skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Blob Formation and Ejection in Coronal Jets due to the Plasmoid and Kelvin–Helmholtz Instabilities

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]
  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Yunnan Observatories, and Center for Astronomical Mega-Science
  2. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Key Lab. for Dark Matter and Space Science, Purple Mountain Observatory
  3. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA (United States)
  4. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Yunnan Observatories

In this paper we perform 2D resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations of coronal jets driven by flux emergence along the lower boundary. The reconnection layers are susceptible to the formation of blobs that are ejected in the jet. Our simulation with low plasma β (Case I) shows that magnetic islands form easily and propagate upward in the jet. These islands are multithermal and thus are predicted to show up in hot channels (335 Å and 211 Å) and the cool channel (304 Å) in observations by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The islands have maximum temperatures of 8 MK, lifetimes of 120 s, diameters of 6 Mm, and velocities of 200 km s-1. These parameters are similar to the properties of blobs observed in extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) jets by AIA. The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability develops in our simulation with moderately high plasma β (Case II) and leads to the formation of bright vortex-like blobs above the multiple high magnetosonic Mach number regions that appear along the jet. These vortex-like blobs can also be identified in the AIA channels. However, they eventually move downward and disappear after the high magnetosonic Mach number regions disappear. In the lower plasma β case, the lifetime for the jet is shorter, the jet and magnetic islands are formed with higher velocities and temperatures, the current-sheet fragments are more chaotic, and more magnetic islands are generated. Our results show that the plasmoid instability and Kelvin–Helmholtz instability along the jet are both possible causes of the formation of blobs observed at EUV wavelengths.

Research Organization:
Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0016363
OSTI ID:
1537186
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal (Online), Vol. 841, Issue 1; ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 41 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (71)

Effects of the non-uniform initial environment and the guide field on the plasmoid instability journal June 2013
General theory of the plasmoid instability journal October 2016
A model of hot loops associated with solar flares: I. Gasdynamics in the loops journal December 1980
Fast reconnection in high-Lundquist-number plasmas due to the plasmoid Instability journal November 2009
Magnetic flux cancellation associated with a recurring solar jet observed with Hinode , RHESSI , and STEREO /EUVI journal September 2008
Highly Efficient Modeling of Dynamic Coronal Loops journal August 2008
An Emerging Flux Trigger Mechanism for Coronal Mass Ejections journal December 2000
Three-dimensional Plasmoid Evolution in the Solar Atmosphere journal July 2006
The NIRVANA code: Parallel computational MHD with adaptive mesh refinement journal August 2008
Statistical Study of Solar X-Ray Jets Observed with the Yohkoh Soft X-Ray Telescope journal February 1996
Numerical Simulation of Solar Microflares in a Canopy-Type Magnetic Configuration journal May 2012
Heating Mechanisms in the low Solar Atmosphere Through Magnetic Reconnection in Current Sheets journal December 2016
Three-Dimensional Simulations of Tearing and Intermittency in Coronal jets journal August 2016
Chromospheric Anemone Jets as Evidence of Ubiquitous Reconnection journal December 2007
Model for straight and helical solar jets: I. Parametric studies of the magnetic field geometry journal January 2015
A Model for Solar Polar jets journal January 2009
Fast Extreme-Ultraviolet Dimming Associated with a Coronal jet seen in Multi-Wavelength and Stereoscopic Observations journal February 2013
Instability of current sheets and formation of plasmoid chains journal October 2007
Fast Magnetic Reconnection in the Solar Chromosphere Mediated by the Plasmoid Instability journal January 2015
Particle acceleration by a solar flare termination shock journal December 2015
Observations of Multiple Blobs in Homologous Solar Coronal Jets in Closed Loop journal March 2016
Giant Chromospheric Anemone Jet Observed with Hinode and Comparison with Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations: Evidence of Propagating Alfvén Waves and Magnetic Reconnection journal July 2008
Magnetic reconnection as the origin of X-ray jets and Hα surges on the Sun journal May 1995
CUSP-SHAPED STRUCTURE OF A JET OBSERVED BY IRIS AND SDO journal January 2017
Numerical Experiments on the Detailed Energy Conversion and Spectrum Studies in a Corona Current Sheet journal October 2015
Polymerization of N-vinylcarbazole by gaseous initiators journal January 1992
Numerical Simulations of Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability: a Two-Dimensional Parametric Study journal June 2016
A semi-discrete central scheme for magnetohydrodynamics on orthogonal–curvilinear grids journal February 2011
CHIANTI – an atomic database for emission lines: IX. Ionization rates, recombination rates, ionization equilibria for the elements hydrogen through zinc and updated atomic data journal March 2009
Jets in Coronal Holes: Hinode Observations and Three-dimensional Computer Modeling journal January 2008
Prevalence of small-scale jets from the networks of the solar transition region and chromosphere journal October 2014
Twisted Flux Tube Emergence From the Convection Zone to the Corona journal May 2008
Plasma jets and Eruptions in Solar Coronal Holes: a Three-Dimensional flux Emergence Experiment journal June 2013
Growth and saturation of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability with parallel and antiparallel magnetic fields journal January 1999
Magnetohydrodynamic structure of a plasmoid in fast reconnection in low-beta plasmas journal February 2011
A Numerical Model of Standard to Blowout jets journal May 2013
Twisting solar coronal jet launched at the boundary of an active region journal October 2013
Numerical simulation of reconnection in an emerging magnetic flux region journal September 1984
On a Coronal Blowout jet: the First Observation of a Simultaneously Produced Bubble-Like cme and a Jet-Like cme in a Solar Event journal January 2012
Numerical Simulations of Chromospheric Anemone jets Associated with Moving Magnetic Features journal October 2013
A Study of Polar Jet Parameters Based on Hinode XRT Observations journal November 2007
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) journal February 2014
The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) journal June 2011
Characteristics of EUV Coronal Jets Observed with STEREO/SECCHI journal September 2009
CHIANTI – An atomic database for emission lines. Version 8 journal October 2015
Rayleigh-Taylor type Instabilities in the Reconnection Exhaust jet as a Mechanism for Supra-Arcade Downflows in the sun journal November 2014
Linear plasmoid instability of thin current sheets with shear flow journal May 2010
Dynamics of Emerging Flux Tubes in the Sun journal March 2001
Numerical Simulation of Solar Coronal X-Ray Jets Based on the Magnetic Reconnection Model journal April 1996
Recurrent Solar jets Induced by a Satellite spot and Moving Magnetic Features journal December 2015
The Emergence of a Twisted Ω-Tube into the Solar Atmosphere journal June 2001
The cool Surge Following flux Emergence in a Radiation-Mhd Experiment journal April 2016
Chromospheric magnetic reconnection caused by photospheric flux emergence: implications for jet-like events formation journal February 2010
KINEMATICS AND FINE STRUCTURE OF AN UNWINDING POLAR JET OBSERVED BY THE SOLAR DYNAMIC OBSERVATORY /ATMOSPHERIC IMAGING ASSEMBLY journal June 2011
Multiwavelength study of 20 jets that emanate from the periphery of active regions journal April 2016
Blobs in recurring extreme-ultraviolet jets journal July 2014
Extreme-Ultraviolet Jets and Hα Surges in Solar Microflares journal March 1999
Multiwavelength study of 20 jets that emanate from the periphery of active regions text January 2016
Highly Efficient Modeling of Dynamic Coronal Loops text January 2007
Chromospheric Anemone Jets as Evidence of Ubiquitous Reconnection text January 2008
Characteristics of EUV coronal jets observed with STEREO/SECCHI text January 2009
Numerical Simulation of Solar Microflares in a Canopy-Type Magnetic Configuration text January 2012
Effects of the non-uniform initial environment and the guide field on the plasmoid instability text January 2013
Twisting solar coronal jet launched at the boundary of an active region text January 2013
Fast magnetic reconnection in the solar chromosphere mediated by the plasmoid instability text January 2015
Particle Acceleration by a Solar Flare Termination Shock text January 2015
Observations of multiple blobs in homologous solar coronal jets in closed loops text January 2016
Three-Dimensional Simulations of Tearing and Intermittency in Coronal Jets text January 2016
General Theory of the Plasmoid Instability text January 2016
Heating mechanisms in the low solar atmosphere through magnetic reconnection in current sheets text January 2016
Cusp-shaped structure of a jet observed by IRIS and SDO text January 2016

