DYNAMICS OF A PROMINENCE-HORN STRUCTURE DURING ITS EVAPORATION IN THE SOLAR CORONA
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, and Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai 264209 (China)
- Department of Physics, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3BZ (United Kingdom)
- Stanford-Lockheed Institute for Space Research, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)
The physical connections among and formation mechanisms of various components of the prominence-horn cavity system remain elusive. Here we present observations of such a system, focusing on a section of the prominence that rises and separates gradually from the main body. This forms a configuration sufficiently simple to yield clues regarding the above issues. It is characterized by embedding horns, oscillations, and a gradual disappearance of the separated material. The prominence-horn structure exhibits a large-amplitude longitudinal oscillation with a period of ∼150 minutes and an amplitude of ∼30 Mm along the trajectory defined by the concave horn structure. The horns also experience a simultaneous transverse oscillation with a much smaller amplitude (∼3 Mm) and a shorter period (∼10–15 minutes), likely representative of a global mode of the large-scale magnetic structure. The gradual disappearance of the structure indicates that the horn, an observational manifestation of the field-aligned transition region separating the cool and dense prominence from the hot and tenuous corona, is formed due to the heating and diluting process of the central prominence mass; most previous studies suggested that it is the opposite process, i.e., the cooling and condensation of coronal plasmas, that formed the horn. This study also demonstrates how the prominence transports magnetic flux to the upper corona, a process essential for the gradual build-up of pre-eruption magnetic energy.
- OSTI ID:
- 22654241
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 827, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
PLASMA DYNAMICS AT THE PROMINENCE-CORONA INTERFACE
PRE-FLARE CORONAL JET AND EVOLUTIONARY PHASES OF A SOLAR ERUPTIVE PROMINENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE M1.8 FLARE: SDO AND RHESSI OBSERVATIONS