Formation of Magnetic Flux Rope During Solar Eruption. I. Evolution of Toroidal Flux and Reconnection Flux
Magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) constitute the core structure of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), but hot debates remain on whether the MFR forms before or during solar eruptions. Furthermore, how flare reconnection shapes the erupting MFR is still elusive in three dimensions. Here we studied a new MHD sim...
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doaj-b316c79ce09246d090cde5da9d11a5a92021-10-01T09:42:19ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physics2296-424X2021-10-01910.3389/fphy.2021.746576746576Formation of Magnetic Flux Rope During Solar Eruption. I. Evolution of Toroidal Flux and Reconnection FluxChaowei Jiang0Jun Chen1Jun Chen2Aiying Duan3Xinkai Bian4Xinyi Wang5Jiaying Li6Peng Zou7Xueshang Feng8Xueshang Feng9Institute of Space Science and Applied Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, ChinaSchool of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, ChinaInstitute of Space Science and Applied Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, ChinaState Key Laboratory for Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Space Science and Applied Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, ChinaInstitute of Space Science and Applied Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, ChinaInstitute of Space Science and Applied Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, ChinaState Key Laboratory for Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaMagnetic flux ropes (MFRs) constitute the core structure of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), but hot debates remain on whether the MFR forms before or during solar eruptions. Furthermore, how flare reconnection shapes the erupting MFR is still elusive in three dimensions. Here we studied a new MHD simulation of CME initiation by tether-cutting magnetic reconnection in a single magnetic arcade. The simulation follows the whole life, including the birth and subsequent evolution, of an MFR during eruption. In the early phase, the MFR is partially separated from its ambient field by a magnetic quasi-separatrix layer (QSL) that has a double-J shaped footprint on the bottom surface. With the ongoing of the reconnection, the arms of the two J-shaped footprints continually separate from each other, and the hooks of the J shaped footprints expand and eventually become closed almost at the eruption peak time, and thereafter the MFR is fully separated from the un-reconnected field by the QSL. We further studied the evolution of the toroidal flux in the MFR and compared it with that of the reconnected flux. Our simulation reproduced an evolution pattern of increase-to-decrease of the toroidal flux, which is reported recently in observations of variations in flare ribbons and transient coronal dimming. The increase of toroidal flux is owing to the flare reconnection in the early phase that transforms the sheared arcade to twisted field lines, while its decrease is a result of reconnection between field lines in the interior of the MFR in the later phase.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2021.746576/fullmagnetic fieldsmagnetohydrodynamics (MHD)methods: numericalsun: coronasun: flares |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Chaowei Jiang Jun Chen Jun Chen Aiying Duan Xinkai Bian Xinyi Wang Jiaying Li Peng Zou Xueshang Feng Xueshang Feng |
spellingShingle |
Chaowei Jiang Jun Chen Jun Chen Aiying Duan Xinkai Bian Xinyi Wang Jiaying Li Peng Zou Xueshang Feng Xueshang Feng Formation of Magnetic Flux Rope During Solar Eruption. I. Evolution of Toroidal Flux and Reconnection Flux Frontiers in Physics magnetic fields magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) methods: numerical sun: corona sun: flares |
author_facet |
Chaowei Jiang Jun Chen Jun Chen Aiying Duan Xinkai Bian Xinyi Wang Jiaying Li Peng Zou Xueshang Feng Xueshang Feng |
author_sort |
Chaowei Jiang |
title |
Formation of Magnetic Flux Rope During Solar Eruption. I. Evolution of Toroidal Flux and Reconnection Flux |
title_short |
Formation of Magnetic Flux Rope During Solar Eruption. I. Evolution of Toroidal Flux and Reconnection Flux |
title_full |
Formation of Magnetic Flux Rope During Solar Eruption. I. Evolution of Toroidal Flux and Reconnection Flux |
title_fullStr |
Formation of Magnetic Flux Rope During Solar Eruption. I. Evolution of Toroidal Flux and Reconnection Flux |
title_full_unstemmed |
Formation of Magnetic Flux Rope During Solar Eruption. I. Evolution of Toroidal Flux and Reconnection Flux |
title_sort |
formation of magnetic flux rope during solar eruption. i. evolution of toroidal flux and reconnection flux |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Physics |
issn |
2296-424X |
publishDate |
2021-10-01 |
description |
Magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) constitute the core structure of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), but hot debates remain on whether the MFR forms before or during solar eruptions. Furthermore, how flare reconnection shapes the erupting MFR is still elusive in three dimensions. Here we studied a new MHD simulation of CME initiation by tether-cutting magnetic reconnection in a single magnetic arcade. The simulation follows the whole life, including the birth and subsequent evolution, of an MFR during eruption. In the early phase, the MFR is partially separated from its ambient field by a magnetic quasi-separatrix layer (QSL) that has a double-J shaped footprint on the bottom surface. With the ongoing of the reconnection, the arms of the two J-shaped footprints continually separate from each other, and the hooks of the J shaped footprints expand and eventually become closed almost at the eruption peak time, and thereafter the MFR is fully separated from the un-reconnected field by the QSL. We further studied the evolution of the toroidal flux in the MFR and compared it with that of the reconnected flux. Our simulation reproduced an evolution pattern of increase-to-decrease of the toroidal flux, which is reported recently in observations of variations in flare ribbons and transient coronal dimming. The increase of toroidal flux is owing to the flare reconnection in the early phase that transforms the sheared arcade to twisted field lines, while its decrease is a result of reconnection between field lines in the interior of the MFR in the later phase. |
topic |
magnetic fields magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) methods: numerical sun: corona sun: flares |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2021.746576/full |
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