Transequatorial Filament Eruption and Its Link to a Coronal Mass Ejection

We revisit the Bastille Day flare/CME Event of 2000 July 14, and demonstrate that this flare/CME event is not related to only one single active region (AR). Activation and eruption of a huge transequatorial filament are seen to precede the simultaneous filament eruption and flare in the source active region, NOAA AR 9077, and the full halo-CME in the high corona. Evidence of reconfiguration of large-scale magnetic structures related to the event is illustrated by SOHO EIT and Yohkoh SXT observations, as well as, the reconstructed 3D magnetic lines of force based on the force-free assumption. We suggest that the AR filament in AR9077 was connected to the transequatorial filament. The large-scale magnetic composition related to the transequatorial filament and its sheared magnetic arcade appears to be an essential part of the CME parent magnetic structure. Estimations show that the filament-arcade system has enough magnetic helicity to account for the helicity carried by the related CMEs. In addition, rather global magnetic connectivity, covering almost all the visible range in longitude and a huge span in latitude on the Sun, is implied by the Nancay Radioheliograph (NRH) observations. The analysis of the Bastille Day event suggests that although the triggering of a global CME might take place in an AR, a much larger scale magnetic composition seems to be the source of the ejected magnetic flux, helicity and plasma. The Bastille Day event is the first described example in the literature, in which a transequatorial filament activity appears to play a key role in a global CME. Many tens of halo-CME are found to be associated with transequatorial filaments and their magnetic environment.     

The Filament Eruption of 1999 March 21 and Its Associated Coronal Dimmings and CME

We report a filament eruption near the center of the solar disk on 1999 March 21, in multi-wavelength observations by the Yohkoh Soft X-Ray Telescope (SXT), the Extreme-ultraviolet Images Telescope (EIT) and the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The eruption involved in the disappearance of an Ha filament can be clearly identified in EIT 195 A difference images. Two flare-like EUV ribbons and two obvious coronal dimming regions were formed. The two dimming regions had a similar appearance in lines formed in temperature range 6×104 K to several 106 K. They were located in regions of opposite magnetic polarities near the two ends of the eruptive filament. No significant X-ray or Ha flare was recorded associated with the eruption and no obvious photospheric magnetic activity was detected around the eruptive region, and particularly below the coronal dimming regions. The above surface activities were closely associated with a partial halo-type coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraphs (LASCO) on the SOHO. In terms of the magnetic flux rope model of CMEs, we explained these multiple observations as an integral process of large-scale rearrangement of coronal magnetic field initiated by the filament eruption, in which the dimming regions marked the evacuated feet of the flux rope.     

The dynamics of velocity fluctuations in the solar wind – I. Coronal mass ejections

In this paper we present a simple, analytic model for the dynamical evolution of supersonic velocity fluctuations at the base of the ambient solar wind. These fluctuations result in the formation of dense working surfaces that travel down the wind. It is shown how the initial parameters of the fluctuations (velocity, density and duration) are related to the characteristics of the working surfaces far from the Sun (for instance at the Earth). We apply the model to the evolution of the coronal mass ejections in the IP medium, finding that the model is in good agreement with satellite observations of these phenomena, thus providing physical insight into their dynamical evolution. Our model may contribute to future 'space weather forecasting' on the Earth, based on detailed satellite monitoring of the solar corona.     

Formation of the CME Leading Edge Observed in the 2003 February 18 Event

This work investigates a typical coronal mass ejection (CME) observed on 2003 February 18, by various space and ground instruments, in white light, Ha, EUV and X-ray. The Ha and EUV images indicate that the CME started with the eruption of a long filament located near the solar northwest limb. The white light coronal images show that the CME initiated with the rarefaction of a region above the solar limb and followed by the formation of a bright arcade at the boundary of the rarefying region at height 0.46 R(?) above the solar surface. The rarefying process synchronized with the slow rising phase of the eruptive filament, and the CME leading edge was observed to form as the latter started to accelerate. The lower part of the filament brightened in Ha as the filament rose to a certain height and parts of the filament was visible in the GOES X-ray images during the rise. These brightenings imply that the filament may be heated by the magnetic reconnection below the filament in the early stage of the eruption. We suggest that a possible mechanism which leads to the formation of the CME leading edge and cavity is the magnetic reconnection which takes place below the filament after the filament has reached a certain height.     

