SIMULTANEOUS OBSERVATION OF RECONNECTION INFLOW AND OUTFLOW ASSOCIATED WITH THE 2010 AUGUST 18 SOLAR FLARE

Journal Article · Fri Jan 20 04:00:00 EST 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/745/1/L6· OSTI ID:22048090

Takasao, Shinsuke; Shibata, Kazunari ^[1]; Asai, Ayumi; Isobe, Hiroaki ^[2]

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1. Kwasan and Hida Observatories, Kyoto University, Yamashina, Kyoto 607-8471 (Japan)
2. Unit of Synergetic Studies for Space, Kyoto University, Yamashina, Kyoto 607-8471 (Japan)

We report the simultaneous extreme-ultraviolet observation of magnetic reconnection inflow and outflow in a flare on 2010 August 18 observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We found that during the rise phase of the flare, some plasma blobs appeared in the sheet structure above the hot loops. The plasma blobs were ejected bidirectionally along the sheet structure (outflow), at the same time as the threads visible in extreme-ultraviolet images moved toward the sheet structure (inflow). The upward and downward ejection velocities are 220-460 km s{sup -1} and 250-280 km s{sup -1}, respectively. The inflow speed changed from 90 km s{sup -1} to 12 km s{sup -1} in 5 minutes. By using these velocities, we estimated the nondimensional reconnection rate, which we found to vary during this period from 0.20 to 0.055. We also found that the plasma blobs in the sheet structure collided or merged with each other before they were ejected from the sheet structure. We hypothesize that the sheet structure is the current sheet and that these plasma blobs are plasmoids or magnetic islands, which could be important for understanding the dynamics of the reconnection region.

• OSTI ID: 22048090
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 745; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS
EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETIC ISLANDS
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
PLASMA
PLASMOIDS
SOLAR FLARES
SUN
VELOCITY