scholarly journals A Test to Confirm the Source of Energy for Solar Flares

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Wheatland
Keyword(s):  
Active Region ◽  
Solar Flares ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Virial Theorem ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Sufficient Data ◽  
Statistical Comparison ◽  
Independent Measure ◽  
Vector Magnetograms ◽  
Current Systems

AbstractA test of the hypothesis that flares derive their energy from large scale current systems inferred from active region vector magnetograms is proposed. The test involves a statistical comparison of the flarerelated change in coronal magnetic energy (based on the magnetohydrodynamic virial theorem) and an independent measure of the energy of the flare. A simulation suggests that — assuming the hypothesis is correct—the test requires around 50 flares with energy greater than 5×1023 J to return a significant result. Existing archives of vector magnetograms should provide sufficient data for such a study.

Large-scale particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection in solar flares

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaocan Li ◽  
Fan Guo
Keyword(s):  
Particle Acceleration ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Solar Flares ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Macroscopic Model ◽  
Scale Particle ◽  
Reconnection Layer

<p>Magnetic reconnection is a primary driver of magnetic energy release and particle acceleration processes in space and astrophysical plasmas. Solar flares are a great example where observations have suggested that a large fraction of magnetic energy is converted into nonthermal particles and radiation. One of the major unsolved problems in reconnection studies is nonthermal particle acceleration. In the past decade or two, 2D kinetic simulations have been widely used and have identified several acceleration mechanisms in reconnection. Recent 3D simulations have shown that the reconnection layer naturally generates magnetic turbulence. Here we report our recent progresses in building a macroscopic model that includes these physics for explaining particle acceleration during solar flares. We show that, for sufficient large systems, high-energy particle acceleration processes can be well described as flow compression and shear. By means of 3D kinetic simulations, we found that the self-generated turbulence is essential for the formation of power-law electron energy spectrum in non-relativistic reconnection. Based on these results, we then proceed to solve an energetic particle transport equation in a compressible reconnection layer provided by high-Lundquist-number MHD simulations. Due to the compression effect, particles are accelerated to high energies and develop power-law energy distributions. The power-law index and maximum energy are both comparable to solar flare observations. This study clarifies the nature of particle acceleration in large-scale reconnection sites and initializes a framework for studying large-scale particle acceleration during solar flares.</p>

Effects of optimisation parameters on data-driven magnetofrictional modelling 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anshu Kumari ◽  
Daniel Price ◽  
Emilia Kilpua ◽  
Jens Pomoell ◽  
Farhad Daei
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Active Region ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Flux Rope ◽  
Coronal Magnetic Field ◽  
Early Evolution ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Magnetic Field Magnitude ◽  
Mass Ejection

<p>The solar coronal magnetic field plays an important role in the formation, evolution, and dynamics of small and large-scale structures in the corona. Estimation of the coronal magnetic field, the ultimate driver of space weather, particularly in the ‘low’ and ‘middle’ corona, is presently limited due to practical difficulties. Data-driven time-dependent magnetofrictional modelling (TMFM) of active region magnetic fields has been proven as a tool to observe and study the corona. In this work, we present a detailed study of data-driven TMFM of active region 12473 to trace the early evolution of the flux rope related to the coronal mass ejection that occurred on 28 December 2015. Non-inductive electric field component in the photosphere is critical for energizing and introducing twist to the coronal magnetic field, thereby allowing unstable configurations to be formed. We estimate this component using an approach based on optimizing the injection of magnetic energy. We study the effects of these optimisation parameters on the data driven coronal simulations. By varying the free optimisation parameters, we explore the changes in flux rope formation and their early evolution, as well other parameters, e.g. axial flux, magnetic field magnitude.</p>

Trigger mechanisms of the major solar flares

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S354) ◽  
pp. 392-406
Author(s):  
Shuhong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Active Region ◽  
Solar Flares ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Polarity Inversion ◽  
Strong Gradient ◽  
Cycle 24 ◽  
Kink Instability ◽  
Shearing Motion ◽  
Trigger Mechanisms

AbstractSolar flares, suddenly releasing a large amount of magnetic energy, are one of the most energetic phenomena on the Sun. For the major flares (M- and X-class flares), there exist strong-gradient polarity-inversion lines in the pre-flare photospheric magnetograms. Some parameters (e.g., electric current, shear angle, free energy) are used to measure the magnetic non-potentiality of active regions, and the kernels of major flares coincide with the highly non-potential regions. Magnetic flux emergence and cancellation, shearing motion, and sunspot rotation observed in the photosphere are deemed to play an important role in the energy buildup and flare trigger. Solar active region 12673 produced many major flares, among which the X9.3 flare is the largest one in solar cycle 24. According to the newly proposed block-induced eruption model, the block-induced complex structures built the flare-productive active region and the X9.3 flare was triggered by an erupting filament due to the kink instability.

