DESTABILIZATION OF A SOLAR PROMINENCE/FILAMENT FIELD SYSTEM BY A SERIES OF EIGHT HOMOLOGOUS ERUPTIVE FLARES LEADING TO A CME
- Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR), UAH, Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States)
- Heliophysics and Planetary Science Office, ZP13, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812 (United States)
Homologous flares are flares that occur repetitively in the same active region, with similar structure and morphology. A series of at least eight homologous flares occurred in active region NOAA 11237 over 2011 June 16–17. A nearby prominence/filament was rooted in the active region, and situated near the bottom of a coronal cavity. The active region was on the southeast solar limb as seen from the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, and on the disk as viewed from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory/EUVI-B. The dual perspective allows us to study in detail behavior of the prominence/filament material entrained in the magnetic field of the repeatedly erupting system. Each of the eruptions were mainly confined, but expelled hot material into the prominence/filament cavity system (PFCS). The field carrying and containing the ejected hot material interacted with the PFCS and caused it to inflate, resulting in a step-wise rise of the PFCS approximately in step with the homologous eruptions. The eighth eruption triggered the PFCS to move outward slowly, accompanied by a weak coronal dimming. As this slow PFCS eruption was underway, a final “ejective” flare occurred in the core of the active region, resulting in strong dimming in the EUVI-B images and expulsion of a coronal mass ejection (CME). A plausible scenario is that the repeated homologous flares could have gradually destabilized the PFCS, and its subsequent eruption removed field above the acitive region and in turn led to the ejective flare, strong dimming, and CME.
- OSTI ID:
- 22525429
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 811, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Direct evidence of an eruptive, filament-hosting magnetic flux rope leading to a fast solar coronal mass ejection
NEW ASPECTS OF A LID-REMOVAL MECHANISM IN THE ONSET OF AN ERUPTION SEQUENCE THAT PRODUCED A LARGE SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE (SEP) EVENT