Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The Mechanism for the Energy Buildup Driving Solar Eruptive Events

Knizhnik, K.J.; Antiochos, S.K.; DeVore, C.R.; Wyper, P.F.

The Mechanism for the Energy Buildup Driving Solar Eruptive Events Thumbnail


Authors

K.J. Knizhnik

S.K. Antiochos

C.R. DeVore



Abstract

The underlying origin of solar eruptive events (SEEs), ranging from giant coronal mass ejections to small coronal-hole jets, is that the lowest-lying magnetic flux in the Sun's corona undergoes continual buildup of stress and free energy. This magnetic stress has long been observed as the phenomenon of "filament channels:" strongly sheared magnetic field localized around photospheric polarity inversion lines. However, the mechanism for the stress buildup—the formation of filament channels—is still debated. We present magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a coronal volume that is driven by transient, cellular boundary flows designed to model the processes by which the photosphere drives the corona. The key feature of our simulations is that they accurately preserve magnetic helicity, the topological quantity that is conserved even in the presence of ubiquitous magnetic reconnection. Although small-scale random stress is injected everywhere at the photosphere, driving stochastic reconnection throughout the corona, the net result of the magnetic evolution is a coherent shearing of the lowest-lying field lines. This highly counterintuitive result—magnetic stress builds up locally rather than spreading out to attain a minimum energy state—explains the formation of filament channels and is the fundamental mechanism underlying SEEs. Furthermore, this process is likely to be relevant to other astrophysical and laboratory plasmas.

Citation

Knizhnik, K., Antiochos, S., DeVore, C., & Wyper, P. (2017). The Mechanism for the Energy Buildup Driving Solar Eruptive Events. Astrophysical Journal, 851(1), Article L17. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa9e0a

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 28, 2017
Online Publication Date Dec 8, 2017
Publication Date Dec 8, 2017
Deposit Date Dec 21, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Astrophysical Journal
Print ISSN 0004-637X
Electronic ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher American Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 851
Issue 1
Article Number L17
DOI https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa9e0a

Files

Published Journal Article (1.5 Mb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved




You might also like



Downloadable Citations