scholarly journals Evolution of the Active Region NOAA 12443 based on magnetic field extrapolations: preliminary results

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S328) ◽  
pp. 127-129
Author(s):  
André Chicrala ◽  
Renato Sergio Dallaqua ◽  
Luis Eduardo Antunes Vieira ◽  
Alisson Dal Lago ◽  
Jenny Marcela Rodríguez Gómez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Active Region ◽  
Magnetic Structure ◽  
Solar Flares ◽  
Solar Surface ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Surface Magnetic Field ◽  
The Magnetic Field

AbstractThe behavior of Active Regions (ARs) is directly related to the occurrence of some remarkable phenomena in the Sun such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections (CME). In this sense, changes in the magnetic field of the region can be used to uncover other relevant features like the evolution of the ARs magnetic structure and the plasma flow related to it. In this work we describe the evolution of the magnetic structure of the active region AR NOAA12443 observed from 2015/10/30 to 2015/11/10, which may be associated with several X-ray flares of classes C and M. The analysis is based on observations of the solar surface and atmosphere provided by HMI and AIA instruments on board of the SDO spacecraft. In order to investigate the magnetic energy buildup and release of the ARs, we shall employ potential and linear force free extrapolations based on the solar surface magnetic field distribution and the photospheric velocity fields.

scholarly journals Transition from eruptive to confined flares in the same active region

2017 ◽  
Vol 601 ◽  
pp. A26 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. P. Zuccarello ◽  
R. Chandra ◽  
B. Schmieder ◽  
G. Aulanier ◽  
R. Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Active Region ◽  
Solar Atmosphere ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Magnetic Field Model ◽  
Large Scale Field ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Context. Solar flares are sudden and violent releases of magnetic energy in the solar atmosphere that can be divided into two classes: eruptive flares, where plasma is ejected from the solar atmosphere resulting in a coronal mass ejection (CME), and confined flares, where no CME is associated with the flare. Aims. We present a case study showing the evolution of key topological structures, such as spines and fans, which may determine the eruptive versus non-eruptive behavior of the series of eruptive flares followed by confined flares, which all originate from the same site. Methods. To study the connectivity of the different flux domains and their evolution, we compute a potential magnetic field model of the active region. Quasi-separatrix layers are retrieved from the magnetic field extrapolation. Results. The change in behavior of the flares from one day to the next – from eruptive to confined – can be attributed to the change in orientation of the magnetic field below the fan with respect to the orientation of the overlaying spine rather than an overall change in the stability of the large-scale field. Conclusions. Flares tend to be more confined when the field that supports the filament and the overlying field gradually becomes less anti-parallel as a direct result of changes in the photospheric flux distribution, being themselves driven by continuous shearing motions of the different magnetic flux concentrations.

The macrodynamics of α-effect dynamos in rotating fluids

1975 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. V. R. Maekus ◽  
M. R. E. Proctor
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Finite Amplitude ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Past Study ◽  
Ohmic Loss ◽  
General Will ◽  
Rotating Systems ◽  
Stellar Magnetic Fields

Past study of the large-scale consequences of forced small-scale motions in electrically conducting fluids has led to the ‘α-effect’ dynamos. Various linear kinematic aspects of these dynamos have been explored, suggesting their value in the interpretation of observed planetary and stellar magnetic fields. However, large-scale magnetic fields with global boundary conditions can not be force free and in general will cause large-scale motions as they grow. I n this paper the finite amplitude behaviour of global magnetic fields and the large-scale flows induced by them in rotating systems is investigated. In general, viscous and ohmic dissipative mechanisms both play a role in determining the amplitude and structure of the flows and magnetic fields which evolve. In circumstances where ohmic loss is the principal dissipation, it is found that determination of a geo- strophic flow is an essential part of the solution of the basic stability problem. Nonlinear aspects of the theory include flow amplitudes which are independent of the rotation and a total magnetic energy which is directly proportional to the rotation. Constant a is the simplest example exhibiting the various dynamic balances of this stabilizing mechanism for planetary dynamos. A detailed analysis is made for this case to determine the initial equilibrium of fields and flows in a rotating sphere.

