Initiation of cmes by magnetic flux emergence

The initiation of solar Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) is studied in the framework of numerical magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The initial CME model includes a magnetic flux rope in spherical, axi-symmetric geometry. The initial configuration consists of a magnetic flux rope embedded in a gravitationally stratified solar atmosphere with a background dipole magnetic field. The flux rope is in equilibrium due to an image current below the photosphere. An emerging flux triggering mechanism is used to make this equilibrium system unstable. When the magnetic flux emerges within the filament below the flux rope, this results in a catastrophic behavior similar to previous models. As a result, the flux rope rises and a current sheet forms below it. It is shown that the magnetic reconnection in the current sheet below the flux rope in combination with the outward curvature forces results in a fast ejection of the flux rope as observed for solar CMEs. We have done a parametric study of the emerging flux rate.     

Self-similar magnetohydrodynamic solution for the dynamics of magnetic flux emergence

A model based on a self-similar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) solution is presented which accounts for the dynamic behavior of the birth of an active region due to the emergence of magnetic flux. The constraints of this model are deduced from observations. Specifically, this self-similar MHD solution explains the observation that plasma flow ascends in one leg and descends in the other leg of an arch filament system (AFS). Furthermore, the solution accounts for the formation of a current sheet in which a slow reconnection may occur that may explain the appearance of bright plages in the neighborhood of an AFS.     

Vector magnetogram and dopplergram observation of magnetic flux emergence and its explanation

During 23–28 August 1988, at the Huairou Solar Observation Station of Beijing Observatory, the full development process of the region HR 88059 was observed. It emerged near the center of the solar disk and formed a medium active region. A complete series of vector magnetograms and photospheric and chromospheric Dopplergrams was obtained. From an analysis of these data, combined with some numerical simulations, the following conclusions can be drawn. (1) The emergence of new magnetic flux from enhanced networks followed by sunspot formation is an interesting physical process which can be simply described by MHD numerical simulation. The phenomena accompanying it occur according to a definite law summarized by Zwaan (1985). The condition for gas cooling and sunspot formation seems to be transverse field strength > 50 G together with longitudinal field strength > 700 G. For a period of 4 to 5 hours, the orientation of the transverse field shows little change. The configuration of field lines may be derived from vector magnetograms. The arch filament system can be recognized as an MHD shock. (2) New opposite bipolar features emerge within the former bipolar field with an identical strength which will develop a sunspot group complex. Also, arch filament systems appear there located in the position of flux emergence. The neutral line is often pushed aside and curved, leading to faculae heating and the formation of a current sheet. In spite of complicated Dopplergrams, the same phenomena occur at the site of flux emergence as usual: upward flow appears at the location of the emerging and rapidly varying flux near the magnetic neutral line, and downdraft occurs over large parts of the legs of the emerging flux tubes. The age of magnetic emerging flux (or a sunspot) can be estimated in terms of transverse field strengths: when 50 G < transverse field < 200 G, the longitudinal magnetogram and Dopplergram change rapidly, which indicates a rigourously emerging magnetic flux. When the transverse field is between 200 and 400 G, the area concerned is in middle age, and some of the new flux is still emerging there. When the transverse field > 400 G, the variation of the longitudinal magnetogram slows down and the emerging arch becomes relatively stable and a photospheric Evershed flow forms at the penumbra of the sunspot.     

The formation of current sheets during the emergence of new magnetic flux from below the photosphere

Solar flares are frequently observed to occur where new magnetic flux is emerging and pressing up against strong active region magnetic fields. Since the solar plasma is highly conducting, current sheets develop at the boundary between the emergent and ambient flux, provided the two magnetic fields are inclined at a non-zero angle to one another.The present paper gives a simple two-dimensional model for the development of such sheets under the assumptions that no reconnection occurs and that the surrounding field remains a potential one. By using complex variable techniques, the position, orientation and shape of a current sheet may be determined, as well as the excess magnetic energy associated with it. Two examples are considered. The first, in which the ambient field is bipolar, may model new flux emergence near the edge of an active region, while the second example assumes a constant ambient field and may approximate the so-called fibril crossings which occur prior to some flares. In each case, the current sheets are curved, and the magnetic energy which is stored in excess of potential is sufficient to supply a solar flare when the sheets are long enough.     

The photospheric magnetic flux budget

The ensemble of bipolar regions and the magnetic network both contain a substantial and strongly variable part of the photospheric magnetic flux at any phase in the solar cycle. The time-dependent distribution of the magnetic flux over and within these components reflects the action of the dynamo operating in the solar interior. We perform a quantitative comparison of the flux emerging in the ensemble of magnetic bipoles with the observed flux content of the solar photosphere. We discuss the photospheric flux budget in terms of flux appearance and disappearance, and argue that a nonlinear dependence exists between the flux present in the photosphere and the rate of flux appearance and disappearance. In this context, we discuss the problem of making quantitative statements about dynamos in cool stars other than the Sun. This paper evolved out of a more comprehensive version which appeared in Harvey (1993).     