Cited By (24)

Twin CME Launched by a Blowout Jet Originated from the Eruption of a Quiet-Sun Mini-filament journal June 2019
Nonequilibrium ionization and ambipolar diffusion in solar magnetic flux emergence processes journal January 2020
A maximum entropy principle for inferring the distribution of 3D plasmoids journal January 2018
Generation of solar spicules and subsequent atmospheric heating journal November 2019
Successive Two-sided Loop Jets Caused by Magnetic Reconnection between Two Adjacent Filamentary Threads journal August 2017
On a Solar Blowout Jet: Driving Mechanism and the Formation of Cool and Hot Components journal December 2017
Magnetic Reconnection at the Earliest Stage of Solar Flux Emergence journal February 2018
Two Kinds of Dynamic Behavior in a Quiescent Prominence Observed by the NVST journal August 2018
Subarcsecond Blobs in Flare-related Coronal Jets journal January 2019
Observation of a Reversal of Breakout Reconnection Preceding a Jet: Evidence of Oscillatory Magnetic Reconnection? journal April 2019
Observing Current Sheet Formation Forced by Non-radial Rotating Motion of Mini-filaments journal July 2019
Bidirectional Reconnection Outflows in an Active Region journal September 2019
Stereoscopic Observations of an Erupting Mini-filament-driven Two-sided-loop Jet and the Applications for Diagnosing a Filament Magnetic Field journal September 2019
Spectroscopic and Stereoscopic Observations of the Solar Jets journal December 2019
Transfer of Twists from a Mini-filament to Large-scale Loops by Magnetic Reconnection journal December 2019
Simultaneous Observation of a Flux Rope Eruption and Magnetic Reconnection during an X-class Solar Flare journal January 2018
Onset of Turbulent Fast Magnetic Reconnection Observed in the Solar Atmosphere journal February 2020
A Maximum Entropy Principle for inferring the Distribution of 3D Plasmoids text January 2017
On a solar blowout jet: driven mechanism and the formation of cool and hot components text January 2017
Simultaneous observation of a flux rope eruption and magnetic reconnection during an X-class solar flare text January 2018
Magnetic reconnection at the earliest stage of solar flux emergence text January 2018
Spectroscopic and Stereoscopic Observations of the Solar Jets text January 2019
Nonequilibrium ionization and ambipolar diffusion in solar magnetic flux emergence processes text January 2019
Generation of Solar Spicules and Subsequent Atmospheric Heating text January 2020