Magnetic Energy of Force-Free Fields with Detached Field Lines

Using an axisymmetrical ideal MHD model in spherical coordinates, we present a numerical study of magnetic configurations characterized by a levitating flux rope embedded in a bipolar background field whose normal field at the solar surface is the same or very close to that of a central dipole. The characteristic plasma β (the ratio between gas pressure and magnetic pressure) is taken to be so small (β = 10-4) that the magnetic field is close to being force-free. The system as a whole is then let evolve quasi-statically with a slow increase of either the annular magnetic flux or the axial magnetic flux of the rope, and the total magnetic energy of the system grows accordingly. It is found that there exists an energy threshold: the flux rope sticks to the solar surface in equilibrium if the magnetic energy of the system is below the threshold, whereas it loses equilibrium if the threshold is exceeded. The energy threshold is found to be larger than that of the corresponding fully-open magnetic field by a factor of nearly 1.08 irrespective as to whether the background field is completely closed or partly open, or whether the magnetic energy is enhanced by an increase of annular or axial flux of the rope. This gives an example showing that a force-free magnetic field may have an energy larger than the corresponding open field energy if part of the field lines is allowed to be detached from the solar surface. The implication of such a conclusion in coronal mass ejections is briefly discussed and some comments are made on the maximum energy of force-free magnetic fields.

Transequatorial Filament Eruption and Its Link to a Coronal Mass Ejection

We revisit the Bastille Day flare/CME Event of 2000 July 14, and demonstrate that this flare/CME event is not related to only one single active region （AR）. Activation and eruption of a huge transequatorial filament are seen to precede the simultaneous filament eruption and flare in the source active region, NOAA AR 9077, and the full halo-CME in the high corona. Evidence of reconfiguration of large-scale magnetic structures related to the event is illustrated by SOHO EIT and Yohkoh SXT observations, as well as, the reconstructed 3D magnetic lines of force based on the force-free assumption. We suggest that the AR filament in AR 9077 was connected to the transequatorial filament. The large-scale magnetic composition related to the transequatorial filament and its sheared magnetic arcade appears to be an essential part of the CME parent magnetic structure. Estimations show that the filament- arcade system has enough magnetic helicity to account for the helicity carried by the related CMEs. In addition, rather global magnetic connectivity, covering almost all the visible range in longitude and a huge span in latitude on the Sun, is implied by the Nan^ay Radioheliograph （NRH） observations. The analysis of the Bastille Day event suggests that although the triggering of a global CME might take place in an AR, a much larger scale magnetic composition seems to be the source of the ejected magnetic flux, helicity and plasma. The Bastille Day event is the first described ex- ample in the literature, in which a transequatorial filament activity appears to play a key role in a global CME. Many tens of halo-CME are found to be associated with transequatorial filaments and their magnetic environment.

The Relationship between Magnetic Gradient and Magnetic Shear in Five Super Active Regions Producing Great Flares

We study the magnetic structure of five well-known active regions that produced great flares （X5 or larger）. The six flares under investigation are the X12 flare on 1991 June 9 in AR 6659, the X5.7 flare on 2000 July 14 in AR 9077, the X5.6 flare on 2001 April 6 in AR 9415, the X5.3 flare on 2001 August 25 in AR 9591, the X17 flare on 2003 October 28 and the X10 flare on 2003 October 29, both in AR 10486. The last five events had corresponding LASCO observations and were all associated with Halo CMEs. We analyzed vector magnetograms from Big Bear Solar Observatory, Huairou Solar Observing Station, Marshall Space Flight Center and Mees Solar Observatory. In particular, we studied the magnetic gradient derived from line-of-sight magnetograms and magnetic shear derived from vector magnetograms, and found an apparent correlation between these two parameters at a level of about 90%. We found that the magnetic gradient could be a better proxy than the shear for predicting where a major flare might occur： all six flares occurred in neutral lines with maximum gradient. The mean gradient of the flaring neutral lines ranges from 0.14 to 0.50 G km^-1, 2.3 to 8 times the average value for all the neutral lines in the active regions. If we use magnetic shear as the proxy, the flaring neutral line in at least one, possibly two, of the six events would be mis-identified.

