Petrus C. H. Martens

Formation and eruption of solar prominences

A model for the magnetic field associated with solar prominences is considered. It is shown that flux cancellation at the neutral line of a sheared magnetic arcade leads to the formation of helical field lines which are capable, in principle, of supporting prominence plasma. A numerical method for the computation of force-free, canceling magnetic structures is presented. Starting from an initial potential field we prescribe the motions of magnetic footpoints at the photosphere, with reconnection occurring only at the neutral line. As more and more flux cancels, magnetic flux is transferred from the arcade field to the helical field. Results for a particular model of the photospheric motions are presented. The magnetic structure is found to be stable: the arcade field keeps the helical field tied down at the photosphere. The axis of the helical field moves to larger and larger height, suggestive of prominence eruption. These results suggest that prominence eruptions may be trigered by flux cancellation. 73 refs.

A circuit model for filament eruptions and two-ribbon flares

We derive a circuit model for solar filament eruptions and two-ribbon flares which reproduces the slow energy build up and eruption of the filament, and the energy dissipation in a current sheet at the top of post-flare loops during the two-ribbon flare. In our model the free magnetic energy is concentrated in a current through the filament, another current through an underlying current sheet, and surface return currents. The magnetic field configuration, generated by these currents and a general photospheric background field, has a topology similar to the field topology derived from observations.We consider two circuits, that of the filament and its return current, and that of the current sheet and its return current. These circuits are inductively coupled and free energy stored in the filament in the pre-flare phase is found to be transferred to the sheet during the impulsive phase, and rapidly dissipated there. A comparable amount of magnetic energy is converted into kinetic energy of the ejected filament. The basic equations of the model are the momentum equations for the filament and the current sheet, and the induction equations for the filament and sheet circuits. The derivation of the equations is an extension of previous models by Kuperus and Raadu, Van Tend and Kuperus, Syrovatskii, and Kaastra. The set of equations is closed in the sense that only the initial conditions and a number of parameters, all related to pre-flare observables, are needed to calculate the evolution of the system. The pre-flare observations we need to determine these parameters, are: (1) a magnetogram, (2) an α picture, (3) a measurement of the coronal density in the region, and (4) estimates of the photospheric velocity fields in the region.In the solutions for the evolution of the filament current sheet system we distinghuish 4 phases: (1) a slow energy build up, lasting for almost two days, during which the filament evolves quasi-statically, (2) a ‘metastable’ state, lasting for about three hours, during which the filament is susceptible to flare triggers, and during which a current sheet emerges, (3) the eruptive phase, with strong acceleration of the filament, during which a large current is induced and dissipated in the current sheet, and energy is injected in the post-flare loops, and finally (4) a post-flare phase, in which the filament acceleration declines and the current sheet vanishes.From further numerical work we derive the following conclusions: (1) The magnetic flux input into the filament circuit has to surpass a certain threshold for an eruption to occur. Below that threshold we find solutions representing quiescent filaments. (2)Flare triggers are neither necessary nor sufficient for an eruption, but may set off the eruption during the ‘metastable’ state. (3) The model reproduces the increase in shear in the filament prior to the eruption, through adecline of the filament current, in contrast to most models for filament eruptions. (4) The ratio of energy lost as kinetic energy of ejecta to the energy radiated away in the post-flare loops is sensitively dependent on the resistance of the current sheet. (5) Flare prediction is possible with this model, but the potential for triggering during the ‘metastable’ state complicates the prediction of the exact moment of eruption.

Chromospheric Damping of Alfvén Waves

We analytically study the damping of Alfven mode oscillations in the chromosphere and in coronal loops. In the partially ionized chromosphere the dominant damping process of Alfven waves is due to collisions between ions and neutrals. We calculate the damping time for Alfven waves of a given frequency, propagating through model chromospheres of various solar structures such as active region plage, quiet sun, and the penumbra and umbra of sunspots. For a given wave frequency, the maximum damping always occurs at temperature minimum heights and in the coldest structure(s), i.e., the umbra of sunspots. Energy dissipation due to ion-neutral damping of Alfven waves with an energy flux of 107 ergs cm-3 s- 1 can play a considerable role in the energy balance of umbrae, quiet sun, and plage for Alfven wave periods of the order, respectively, 50, 5, and 0.5 s. We also consider Alfven waves in coronal loops and the leakage of wave energy through the footpoints. We assume a three-layer model of coronal loops with constant Alfven speed vA (and no damping) in the corona, vA varying exponentially with height in the dissipative chromosphere, and vA again constant in the photosphere at the end of the loop. We find an exact analytical solution in the chromospheric part. Using these solutions, we estimate the leakage of wave energy from the coronal volume through the footpoint regions of the loop and find that the presence of a moderate amount of chromospheric damping can enhance the footpoint leakage. We apply this result to determine the damping time of standing waves in coronal loops. The enhanced footpoint leakage also has implications for theories of coronal heating based on resonant absorption. Finally, we find exact expressions for the damping of Alfven waves launched in the photosphere and upward propagating through the chromosphere and into the corona. The partially ionized chromosphere presents an effective barrier for upward propagating Alfven waves with periods less than a few seconds.

ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF FILAMENT-PROMINENCE SYSTEMS

We present a head-to-tail linkage model for the formation, evolution, and eruption of solar filaments. The magnetic field structure of our model is based on the observation that filaments form exclusively in filament channels with no apparent magnetic connections above the polarity inversion line. The formation of a filament in this configuration is driven by flux convergence and cancellation, which produces looplike filament segments with a half-turn. Filament segments of like chirality may connect and form long quiescent filaments. Such filaments are stabilized through footpoint anchoring until further cancellation at the footpoints causes their eruption. The eruption restores the original filament channel so that filament formation may resume immediately. We then demonstrate that the combined workings of Hales polarity law, Joys law, and differential rotation introduce a strong hemispheric preference in the chirality of filaments formed poleward of the sunspot belt, which is in agreement with observations. We analyze the magnetic fine structure of filaments formed through our model and find consistency with the observed hemispheric preference for barb orientation and a simple explanation for barb formation. Finally, we consider the flux tubes retracted below the surface in the process of filament formation. We show that every cancellation event that generates a filament obeying the hemispheric chirality preference injects a flux tube below the surface with a poloidal field opposite that of the ongoing cycle. We suggest that this pattern of submergence of flux represents the specific mechanism for the reversal of the poloidal flux in a Babcock-Leighton-Durney-type model for the solar dynamo.

Magnetic fields in quiescent prominences

The origin of the axial fields in high-latitude quiescent prominences is considered. The fact that almost all quiescent prominences obey the same hemisphere-dependent rule strongly suggests that the solar differential rotation plays an important role in producing the axial fields. However, the observations are inconsistent with the hypothesis that the axial fields are produced by differential rotation acting on an existing coronal magnetic field. Several possible explanations for this discrepancy are considered. The possibility that the sign of the axial field depends on the topology of the magnetic field in which the prominence is embedded is examined, as is the possibility that the neutral line is tilted with respect to the east-west direction, so that differential rotation causes the neutral line also to rotate with time. The possibility that the axial fields of quiescent prominences have their origin below the solar surface is also considered. 29 refs.

The generation of proton beams in two-ribbon flares

It is shown that, in the current sheet at the top of the arcade of postflare loops in a two-ribbon solar flare, particle beams are generated by direct electric-field acceleration. The acceleration process is completely collisionless and is limited only by the gyromotion along the component of the magnetic field perpendicular to the sheet. This mechanism is similar to the particle acceleration in the geomagnetic tail. Neutral beams emanate from the sheet with almost zero pitch angle, making protons the main carriers of the beam energy. Approximately 10 to the 35th protons/sec are generated with a typical energy of 200 keV. Their energy distribution is a single power law, with an upper and lower energy cut-off. Such a population is capable of simultaneously generating the observed impulsive-phase hard X-rays and the gamma rays. 25 references.

Solar Coronal Heating: AC versus DC

The heating of the plasma confined in active regions of the solar corona is caused by the dissipation of magnetic stresses induced by the photospheric motions of the loop footpoints. The aim of the present paper is to analyze whether solar coronal heating is dominated by slow (DC) or rapid (AC) photospheric driving motions. We describe the dynamics of a coronal loop through the reduced magnetohydrodynamic equations and assume a fully turbulent state in the coronal plasma. The boundary condition for these equations is the subphotospheric velocity field that stresses the magnetic field lines, thus replenishing the magnetic energy that is continuously being dissipated inside the corona. In a turbulent scenario, energy is efficiently transferred by a direct cascade to the microscale, where viscous and Joule dissipation take place. Therefore, for the macroscopic dynamics of the fields, the net effect of turbulence is to produce a dramatic enhancement of the dissipation rate. This effect of the microscale on the macroscale is modeled through effective dissipation coefficients much larger than the molecular ones. We consistently integrate the large-scale evolution of a coronal loop and compute the effective dissipation coefficients by applying a closure model (the eddy-damped, quasi-normal Markovian approximation). For broadband power-law photospheric power spectra, the heating of coronal loops is DC dominated. Nonetheless, a better knowledge of the photospheric power spectrum as a function of both frequency and wavenumber will allow for more accurate predictions of the heating rate from this simple model.

The Inadequacy of Temperature Measurements in the Solar Corona through Narrowband Filter and Line Ratios

We analyze the determination of coronal line-of-sight temperatures with the technique of narrowband filter ratios that is currently employed for data obtained with the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer and the EUV Imaging Telescope on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. We demonstrate that the simple fact that the observed differential emission measure curves in coronal loops have a broad plateau everywhere along the length of the loop leads to the finding of isothermal loops with different temperatures for each pair of filters. We show that none of the temperatures thus obtained correctly describe the state of the loop plasma, which instead must be characterized by the full differential emission measure per pixel. We conclude that the recent discovery of a new class of isothermal loops is probably a mere artifact of the narrowband filter ratio method and show that the shift in the location of the plateau in the differential emission measure along the loop indicates significant heating near the loop tops.

Neutral beams in two-ribbon flares and in the geomagnetic tail

The current sheet created in the wake of an erupting filament during a two-ribbon flare is studied. A comparison with the geomagnetic tail shows that the physics of these systems is very similar, and therefore the existence of super Dreicer fields and the generation of netural beams traveling down the postflare loops with small pitch angles may be expected. The observational evidence for neutral beams in flares is reviewed and found to be generally supportive, while contracting the widely held hypothesis of electron beams. A dimensional analysis further demonstrates that the results for self-consistent numerical simulations of the current sheet in the geomagnetic tail can directly be scaled to the coronal current sheet, and the scaling parameters are derived. 71 refs.

First detection of correlated electron beams and plasma jets in radio and soft X-ray data

From a common analysis of solar radio spectral and imaging data of a fast drift burst of type U(N) together with Yohkoh soft X-ray images it is shown that the radio emission is compatible with electron beams injected and reflected in extended loops. The electron beam production coincides with the injection of hot matter, visible as a jetlike soft X-ray feature in the underlying loop system.