Origin and structures of solar eruptions I: Magnetic flux rope

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares are the large-scale and most energetic eruptive phenomena in our solar system and able to release a large quantity of plasma and magnetic flux from the solar atmosphere into the solar wind. When these high-speed magnetized plasmas along with the energetic particles arrive at the Earth, they may interact with the magnetosphere and ionosphere, and seriously affect the safety of human high-tech activities in outer space. The travel time of a CME to 1 AU is about 1–3 days, while energetic particles from the eruptions arrive even earlier. An efficient forecast of these phenomena therefore requires a clear detection of CMEs/flares at the stage as early as possible. To estimate the possibility of an eruption leading to a CME/flare, we need to elucidate some fundamental but elusive processes including in particular the origin and structures of CMEs/flares. Understanding these processes can not only improve the prediction of the occurrence of CMEs/flares and their effects on geospace and the heliosphere but also help understand the mass ejections and flares on other solar-type stars. The main purpose of this review is to address the origin and early structures of CMEs/flares, from multi-wavelength observational perspective. First of all, we start with the ongoing debate of whether the pre-eruptive configuration, i.e., a helical magnetic flux rope (MFR), of CMEs/flares exists before the eruption and then emphatically introduce observational manifestations of the MFR. Secondly, we elaborate on the possible formation mechanisms of the MFR through distinct ways. Thirdly, we discuss the initiation of the MFR and associated dynamics during its evolution toward the CME/flare. Finally, we come to some conclusions and put forward some prospects in the future.