Speed Distributions of CMEs in Cycle 23 at Low and High Latitudes

We analyzed the speed (v) distributions of 11584 coronal mass ejections (CMEs) observed by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO/LASCO) in cycle 23 from 1996 to 2006. We find that the speed distributions for high-latitude (HL) and low-latitude (LL) CME events are nearly identical and to a good approximation they can be fitted with a lognormal distribution. This finding implies that statistically the same driving mechanism of a nonlinear nature is acting in both HL and LL CME events, and CMEs are intrinsically associated with the source's magnetic structure on large spatial scales. Statistically, the HL CMEs are slightly slower than the LL CMEs. For HL and LL CME events respectively, the speed distributions for accelerating and decelerating events are nearly identical and also to a good approximation they can be both fitted with a lognormal distribution, thus supplementing the results obtained by Yurchyshyn et al.     

A Parametric Survey of the CME Triggering Process by Numerical Simulations

Observations indicate that solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are closely associated with reconnection-favored flux emergence, which was explained in the emerging flux trigger mechanism for CMEs by Chen & Shibata based on numerical simulations. We present a parametric survey of the triggering agent: its polarity orientation, position, and the amount of the unsigned flux. The results suggest that whether a CME can be triggered depends on both the amount and location of the emerging flux, in addition to its polarity orientation. A diagram is presented to show the eruption and non-eruption regimes in the parameter space. The work is aimed at providing useful information for the space weather forecast.     

Relationship between CME velocities and X-ray fluxes of associated flares

Coronal mass ejection (CME) velocities have been studied over recent decades. We present a statistical analysis of the relationship between CME velocities and X-ray fluxes of the associated flares. We study two types of CMEs. One is the FL type associ- ated only with flares, while the other is the intermediate type associated with both filament eruptions and flares. It is found that the velocities of the FL type CMEs are strongly cor- related with both the peak and the time-integrated X-ray fluxes of the associated flares. However, the correlations between the intermediate type CME velocities and the corre- sponding two parameters are poor. It is also found that the correlation between the CME velocities and the peak X-ray fluxes is stronger than that between the CME velocities and the time-integrated X-ray fluxes of the associated flares.     

Magnetic interactions during sympathetic solar eruptions

We present the first evidence for occurrences of magnetic interactions between a jet, a filament and coronal loops during a complex event, in which two flares sequen-tially occurred at different positions of the same active region and were closely associated with two successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs), respectively. The coronal loops were located outside but nearby the filament channel before the flares. The jet, originating from the first flare during its rise phase, not only hit the filament body but also met one of the ends of the loops. The filament then underwent an inclined eruption followed by the second flare and met the same loop end once more. Both the jet and the filament erup- tion were accompanied by the development of loop disturbances and the appearances of brightenings around the meeting site. In particular, the erupting filament showed clear manifestations of interactions with the loops. After a short holdup, only its portion passed through this site, while the other portion remained at the same place. Following the fila-ment eruption and the loop disappearance, four dimmings were formed and located near their four ends. This is a situation that we define as "quadrupolar dimmings." It appears that the two flares consisted of a sympathetic pair physically linked by the interaction between the jet and the filament, and their sympathy indicated that of the two CMEs.Moreover, it is very likely that the two sympathetic CMEs were simultaneously associ-ated with the disappearing loops and the quadrupole dimmings.     

基于空时显著性的日冕物质抛射检测

日冕物质抛射(Coronal Mass Ejection, CME)是一种剧烈的太阳爆发现象, 它会对行星际空间造成严重扰动, 进而影响人类生产、生活. 基于CME的时空显著性, 将显著性检测方法引入到CME检测中, 利用结构化矩阵分解SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory)的大角度光谱日冕仪(Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment, LASCO) C2的日冕图像对应的特征矩阵, 从中恢复出稀疏部分获得显著前景. 然后考虑CME运动时产生的时间显著性, 从而去除非CME结构(如冕流), 得到最终检测结果. 实验表明, 以人工目录协调数据分析中心(Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop, CDAW)检测结果为基准时, 所提方法不仅在检测CME数量上比计算机辅助跟踪软件包(Computer Aided CME Tracking Software package, CACTus)和太阳爆发事件检测系统(Solar Eruptive Event Detection System, SEEDS)有优势, 还在CME中心角度和张角宽度等特征物理参数测量上比CACTus和SEEDS更接近CDAW目录参考值.     

