods of small-scale flux enhancements in GOES and RHESSI soft X-ray observations, …
Magnetic flux ropes play a key role in triggering solar flares in the solar atmosphere. In this paper, we investigate the evolution of active region NOAA 12268 within 36 hours from 2015 January 29 to 30, during which a flux rope was formed and three M-class and three C-class flares were triggered without coronal mass ejections. During the evolution of the active region, the flare emission seen in the H$α$ and ultraviolet wavebands changed from a circular shape (plus an adjacent conjugated ribbon and a remote ribbon) to three relatively straight and parallel ribbons. Based on a series of recons…
We investigate the formation, activation and eruption of a flux rope from the sigmoid active region NOAA 11719 by analyzing E(UV), X-ray and radio measurements. During the pre-eruption period of ~7 hours, the AIA 94 A images reveal the emergence of a coronal sigmoid through the interaction between two J-shaped bundles of loops which proceeds with multiple episodes of coronal loop brightenings and significant variations in the magnetic flux through the photosphere. These observations imply that repetitive magnetic reconnections likely play a key role in the formation of the sigmoidal flux rope …
Sunquakes are created by the hydrodynamic response of the lower atmosphere to a sudden deposition of energy and momentum. In this study we investigate a sunquake that occurred in NOAA active region 11675 on 17 February 2013. Observations of the corona, chromosphere and photosphere are brought together for the first time with a non-linear force-free model of the active region's magnetic field in order to probe the magnetic environment in which the sunquake was initiated. We find that the sunquake was associated with the destabilization of a flux rope and an associated M-class GOES flare. Active…
We investigate how the splitting of the leading sunspot and associated flux emergence and cancellation in active region NOAA 11515 caused an eruptive M5.6 flare on 2012 July 2. Our study employs multi-wavelength observations from HMI, AIA and ChroTel. Emerging flux formed a neutral line ahead of the leading sunspot and new satellite spots. The sunspot splitting caused a long-lasting flow toward this neutral line, where a filament formed. Further flux emergence, partly of mixed-polarity, as well as episodes of flux cancellation occurred repeatedly at the neutral line. Following a nearby C-class…
Magnetic flux rope (MFR) is a coherent and helical magnetic field structure that is recently found probably to appear as an elongated hot-channel prior to a solar eruption. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the hot-channel and associated prominence through analyzing a limb event on 2011 September 12. In the early rise phase, the hot-channel was cospatial with the prominence initially. It then quickly expanded, resulting in a separation of the top of the hot-channel from that of the prominence. Meanwhile, both of them experienced an instantaneous morphology transformation f…
Magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) rising buoyantly through the Sun's convection zone are thought to be subject to viscous forces preventing them from rising coherently. Numerous studies have suggested that MFRs require a minimum twist in order to remain coherent during their rise. Furthermore, even MFRs that get to the photosphere may be unable to successfully emerge into the corona unless they are at least moderately twisted, since the magnetic pressure gradient needs to overcome the weight of the photospheric plasma. To date, however, no lower limit has been placed on the critical minimum twist req…
It remains unclear how solar flares are triggered and in what conditions they can be eruptive with coronal mass ejections. Magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) has been suggested as the central magnetic structure of solar eruptions, and their ideal instabilities including mainly the kink instability (KI) and torus instability (TI) provide important candidates for triggering mechanisms. Here using magnetic field extrapolations from observed photospheric magnetograms, we systematically studied the variation of coronal magnetic fields, focusing on MFRs, through major flares including 29 eruptive and 16 con…
We study the triggering mechanism of a limb-prominence eruption and the associated coronal mass ejection near AR 12342 using SDO and LASCO/SOHO observations. The prominence is seen with an embedded flux thread (FT) at one end and bifurcates from the middle to a different footpoint location. The morphological evolution of the FT is similar to an unstable flux rope (FR), which we regard as prominence embedded FR. The FR twist exceeds the critical value. In addition, the morphology of the prominence plasma in 304Å~images marks the helical nature of the magnetic skeleton with a total of 2.96 turns…
In this article, we study the origin of precursor flare activity and investigate its role towards triggering the eruption of a flux rope which resulted into a dual-peak M-class flare (SOL2015-06-21T02:36) in the active region NOAA 12371. The flare evolved in two distinct phases with peak flux levels of M2.1 and M2.6 at an interval of $\approx$54 min. The active region exhibited striking moving magnetic features (MMFs) along with sunspot rotation. Non-linear force free field (NLFFF) modelling of the active region corona reveals a magnetic flux rope along the polarity inversion line in the trail…
Three-dimensional magnetic topology is crucial to understanding the explosive release of magnetic energy in the corona during solar flares. Much attention has been given to the pre-flare magnetic topology to identify candidate sites of magnetic reconnection, yet it is unclear how the magnetic reconnection and its attendant topological changes shape the eruptive structure and how the topology evolves during the eruption. Here we employed a realistic, data-constrained magnetohydrodynamic simulation to study the evolving magnetic topology for an X9.3 eruptive flare that occurred on 2017 September…