The rise of twisted magnetic flux tubes

Sunspots are caused by the eruption of magnetic flux tubes through the solar photosphere: current theories of the internal magnetic field of the Sun suggest that such tubes must rise relatively unscathed from the base of the convection zone. In order to understand how the structure of the magnetic field within a buoyant flux tube affects its stability as it rises, we have considered the quasi-two-dimensional rise of isolated magnetic flux tubes through an adiabatically stratified atmosphere. The magnetic field is initially helical; we have investigated a range of initial field configurations, varying the distribution and strength of the twist of the field.     

The separation velocity of emerging magnetic flux

We measure the separation velocity of opposite poles from 24 new bipoles on the Sun. We find that the measured velocities range from about 0.2 to 1 km s^–1. The fluxes of the bipoles range over more than two orders of magnitude, and the mean field strength and the sizes range over one order of magnitude. The measured separation velocity is not correlated with the flux and the mean field strength of the bipole. The separation velocity predicted by the present theory of magnetic buoyancy is between 7.4Ba ^–1/4 cot and 13 cot km s^–1, where is the elevation angle of the flux tube at the photosphere (see Figure 9), B is the mean field strength, and a is the radius of the observed bipole. The rising velocity of the top of flux tubes predicted by the theory of magnetic buoyancy is between 3.7Ba ^–1/4 and 6.5 km s^–1. The predicted separation velocity is about one order of magnitude higher than those measured, or else the flux tubes are almost vertical at the photosphere. There is no correlation between the measured separation velocity and the theoretical value, 7.4Ba ^–1/4. The predicted rising velocity is also higher than the vertical velocity near the line of inversion in emerging flux regions observed by other authors.     

The smallest observable elements of magnetic flux

We have followed disappearing elements of magnetic flux to determine the smallest elements detectable with the Big Bear videomagnetograph. All the elements followed were disappearing through interaction with elements of opposite polarity. The last remaining visible segment of magnectic field of such features can be used to infer the total magnetic flux of these and other small flux elements visible on the magnetograms.We used both photographic and digital videomagnetograms combining 4096 Zeeman frames made at Big Bear. Fifteen elements were measured near the vanishing point, in a 2–8 hr period. The minimum observable fluxes fall in the range of 1.0 × 10¹⁶ to 1.4 × 10¹⁷ Mx, and the apparent size of these elements is in the range of 1 to 9 square arc sec. The process of disappearance appears to be a smooth one. The smallest detectable elements of network field and ephemeral regions (ER) appear to be the same as the small intra-network (IN) field elements. The present limit is still instrumental; elements smaller than 1 × 10¹⁶ would not have been detected.Visiting Associates from Beijing Observatory, Academia Sinica, Beijing, China.     

The magnetic flux in the quiet sun network

The Ca ii K line emission from the quiet Sun network does not vary with the 11-year cycle (White and Livinston, 1981). We confirm this result from direct magnetic measurements. This effect is not simply explained by present empirical models of the evolution of surface magnetic fields.Now at Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, U.S.A.     

The loss of magnetic flux from pre-main sequence stars

For the case ofn planets, we derive Lagrange's secular planetary equations in terms of the Poincaré canonical variables, using the Jacobi-Radau set of origins, and referring to a common fixed plane.     

Small-scale flux emergence and the evolution of equatorial coronal holes

To study the formation and development of coronal holes, their association with X-ray bright points has been investigated. The areal density of X-ray bright points was measured within the boundaries of coronal holes and was found to increase linearly with time for each of the three, long-lived, equatorial coronal holes of the Skylab era. Analysis of the data shows that the effect is not the result of global changes in bright point number and is therefore a property of the restricted longitude region which contains the coronal hole. The bright point density at the time of the hole's formation was also measured and, although the result is more uncertain, was found to be similar to the bright point number over the solar surface. No association was found between bright points and the rate of change of coronal hole area.     