Magnetic Energy of Force-Free Fields with Detached Field Lines

Using an axisymmetrical ideal MHD model in spherical coordinates, we present a numerical study of magnetic configurations characterized by a levitating flux rope embedded in a bipolar background field whose normal field at the solar surface is the same or very close to that of a central dipole. The characteristic plasma β (the ratio between gas pressure and magnetic pressure) is taken to be sosmall (β= 10^-4) that the magnetic field is close to being force-free. The system as a whole is then let evolve quasi-statically with a slow increase of either the annular magnetic flux or the axial magnetic flux of the rope, and the total magneticenergy of the system grows accordingly. It is found that there exists an energy threshold: the flux rope sticks to the solar surface in equilibrium if the magneticenergy of the system is below the threshold, whereas it loses equilibrium if the threshold is exceeded. The energy threshold is found to be larger than that of thecorresponding fully-open magnetic field by a factor of nearly 1.08 irrespective as towhether the background field is completely closed or partly open, or whether the magnetic energy is enhanced by an increase of annular or axial flux of the rope.This gives an example showing that a force-free magnetic field may have an energy larger than the corresponding open field energy if part of the field lines is allowed tobe detached from the solar surface. The implication of such a conclusion in coronal mass ejections is briefly discussed and some comments are made on the maximum energy of force-free magnetic fields.     

On the error analyses of polarization measurements of the white-light coronagraph aboard ASO-S

The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory(ASO-S) mission aims to explore the two most spectacular eruptions on the Sun: solar flares and coronal mass ejections(CMEs), and their magnetism.For the study of CMEs, the payload Lyman-alpha Solar Telescope(LST) has been proposed. It includes a traditional white-light coronagraph and a Lyman-alpha coronagraph which opens a new window to CME observations. Polarization measurements taken by white-light coronagraphs are crucial for deriving fundamental physical parameters of CMEs. To make such measurements, there are two options for a Stokes polarimeter which have been applied by existing white-light coronagraphs for space missions. One uses a single or triple linear polarizer, the other involves both a half-wave plate and a linear polarizer. We find that the former option is subject to less uncertainty in the derived Stokes vector propagating from detector noise.The latter option involves two plates which are prone to internal reflections and may have a reduced transmission factor. Therefore, the former option is adopted as our Stokes polarimeter scheme for LST. Based on the parameters of the intended linear polarizer(s) colorPol provided by CODIXX and the half-wave plate 2-APW-L2-012 C by Altechna, it is further shown that the imperfect maximum transmittance of the polarizer significantly increases the variance amplification of Stokes vector by at least about 50% when compared with the ideal case. The relative errors of Stokes vector caused by the imperfection of colorPol polarizer and the uncertainty due to the polarizer assembly in the telescope are estimated to be about 5%. Among the considered parameters, we find that the dominant error comes from the uncertainty in the maximum transmittance of the polarizer.     

