RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISTRIBUTION OF MAGNETIC DECAY INDEX AND FILAMENT ERUPTIONS
- Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650011 (China)
The decay index n of a horizontal magnetic field is considered to be an important parameter in judging the stability of a flux rope. However, the spatial distribution of this parameter has not been extensively explored so far. In this paper, we present a delineative study of the three-dimensional maps of n for two eruptive events, in which filaments underwent asymmetrical eruptions. The corresponding n -distributions are both found to show that the filaments tend to erupt at abnormal regions (dubbed ABN regions) of n . These ABN regions appear to be divided into two subregions, with larger and smaller n . Moreover, an analysis of the magnetic topological configuration of the ABN regions has been also performed. The results indicate that these ABN regions are associated with a kind of special quasi-separatrix layer across which the connectivity of magnetic field is discontinuous. The presented observations and analyses strongly suggest that the torus instability in ABN regions may play a crucial role for the triggering of an asymmetrical eruption. Additionally, our investigation can provide a way of forecasting how a filament might erupt, and predicting the location for an asymmetrically eruptive filament to be split through analyzing the spatial structure of n .
- OSTI ID:
- 22667302
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 830, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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