The rotational motion of solar jets is believed to be a signature of the untwisting process resulting from magnetic reconnection, which takes place between twisted closed magnetic loops (i.e., magnetic flux ropes) and open magnetic field lines. The identification of the pre-existing flux rope, and the relationship between the twist contained in the rope and the number of turns the jet experiences, are then vital in understanding the jet-triggering mechanism. In this paper, we will perform a detailed analysis of imaging, spectral and magnetic field observations of four homologous jets, among wh…
We study a filament eruption, two-ribbon flare, and coronal mass ejection (CME) that occurred in Active Region NOAA 10898 on 6 July 2006. The filament was located South of a strong sunspot that dominated the region. In the evolution leading up to the eruption, and for some time after it, a counter-clockwise rotation of the sunspot of about 30 degrees was observed. We suggest that the rotation triggered the eruption by progressively expanding the magnetic field above the filament. To test this scenario, we study the effect of twisting the initially potential field overlying a pre-existing flux-…
Magnetic flux ropes are the centerpiece of solar eruptions. Direct measurements for the magnetic field of flux ropes are crucial for understanding the triggering and energy release processes, yet they remain heretofore elusive. Here we report microwave imaging spectroscopy observations of an M1.4-class solar flare that occurred on 2017 September 6, using data obtained by the Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array. This flare event is associated with a partial eruption of a twisted filament observed in Hα by the Goode Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) a…
Successive Coronal Jets as Novel Facilitators for Filament Oscillation and Eruption
School of Physics and Astronomy, Yunnan University（云南大学物理与天文学院）；Yunnan Key Laboratory of the Solar physics and Space Science（云南省太阳物理与空间科学重点实验室）；School of Intelligence Science and Technology, Nanjing University（南京大学智能科学与技术学院）
Large-scale propagating fronts are frequently observed during solar eruptions, yet it is open whether they are waves or not, partly because the propagation is modulated by coronal structures, whose magnetic field we still cannot measure. However, when a front impacts coronal structures, an opportunity arises for us to look into the magnetic properties of both interacting parties in the low-$β$ corona. Here we studied large-scale EUV fronts accompanying three coronal mass ejections (CMEs), each originating from a kinking rope-like structure in the NOAA active region (AR) 12371. These eruptions …
In this paper, we present a study on persistent and gradual penumbral decay and correlated decline of the photospheric transverse field component during 10-20 hours before a major flare (X1.8) eruption on 2011 September 7. This long-term pre-eruption behavior is corroborated with the well-imaged pre-flare filament rising, the consistent expansion of coronal arcades overlying the filament, as well as the NLFFF modelling results in the literature. We suggest that both the long-term pre-flare penumbral decay and the transverse field decline are the photospheric manifestation of the gradual rise o…
On the 29 March 2014 NOAA active region (AR) 12017 produced an X1 flare which was simultaneously observed by an unprecedented number of observatories. We have investigated the pre-flare period of this flare from 14:00 UT until 19:00 UT using joint observations made by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrometer (IRIS) and the Hinode Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS). Spectral lines providing coverage of the solar atmosphere from chromosphere to the corona were analysed to investigate pre-flare activity within the AR. The results of the investigation have revealed evidence of strongl…
A broad jet was observed in a weak magnetic field area at the edge of active region NOAA 11106. The peculiar shape and magnetic environment of the broad jet raised the question of whether it was created by the same physical processes of previously studied jets with reconnection occurring high in the corona. We carried out a multi-wavelength analysis using the EUV images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and magnetic fields from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) both on-board the SDO satellite. The jet consisted of many different threads that expanded in around 10 minutes to …
Transient collimated plasma ejections (jets) occur frequently throughout the solar corona, in active regions, quiet Sun, and coronal holes. Although magnetic reconnection is generally agreed to be the mechanism of energy release in jets, the factors that dictate the location and rate of reconnection remain unclear. Our previous studies demonstrated that the magnetic breakout model explains the triggering and evolution of most jets over a wide range of scales, through detailed comparisons between our numerical simulations and high-resolution observations. An alternative explanation, the resisti…
This work analyzes the Hall magnetohydrodynamics (HMHD) and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) numerical simulations of a flaring solar active region as a testbed while idealizing the coronal Alfvén speed to be of two orders of magnitude lesser. HMHD supports faster magnetic reconnection and shows richer complexity in magnetic field line evolution compared to the MHD. The magnetic reconnections triggering the flare are explored by numerical simulations augmented with relevant multi-wavelength observations. The initial coronal magnetic field is constructed by non-force-free extrapolation of photospheri…