冕流电流片的白光和紫外观测研究

日冕电流片是日冕磁重联发生的主要区域, 这一过程将磁能转化为等离子体的热能和动能. 通过选取大角度光谱日冕仪(Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph, LASCO)的白光与远紫外日冕成像光谱仪(Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer, UVCS)的紫外观测, 研究了2003年1月3日观测到的冕流电流片. LASCO C2白光数据显示电流片中的等离子体团在视场中可从60km·s^-1加速至340km·s^-1, 加速度为 60m·s^-2; 假设视向深度为0.3--1.5R_⊙, 得到所研究电流片在UVCS狭缝高度处的平均电子数密度约为(1.52--7.60)×10⁷cm^-3. 对沿UVCS视场狭缝分布的[Fe xviii ] 974 ? A和Lyα谱线强度进行研究, 发现电流片处的[Fe xviii ]谱线强度比周围明显增大, 计算得到所研究时段内电流片的电子温度范围为(2.94–4.04)×10⁶K; 而在电流片处的Lyα谱线强度相对周围变化不大, 在电流片内部两侧强度比中心略高, 可能的主要原因是电流片内部中心处等离子体的运动速度要比两侧快, 这使得中心比两侧有更强的多普勒暗化作用. 以UVCS观测的Lyα和[Fe xviii ]谱线的辐射强度比和计算的电子温度为约束条件, 发现当狭缝电流片处等离子体运动速度约为237–254 km·s ^?1 时, 通过理论计算的Lyα和[Fe xviii ]谱线的辐射发射率比值和观测谱线强度比值相当. 在该速度范围内, 电流片内部Lyα辐射的碰撞项约为辐射项的42%–57%. 此事件中的冕流电流片比通常情形下的冕流电流片中等离子体温度更高、运动速度更大, 可能的原因在于其南侧爆发的两个日冕物质抛射促进了电流片中的磁重联过程, 更多的磁能释放用于等离子体的加热和加速. 所得研究结果可以为我国将要发射的先进天基太阳天文台(Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory, ASO-S)未来的资料处理提供重要参考.     

Coronal Mass Ejections,Magnetic Fields,and the Green Corona in Cycle 23

We study a time – latitudinal distribution of CMEs observed by the SOHO spacecraft, their projected speeds and associated magnetic fields, as well as the north – south (N – S) asymmetry of solar surface magnetic fields, and the coronal green line intensities. We have found that (a) there exists an intricate relation between the average projected velocity of CMEs and the mean value of large-scale magnetic fields; (b) there exists a pronounced N – S asymmetry in both the distribution and the number of CMEs; (c) this asymmetry is in favor of the northern hemisphere at the beginning of the cycle, and of the southern hemisphere from 2001 onward, being, in fact, (d) closely related with the N – S asymmetry in the distribution of large-scale magnetic fields and the coronal green line intensities.     

Association of CMEs with solar surface activity during the rise and maximum phases of solar cycles 23 and 24

The cyclical behaviors of sunspots,flares and coronal mass ejections(CMEs) for 54 months from 2008 November to 2013 April after the onset of Solar Cycle(SC) 24 are compared,for the first time,with those of SC 23 from 1996 November to 2001 April.The results are summarized below.(i) During the maximum phase,the number of sunspots in SC 24 is significantly smaller than that for SC 23 and the number of flares in SC 24 is comparable to that of SC 23.(ii) The number of CMEs in SC 24 is larger than that in SC 23 and the speed of CMEs in SC 24 is smaller than that of SC 23 during the maximum phase.We individually survey all the CMEs(1647 CMEs) from 2010 June to 2011 June.A total of 161 CMEs associated with solar surface activity events can be identified.About 45%of CMEs are associated with quiescent prominence eruptions,27%of CMEs only with solar flares,19%of CMEs with both active-region prominence eruptions and solar flares,and 9%of CMEs only with active-region prominence eruptions.Comparing the association of the CMEs and their source regions in SC 24 with that in SC 23,we notice that the characteristics of source regions for CMEs during SC 24 may be different from those of SC 23.     

Optical flares from the faint mid‐dM star 2MASS J00453912+4140395

We present B and V light curves of a large stellar flare obtained with the Wide Field Camera at the Isaac Newton 2.5‐m telescope (La Palma). The source object is a faint (m_V = 21.38) foreground star in the field of the Andromeda galaxy, with its most probable spectral type being dM4. We provide an estimate of the total flare energy in the optical range and find it to be of the order of 1035 erg. The cooling phase of the large flare shows three additional weak flare‐like events, which we interpret as results of a triggering mechanism also observed on the Sun during large coronal mass ejections. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A Study of Surges: II. On the Relationship between Chromospheric Surges and Coronal Mass Ejections

