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

Title: TWO TYPES OF MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN CORONAL BRIGHT POINTS AND THE CORRESPONDING MAGNETIC CONFIGURATION

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal

Coronal bright points (CBPs) are long-lived small-scale brightenings in the solar corona. They are generally explained by magnetic reconnection. However, the corresponding magnetic configurations are not well understood. We carry out a detailed multi-wavelength analysis of two neighboring CBPs on 2007 March 16, observed in soft X-ray (SXR) and EUV channels. It is seen that the SXR light curves present quasi-periodic flashes with an interval of {approx}1 hr superposed over the long-lived mild brightenings, suggesting that the SXR brightenings of this type of CBPs might consist of two components: one is the gentle brightenings and the other is the CBP flashes. It is found that the strong flashes of the bigger CBP are always accompanied by SXR jets. The potential field extrapolation indicates that both CBPs are covered by a dome-like separatrix surface, with a magnetic null point above. We propose that the repetitive CBP flashes, as well as the recurrent SXR jets, result from the impulsive null-point reconnection, while the long-lived brightenings are due to the interchange reconnection along the separatrix surface. Although the EUV images at high-temperature lines resemble the SXR appearance, the 171 Angstrom-Sign and 195 Angstrom-Sign channels reveal that the blurry CBP in SXR consists of a cusp-shaped loop and several separate bright patches, which are explained to be due to the null-point reconnection and the separatrix reconnection, respectively.

OSTI ID:
22011840
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 746, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Magnetic structure and dynamics of the erupting solar polar crown prominence on 2012 March 12
Journal Article · Fri Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22011840

A NON-RADIAL ERUPTION IN A QUADRUPOLAR MAGNETIC CONFIGURATION WITH A CORONAL NULL
Journal Article · Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22011840

Hot spine loops and the nature of a late-phase solar flare
Journal Article · Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2013 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22011840