Published December 20, 2014 | Version v1
Journal article

INITIATION AND ERUPTION PROCESS OF MAGNETIC FLUX ROPE FROM SOLAR ACTIVE REGION NOAA 11719 TO EARTH-DIRECTED CME

  • 1. Udaipur Solar Observatory, Physical Research Laboratory, Badi Road, Dewali, Udaipur 313 001 (India)
  • 2. School of Physics, Astronomy and Computational Sciences, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030 (United States)

Description

An eruption event launched from the solar active region (AR) NOAA 11719 is investigated based on coronal EUV observations and photospheric magnetic field measurements obtained from the Solar Dynamic Observatory. The AR consists of a filament channel originating from a major sunspot and its south section is associated with an inverse-S sigmoidal system as observed in Atmospheric Imaging Assembly passbands. We regard the sigmoid as the main body of the flux rope (FR). There also exists a twisted flux bundle crossing over this FR. This overlying flux bundle transforms in shape similar to kink-rise evolution, which corresponds with the rise motion of the FR. The emission measure and temperature along the FR exhibits an increasing trend with its rising motion, indicating reconnection in the thinning current sheet underneath the FR. Net magnetic flux of the AR, evaluated at north and south polarities, showed decreasing behavior whereas the net current in these fluxes exhibits an increasing trend. Because the negative (positive) flux has a dominant positive (negative) current, the chirality of AR flux system is likely negative (left handed) in order to be consistent with the chirality of inverse S-sigmoidal FR. This analysis of magnetic fields of the source AR suggests that the cancelling fluxes are prime factors of the monotonous twisting of the FR system, reaching to a critical state to trigger kink instability and rise motion. This rise motion may have led to the onset of the torus instability, resulting in an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection, and the progressive reconnection in the thinning current sheet beneath the rising FR led to the M6.5 flare

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/797/2/80

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astrophysical Journal
Journal Volume
797
Journal Issue
2
Journal Page Range
[12 p.]
ISSN
0004-637X
CODEN
ASJOAB