The Filament Eruption of 1999 March 21 and Its Associated Coronal Dimmings and CME

We report a filament eruption near the center of the solar disk on 1999 March 21, in multi-wavelength observations by the Yohkoh Soft X-Ray Telescope （SXT）, the Extremeultraviolet Images Telescope （EIT） and the Michelson Doppler Imager （MDI） on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory （SOHO）. The eruption involved in the disappearance of an Ha filament can be clearly identified in EIT 195A difference images. Two flare-like EUV ribbons and two obvious coronal dimming regions were formed. The two dimming regions had a similar appearance in lines formed in temperature range 6×10^4 K to several 10^6 K. They were located in regions of opposite magnetic polarities near the two ends of the eruptive filament. No significant X-ray or Hα flare was recorded associated with the eruption and no obvious photospheric magnetic activity was detected around the eruptive region, and particularly below the coronal dimming regions. The above surface activities were closely associated with a partial halo-type coronal mass ejection （CME） observed by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraphs （LASCO） on the SOHO. In terms of the magnetic flux rope model of CMEs, we explained these multiple observations as an integral process of largescale rearrangement of coronal magnetic field initiated by the filament eruption, in which the dimming regions marked the evacuated feet of the flux rope.

A time series of filament eruptions observed by three eyes from space:from failed to successful eruptions

We present stereoscopic observations of six sequential eruptions of a filament in the active region NOAA 11045 on 2010 Feb 8, with the advantage of the STEREO twin viewpoints in combination with Earth＇s viewpoint from SOHO instruments and ground-based telescopes. The last one of the six eruptions is a coronal mass ejection, but the others are not. The flare in this successful one is more intense than in the others. Moreover, the velocity of filament material in the successful one is also the largest among them. Interestingly, all the filament velocities are found to be proportional to the power of their flares. We calculate magnetic field intensity at low altitude, the decay indexes of the external field above the filament, and the asymmetry properties of the overlying fields before and after the failed eruptions and find little difference between them, indicating the same coronal confinement exists for both the failed and successful eruptions. The results suggest that, besides the confinement of the coronal magnetic field, the energy released in the low corona should be another crucial element affecting a failed or successful filament eruption. That is, a coronal mass ejection can only be launched if the energy released exceeds some critical value, given the same initial coronal conditions.

The surge-like eruption of a miniature filament

We report on the rare eruption of a miniature Hα filament that took the form of a surge. The filament first underwent a full development within 46 min and then began to erupt 9 min later, followed by a compact, impulsive X-ray class M2.2 flare with a two-ribbon nature only at the early eruption phase. During the eruption, its top rose, whereas the two legs remained rooted in the chromosphere and showed little swelling perpendicular to the rising direction. This led to a surge-like eruption with a narrow angular extent. Similar to the recent observations for standard and blowout X- ray jets by Moore et al., we thus define it as a ＂blowout Hα surge.＂ Furthermore, our observations showed that the eruption was associated with （1） a coronal mass ejection guided by a pre-existing streamer, （2） abrupt, significant, and persistent changes in the photospheric magnetic field around the filament, and （3） a sudden disappearance of a small pore. These observations thus provide evidence that a blowout surge is a small- scale version of a large-scale filament eruption in many aspects. Our observations further suggest that at least part of the Hα surges belong to blowout-type cases, and the exact distinction between the standard and blowout Hα surges is important in understanding their different origins and associated eruptive phenomena.

Flux emergence in the solar active region NOAA 11158: the evolution of net current

We present a detailed investigation of the evolution of observed net vertical current using a time series of vector magnetograms of the active region （AR） NOAA 11158 obtained from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. We also discuss the relation of net current to the observed eruptive events. The AR evolved from the βγ to βγδ3 configuration over a period of six days. The AR had two sub-regions of activity with opposite chirality： one dominated by sunspot rotation producing a strong CME, and the other showing large shear motions producing a strong flare. The net current in each polarity over the CME producing sub-region increased to a maximum and then decreased when the sunspots were separated. The time profile of net current in this sub-region followed the time profile of the rotation rate of the south-polarity sunspot in the same sub-region. The net current in the flaring sub-region showed a sudden increase at the time of the strong flare and remained unchanged until the end of the observation, while the sunspots maintained their close proximity. The systematic evo- lution of the observed net current is seen to follow the time evolution of total length of strongly sheared polarity inversion lines in both of the sub-regions. The observed photospheric net current could be explained as an inevitable product of the emergence of a twisted flux rope, from a higher pressure confinement below the photosphere into the lower pressure environment of the photosphere.