FINE MAGNETIC STRUCTURE AND ORIGIN OF COUNTER-STREAMING MASS FLOWS IN A QUIESCENT SOLAR PROMINENCE
- Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650216 (China)
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)
- School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China)
- Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China)
We present high-resolution observations of a quiescent solar prominence that consists of a vertical and a horizontal foot encircled by an overlying spine and has ubiquitous counter-streaming mass flows. While the horizontal foot and the spine were connected to the solar surface, the vertical foot was suspended above the solar surface and was supported by a semicircular bubble structure. The bubble first collapsed, then reformed at a similar height, and finally started to oscillate for a long time. We find that the collapse and oscillation of the bubble boundary were tightly associated with a flare-like feature located at the bottom of the bubble. Based on the observational results, we propose that the prominence should be composed of an overlying horizontal spine encircling a low-lying horizontal and vertical foot, in which the horizontal foot consists of shorter field lines running partially along the spine and has ends connected to the solar surface, while the vertical foot consists of piling-up dips due to the sagging of the spine fields and is supported by a bipolar magnetic system formed by parasitic polarities (i.e., the bubble). The upflows in the vertical foot were possibly caused by the magnetic reconnection at the separator between the bubble and the overlying dips, which intruded into the persistent downflow field and formed the picture of counter-streaming mass flows. In addition, the counter-streaming flows in the horizontal foot were possibly caused by the imbalanced pressure at the both ends.
- OSTI ID:
- 22518678
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 814, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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