Liu et al. (Astrophys. J. 628, 1056, 2005a) described one surge – coronal mass ejection (CME) event showing a close relationship between solar chromospheric surge ejection and CME that had not been noted before. In this work, large Hα surges (>72 Mm, or 100 arcsec) are studied. Eight of these were associated with CMEs. According to their distinct morphological features, Hα surges can be classified into three types: jetlike, diffuse, and closed loop. It was found that all of the jetlike surges were associated with jetlike CMEs (with angular widths ≤30 degrees); the diffuse surges were all associated with wide-angle CMEs (e.g., halo); the closed-loop surges were not associated with CMEs. The exclusive relation between Hα surges and CMEs indicates difference in magnetic field configurations. The jetlike surges and related narrow CMEs propagate along coronal fields that are originally open. The unusual transverse mass motions in the diffuse surges are suggested to be due to magnetic reconnections in the corona that produce wide-angle CMEs. For the closed-loop surges, their paths are just outlining stable closed loops close to the solar surface. Thus no CMEs are associated with them.     

Multiscale Edge Detection in the Corona

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are challenging objects to detect using automated techniques, due to their high velocity and diffuse, irregular morphology. A necessary step to automating the detection process is to first remove the subjectivity introduced by the observer used in the current, standard, CME detection and tracking method. Here we describe and demonstrate a multiscale edge detection technique that addresses this step and could serve as one part of an automated CME detection system. This method provides a way to objectively define a CME front with associated error estimates. These fronts can then be used to extract CME morphology and kinematics. We apply this technique to a CME observed on 18 April 2000 by the Large Angle Solar COronagraph experiment (LASCO) C2/C3 and a CME observed on 21 April 2002 by LASCO C2/C3 and the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE). For the two examples in this work, the heights determined by the standard manual method are larger than those determined with the multiscale method by ≈10% using LASCO data and ≈20% using TRACE data.     

The Relationship between Magnetic Gradient and Magnetic Shear in Five Super Active Regions Producing Great Flares

We study the magnetic structure of five well-known active regions that produced great flares (X5 or larger). The six flares under investigation are the X12 flare on 1991 June 9 in AR 6659, the X5.7 flare on 2000 July 14 in AR 9077, the X5.6 flare on 2001 April 6 in AR 9415, the X5.3 flare on 2001 August 25 in AR 9591, the X17 flare on 2003 October 28 and the X10 flare on 2003 October 29, both in AR 10486. The last five events had corresponding LASCO observations and were all associated with Halo CMEs. We analyzed vector magne-tograms from Big Bear Solar Observatory, Huairou Solar Observing Station, Marshall Space Right Center and Mees Solar Observatory. In particular, we studied the magnetic gradient derived from line-of-sight magnetograms and magnetic shear derived from vector magne-tograms, and found an apparent correlation between these two parameters at a level of about 90%. We found that the magnetic gradient could be a better proxy than the shear for predicting where a major flare might occur: all six flares occurred in neutral lines with maximum gradient. The mean gradient of the flaring neutral lines ranges from 0.14 to 0.50 G km-1, 2.3 to 8 times the average value for all the neutral lines in the active regions. If we use magnetic shear as the proxy, the flaring neutral line in at least one, possibly two, of the six events would be mis-identified.     

ASO-S卫星工程LST爆发模式触发和终止方案

先进天基太阳天文台(ASO-S)是计划于2021年底或2022年上半年发射的中国首颗综合性太阳探测卫星,莱曼阿尔法太阳望远镜(LST)作为ASO-S的有效载荷之一,具体包括莱曼阿尔法全日面成像仪(SDI)、日冕仪(SCI)以及白光望远镜(WST) 3台科学仪器和2台导行镜(GT),其主要目标是在多个波段对太阳上的两类剧烈爆发现象(太阳耀斑和日冕物质抛射)进行连续不间断的高分辨率观测.为了实现这一观测目标, LST所有仪器的观测模式中均包含了一种针对爆发事件而设置的爆发模式.该模式下, SCI将以更高的频率进行图像采集, SDI和WST则以更高的频率对爆发所在区域进行图像采集.测试结果表明,观测图像经过中值滤波、像元合并处理后,可以通过监测图像各像元亮度的相对变化提取爆发事件的时间和位置信息.这些信息将为LST观测模式间的相互切换提供重要电子学输入.