MICROWAVE IMAGING OF A HOT FLUX ROPE STRUCTURE DURING THE PRE-IMPULSIVE STAGE OF AN ERUPTIVE M7.7 SOLAR FLARE
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, and Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong 264209 (China)
- Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing, 210008 (China)
- Nobeyama Radio Observatory, NAOJ, 462-2 Nobeyama, Minamimaki, Minamisaku, Nagano 384-1305 (Japan)
- Central Astronomical Observatory at Pulkovo, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg 196140 (Russian Federation)
- W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)
- Department of Space Science and CSPAR, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899 (United States)
Corona structures and processes during the pre-impulsive stage of solar eruption are crucial to understanding the physics leading to the subsequent explosive energy release. Here we present the first microwave imaging study of a hot flux rope structure during the pre-impulsive stage of an eruptive M7.7 solar flare, with the Nobeyama Radioheliograph at 17 GHz. The flux rope is also observed by the SDO/AIA in its hot passbands of 94 and 131 Å. In the microwave data, it is revealed as an overall arcade-like structure consisting of several intensity enhancements bridged by generally weak emissions, with brightness temperatures (T{sub B}) varying from ∼10,000 K to ∼20,000 K. Locations of microwave intensity enhancements along the structure remain relatively fixed at certain specific parts of the flux rope, indicating that the distribution of emitting electrons is affected by the large-scale magnetic configuration of the twisted flux rope. Wavelet analysis shows a pronounced 2 minute period of the microwave T{sub B} variation during the pre-impulsive stage of interest. The period agrees well with that reported for AIA sunward-contracting loops and upward ejective plasmoids (suggested to be reconnection outflows). This suggests that both periodicities are controlled by the same reconnection process that takes place intermittently at a 2 minute timescale. We infer that at least a part of the emission is excited by non-thermal energetic electrons via the gyro-synchrotron mechanism. The study demonstrates the potential of microwave imaging in exploring the flux rope magnetic geometry and relevant reconnection process during the onset of solar eruption.
- OSTI ID:
- 22518557
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 820, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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