On the causes of the observed magnetic field imbalance in solar active regions

Based on a topological magnetic field model for active region (AR) 8086 observed on September 15–21, 1997, we calculate the evolution of the magnetic flux imbalance during its disk passage. We have established possible causes of the observed imbalance. Using model ARs produced by perfectly balanced magnetic field sources as examples, we show that even in this case, the observed imbalance can reach a significant value, depending on the AR size and location. The peculiar properties of the magnetic field imbalance in ARs predicted by the topological model must be taken into account when present-day magnetographic observations of the Sun are interpreted.     

Topological model for the large solar flare of July 14, 2000

Using observational data obtained with the Yohkoh, SOHO, and TRACE satellites, it is shown that the three-dimensional structure of the large solar flare of July 14, 2000 was determined by the topology of the large-scale magnetic field of the active region giving rise to the flare. The locations and shapes of chromospheric ribbons and brightness centers on these ribbons are explained. The observed behavior of the flare is attributed to rapid magnetic reconnection in the corona. The electric field accelerating particles in the reconnecting current sheets is estimated.     

Evolution of the photospheric magnetic field and coronal null points before solar flares

Based on a topological model for the magnetic field of a solar active region (AR), we suggest a criterion for the existence of magnetic null points on the separators in the corona. With the problem of predicting solar flares in mind, we have revealed a model parameter whose decrease means that the AR evolves toward a major eruptive flare. We analyze the magnetic field evolution for AR 9077 within two days before the Bastille Day flare on July 14, 2000. The coronal conditions are shown to have become more favorable for magnetic reconnection, which led to a 3B/X5.7 eruptive flare.     

Solar-Type Stars with the Suppression of Convection at an Early Stage of Evolution

The evolution of a solar-mass star before and on the main sequence is analyzed in light of the diminished efficiency of convection in the first 500 Myr. A numerical simulation has been performed with the CESAM2k code. It is shown that the suppression of convection in the early stages of evolution leads to a somewhat higher lithium content than that predicted by the classical solar model. In addition, the star’s effective temperature decreases. Ignoring this phenomenon may lead to errors in age and mass determinations for young stars (before the main sequence) from standard evolutionary tracks in the temperature–luminosity diagram. At a later stage of evolution, after 500 Myr, the efficiency of convection tends to the solar value. At this stage, the star’s inner structure becomes classical; it does not depend on the previous history. On the contrary, the photospheric lithium abundance contains information about the star’s past. In other words, there may exist main-sequence solar-mass stars of the same age (above 500 Myr), radius, and luminosity, yet with different photospheric lithium contents. The main results of this work add considerably to the popular method for determining the age of solar-type stars from lithium abundances.

     

A simple analytic model of reconnection in a high-temperature turbulent sheet

We present a simple model of high-temperature (T≥10⁸ K) turbulent current sheets forming in magnetic-reconnection regions on the Sun. The model is based on an empirical formula by de Kluiver et al. (1991) for turbulent plasma conductivity and is apparently valid over a wide range of physical conditions. A comparison of the new results with known test calculations suggests agreement between the theoretical and empirical approaches to calculating the anomalous conductivity in turbulent plasma. The energy release in current sheets is powerful enough for flares, coronal transients, and coronal mass ejections to be interpreted.     

Analytical description of charged particle motion in a reconnecting current sheet

We have obtained an analytical solution to the equation of motion in the guiding center approximation for nonrelativistic charged particles in a reconnecting current sheet with a three-component magnetic field. Given the electric field attributable to magnetic reconnection, the solution describes stable and unstable three-dimensional particle orbits. We have found the domain of input parameters at which the motion is stable. A physical interpretation of the processes affecting the stability of the motion is given. Charge separation is shown to take place in the sheet during the motion: oppositely charged particles are localized mostly in different regions of the current sheet. A formula is derived for the particle energy in stable and unstable orbits. The results obtained by numerical and analytical methods are compared.     

Magnetic reconnection,electric field,and particle acceleration in the July 14, 2000 solar flare

A topological model with magnetic reconnection at two separators in the corona is used to account for the recently discovered changes of the photospheric magnetic field in the active region NOAA 9077 during the July 14, 2000 flare. The model self-consistently explains the following observed effects: (1) the magnetic field strength decreases on the periphery of the active region but increases in its inner part near the neutral line of the photospheric magnetic field; (2) the center-of-mass positions of the fields of opposite (northern and southern) polarities converge; and (3) the magnetic flux of the active region decreases after the flare. The topological model gives not only a qualitative interpretation of the flare phenomena (the structure of the interacting magnetic fluxes in the corona, the location of the energy sources, the shape of the flare ribbons and kernels in the chromosphere and photosphere), but also correct quantitative estimates of the large-scale processes that form the basis for solar flares. The electric field emerging in the flare during large-scale reconnection is calculated. The electric field strength correlates with the observed intensity of the hard X-ray bremsstrahlung, suggesting an electron acceleration as a result of reconnection.     

On the heat conduction in a high-temperature plasma in solar flares

We have developed three types of mathematical models to describe the mechanisms of plasma heating in the corona by intense heat fluxes from a super-hot (T _e ? 10⁸ K) reconnecting current layer in connection with the problem of energy transport in solar flares. We show that the heat fluxes calculated within the framework of self-similar solutions using Fourier’s classical law exceed considerably the real energy fluxes known from present-day multi-wavelength observations of flares. This is because the conditions for the applicability of ordinary heat conduction due to Coulomb collisions of thermal plasma electrons are violated. Introducing anomalous heat conduction due to the interaction of thermal runaway electrons with ion-acoustic turbulence does not give a simple solution of the problem, because it produces unstable temperature profiles. Themodels incorporating the effect of collisional heat flux relaxation describe better the heat transport in flares than Fourier’s law and anomalous heat conduction.     

An interpretation of rapid changes in the magnetic field associated with solar flares

The energy source of a flare is the magnetic field in the corona. A topological model of the magnetic field is used here for interpreting the recently discovered drastic changes in magnetic field associated with solar flares. The following observational results are self‐consistently explained: (1) the transverse field strength decreases at outer part of active regions and increases significantly in their centers; (2) the center‐of‐mass positions of opposite magnetic polarities converge towards the magnetic neutral line just after flares onset; (3) the magnetic flux of active regions decreases steadily during the course of flares. For X‐class flares, almost 50% events show such changes. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)