Observation of an evolving magnetic flux rope before and during a solar eruption

Jie Zhang (), Xin Cheng and Ming- de Ding
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Jie Zhang: School of Physics, Astronomy and Computational Sciences, George Mason University
Xin Cheng: School of Physics, Astronomy and Computational Sciences, George Mason University
Ming- de Ding: Nanjing University

Nature Communications, 2012, vol. 3, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Explosive energy release is a common phenomenon occurring in magnetized plasma systems ranging from laboratories, Earth's magnetosphere, the solar corona and astrophysical environments. Its physical explanation is usually attributed to magnetic reconnection in a thin current sheet. Here we report the important role of magnetic flux rope structure, a volumetric current channel, in producing explosive events. The flux rope is observed as a hot channel before and during a solar eruption from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly telescope on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory. It initially appears as a twisted and writhed sigmoidal structure with a temperature as high as 10 MK, and then transforms toward a semi-circular shape during a slow-rise phase, which is followed by fast acceleration and onset of a flare. The observations suggest that the instability of the magnetic flux rope triggers the eruption, thus making a major addition to the traditional magnetic-reconnection paradigm.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1753

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