We investigate triggering, activation, and ejection of a solar eruptive prominence that occurred in a multi-polar flux system of active region NOAA 11548 on 2012 August 18 by analyzing data from AIA on board SDO, RHESSI, and EUVI/SECCHI on board STEREO. Prior to the prominence activation, we observed striking coronal activities in the form of a blowout jet which is associated with rapid eruption of a cool flux rope. Further, the jet-associated flux rope eruption underwent splitting and rotation during its outward expansion. These coronal activities are followed by the prominence activation dur…
A single case study of a CBP in an equatorial coronal hole with an exceptionally large size is investigated to extend our understanding of the formation of mini-filaments, their destabilisation and the origin of the eruption triggering the formation of jet-like features recorded in the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray emission. We aim to explore the nature of the so-called micro-flares in CBPs associated with jets in coronal holes and mini coronal mass ejections in the quiet Sun. Co-observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the …
Magnetic Reconnection Governs the Entire Lifecycle of Solar Eruptive Magnetic Flux Rope
State Key Laboratory of Solar Activity and Space Weather, School of Aerospace, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen（哈尔滨工业大学深圳航天学院）；School of Opto-electronic Engineering, Zaozhuang University（枣庄学院光电工程学院）
Multi-wavelength observations of prominence eruptions provide an opportunity to uncover the physical mechanism of the triggering and the evolution process of the eruption. In this paper, we investigated an erupting prominence on October 14, 2012, recorded in Hα, EUV, and X-ray wavelengths. The process of the eruption gives evidences on the existence of a helical magnetic structure and showing the twist being converting to writhe. The estimated twist is ~6π (3 turns), exceeding the threshold of the kink instability. The rising plasma then reached a high speed, estimated at 228 km s-1, followed …
We present a multi-wavelength analysis of a long duration white-light solar flare (M8.9/3B) event that occurred on 4 June 2007 from NOAA AR 10960. The flare was observed by several spaceborne instruments, namely SOHO/MDI, Hinode/SOT, TRACE and STEREO/SECCHI. The flare was initiated near a small, positive-polarity, satellite sunspot at the centre of the AR, surrounded by opposite-polarity field regions. MDI images of the AR show considerable amount of changes in a small positive-polarity sunspot of delta configuration during the flare event. SOT/G-band (4305 A) images of the sunspot also sugges…
Coronal waves exist ubiquitously in the solar atmosphere. They are important not only in their own rich physics but also essential candidates of triggering magnetic eruptions in the remote. However, the later mechanism has never been directly confirmed. By revisiting the successive eruptions on 2012 March 7, fast-mode shocks are identified to account for the X5.4 flare-related EUV wave with a velocity of 550 km/s, and appeared faster than 2060$\pm$270 km/s at the front of the corresponding coronal mass ejection in the slow-rising phase. They not only propagated much faster than the local Alfve…
Using the multi-wavelength data from Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory, we investigated two successive solar flares, a C5.1 confined flare and an X4.9 ejective flare with a halo coronal mass ejection,in NOAA AR 11990 from 2014 Feb 24 to 25. Before the confined are onset, EUV brightening beneath the filament was detected. As the are began, a twisted helical flux rope (FR) wrapping around the filament moved upward and then stopped, and in the meantime an obvious X-ray source below it was observed. Prior to the ejective X4.9 flare, some pre-existing loop structur…
We present systematic analysis of spatio-temporal evolution of sources of hard X-ray (HXR) pulsations in solar flares. We concentrate on disk flares whose impulsive phase are accompanied by a series of more than three peaks (pulsations) of HXR emission detected in the RHESSI 50-100 keV channel with 4-second cadence. 29 such flares observed from February 2002 to June 2015 with time differences between successive peaks of 8-270 s are studied. The main observational result is that sources of HXR pulsations in all flares are not stationary, they demonstrate apparent displacements from pulsation to…
We present analysis of the magnetic field in seven solar flare regions accompanied by the pulsations of hard X-ray (HXR) emission. These flares were studied by Kuznetsov et al. (2016) (Paper~I), and chosen here because of the availability of the vector magnetograms for their parent active regions (ARs) obtained with the SDO/HMI data. In Paper~I, based on the observations only, it was suggested that a magnetic flux rope (MFR) might play an important role in the process of generation of the HXR pulsations. The goal of the present paper is to test this hypothesis by using the extrapolation of mag…
Both observations and simulations suggest that the solar filament eruption is closely related to magnetic flux emergence. It is thought that the eruption is triggered by magnetic reconnection between the filament and the emerging flux. However, the details of such a reconnection are rarely presented. In this study, we report the detailed reconnection between a filament and its nearby emerging fields, that led to the reconfiguration and subsequent partial eruption of the filament located over the polarity inversion line of active region 12816. Before the reconnection, we observed repeated brigh…