The emerging magnetic flux and the elementary eruptive phenomenon

Observational studies before and during the flare start were made in Hα (3-λ heliograph at Meudon Observatory) on a large sample of ‘elementary’ flares, both on the disk and along the limb of the Sun. The concept of elementary eruptive phenomenon (EEP) is proposed to describe these observational data. The EEP may be considered as the basic element of complex flares which, then, are built up by the juxtaposition of several EEP. In the inferred scenario, the chromospheric eruptive phenomenon consists of two systems of loops: one cold - the surging arch -T～- 10⁴ K, the other hot - the flaring arch -, covering a temperature range up to 10⁷ K. The footpoints of the two systems remain differentiated until extinction of the phenomenon; their behaviour over time differs also. The surging arch (the magnetic flux emergence) rises first progressively in the solar atmosphere and the upper part of the loop is heated to coronal temperatures. The classical surge which is observed in the center of the Hα line, after the flash phase of the flare, is only the late development of the surging arch. The flaring arch originates from a pre-existing low loop, which is also able to rise in the solar atmosphere. These two systems coexist and may combine to form such physical characteristics as mass motion, expansion and post-flash phase.     

The rate of flux pile-up magnetic reconnection in reduced MHD

The rate of two-dimensional flux pile-up magnetic reconnection is known to be severely limited by gas pressure in a low-beta plasma of the solar corona. As earlier perturbational calculations indicated, however, the pressure limitation should be less restrictive for three-dimensional flux pile-up. In this paper the maximum rate of reconnection is calculated in the approximation of reduced magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD), which is valid in the solar coronal loops. The rate is calculated for finite-magnitude reconnecting fields in the case of a strong axial field in the loop. Gas pressure effects are ignored in RMHD but a similar limitation on the rate of magnetic merging exists. Nevertheless, the magnetic energy dissipation rate and the reconnection electric field can increase by several orders of magnitude as compared with strictly two-dimensional pile-up. Though this is still not enough to explain the most powerful solar flares, slow coronal transients with energy release rates of order 10²⁵– 10²⁶ erg s^–1and heating of quiet coronal loops are within the compass of the model.     

Frequency response of magnetic flux sheaths

We suggest to identify the elementary flare bursts with the excitation of the small kernels that occur in flare loops that are observed in soft X-ray pictures of flares. We stress the need of simultaneous observations of spatial structure and time variations of hard X-ray bursts sources in various wavelength regions.     

The magnetic non-equilibrium of buoyant flux tubes in the solar corona

The equilibrium shape of a slender flux tube in the stratified solar atmosphere is studied. The path is determined by a balance between the downwards magnetic tension, which depends on the curvature of the loop, and the upwards buoyancy force. Previous results for untwisted slender tubes are extended to include twisted tubes embedded in an external magnetic field.The path of an untwisted tube in an atmosphere with an ambient magnetic field is calculated. For a given footpoint separation, the height of the tube is lowered by increasing the strength of the external magnetic field. If the footpoints are slowly moved apart, the tube rises, until a threshold separation is reached beyond which there is no possible equilibrium height. This threshold width does not depend on the strength of the external field.The effects of twisting up a curved loop are studied, using an extension of results obtained for slender curved tubes with a straight axis. It is shown that for a twisted tube of given width, there can be two possible values of the equilibrium height. If, however, the tube is twisted more than a certain amount or if the footpoints are too widely separated there is no equilibrium. The critical footpoint separation for non-equilibrium is smaller for a twisted tube that an untwisted one.Twisting a tube or moving its feet apart is thus likely to result in non-equilibrium, causing the tube to rise indefinitely under the influence of the unbalanced buoyant force. It is suggested that this phenomenon could be important in the preflare stage of a large two-ribbon solar flare, by causing the initial slow rise of an active region filament. As well as being involved in the onset of an erupting prominence, this non-equilibrium may also be relevant to the formation of coronal loop transients.     

The effect of an interaction of magnetic flux and supergranulation on the decay of magnetic plages

This paper studies how the properties of large-scale convection affect the decay of plages. The plage decay, caused by the random-walk dispersion of flux tubes, is suggested to be severely affected by differences between the mean size of cellular openings within and around plages. The smaller cell size within a plage largely explains the smaller diffusion coefficient within plages as compared to that of the surrounding regions. Moreover, the exchange of flux tubes between the inner regions of the plage and the surrounding network is suggested to be modified by this difference in cell size, and the concept of a partially transmitting plage periphery is introduced: this periphery preferentially turns back flux parcels that are moving out of the plage and preferentially lets through flux parcels that are moving into the plage, thus confining the flux tubes to within the plage. This semi-permeability of the plage periphery, together with the dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the flux-tube density, can explain the observed slow decay of plages (predicting a typical life time of about a month for a medium-sized plage), the existence of a well-defined plage periphery, and the observed characteristic mean magnetic flux density of about 100 G. One effect of the slowed decay of the plage by the semi-permeability of the plage periphery is the increase of the fraction of the magnetic flux that can cancel with flux of the opposite polarity along the neutral line to as much as 80%, as compared to at most 50% in the case of non-uniform diffusion. This may explain why only a small fraction of the magnetic flux is observed to escape from the plage into the surrounding network.