Turbulent dynamo action at low magnetic Reynolds number

1970 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. Moffatt
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Isotropic Turbulence ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Dynamo Action ◽  
Ohmic Dissipation ◽  
Magnetic Energy Density ◽  
Magnetic Diffusivity

The effect of turbulence on a magnetic field whose length-scale L is initially large compared with the scale l of the turbulence is considered. There are no external sources for the field, and in the absence of turbulence it decays by ohmic dissipation. It is assumed that the magnetic Reynolds number Rm = u0l/λ (where u0 is the root-mean-square velocity and λ the magnetic diffusivity) is small. It is shown that to lowest order in the small quantities l/L and Rm, isotropic turbulence has no effect on the large-scale field; but that turbulence that lacks reflexional symmetry is capable of amplifying Fourier components of the field on length scales of order Rm−2l and greater. In the case of turbulence whose statistical properties are invariant under rotation of the axes of reference, but not under reflexions in a point, it is shown that the magnetic energy density of a magnetic field which is initially a homogeneous random function of position with a particularly simple spectrum ultimately increases as t−½exp (α2t/2λ3) where α(= O(u02l)) is a certain linear functional of the spectrum tensor of the turbulence. An analogous result is obtained for an initially localized field.

CHOICE OF CONDITIONS FOR MHD SIMULATIONS ABOVE THE ACTIVE REGION, ALLOWING THE STUDY OF THE SOLAR FLARE MECHANISM

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 92-95
Author(s):  
A.I. Podgorny ◽  
◽  
I.M. Podgorny ◽  
A.V. Borisenko ◽  
N.S. Meshalkina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Active Region ◽  
Solar Flare ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Solar Radius ◽  
Computational Domain ◽  
Mhd Simulations ◽  
Flare Energy ◽  
Numerical Instabilities ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Primordial release of solar flare energy high in corona (at altitudes 1/40 - 1/20 of the solar radius) is explained by release of the magnetic energy of the current sheet. The observed manifestations of the flare are explained by the electrodynamical model of a solar flare proposed by I. M. Podgorny. To study the flare mechanism is necessary to perform MHD simulations above a real active region (AR). MHD simulation in the solar corona in the real scale of time can only be carried out thanks to parallel calculations using CUDA technology. Methods have been developed for stabilizing numerical instabilities that arise near the boundary of the computational domain. Methods are applicable for low viscosities in the main part of the domain, for which the flare energy is effectively accumulated near the singularities of the magnetic field. Singular lines of the magnetic field, near which the field can have a rather complex configuration, coincide or are located near the observed positions of the flare.

scholarly journals The development of magnetic field line wander by plasma turbulence

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory G. Howes ◽  
Sofiane Bourouaine
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Field Line ◽  
Magnetic Field Line ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Plasma Turbulence ◽  
Alfven Wave ◽  
Astrophysical Plasmas ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Plasma turbulence occurs ubiquitously in space and astrophysical plasmas, mediating the nonlinear transfer of energy from large-scale electromagnetic fields and plasma flows to small scales at which the energy may be ultimately converted to plasma heat. But plasma turbulence also generically leads to a tangling of the magnetic field that threads through the plasma. The resulting wander of the magnetic field lines may significantly impact a number of important physical processes, including the propagation of cosmic rays and energetic particles, confinement in magnetic fusion devices and the fundamental processes of turbulence, magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration. The various potential impacts of magnetic field line wander are reviewed in detail, and a number of important theoretical considerations are identified that may influence the development and saturation of magnetic field line wander in astrophysical plasma turbulence. The results of nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence of sub-ion length scales are evaluated to understand the development and saturation of the turbulent magnetic energy spectrum and of the magnetic field line wander. It is found that turbulent space and astrophysical plasmas are generally expected to contain a stochastic magnetic field due to the tangling of the field by strong plasma turbulence. Future work will explore how the saturated magnetic field line wander varies as a function of the amplitude of the plasma turbulence and the ratio of the thermal to magnetic pressure, known as the plasma beta.

scholarly journals Energy release and conversion by reconnection in the magnetotail

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 3365-3373 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Birn ◽  
M. Hesse
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Energy Release ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Ohmic Dissipation ◽  
Particle Simulations ◽  
Minor Part ◽  
Reconnection Site ◽  
A Minor

Abstract. Magnetic reconnection is the crucial process in the release of magnetic energy previously stored in the magnetotail in association with substorms. However, energy transfer and dissipation in the vicinity of the reconnection site is only a minor part of the energy conversion. We discuss the energy release, transport, and conversion based on large-scale resistive MHD simulations of magnetotail dynamics and more localized full particle simulations of reconnection. We address in particular, where the energy is released, how it propagates and where and how it is converted from one form into another. We find that Joule (or ohmic) dissipation plays only a minor role in the overall energy transfer. Bulk kinetic energy, although locally significant in the outflow from the reconnection site, plays a more important role as mediator or catalyst in the transfer between magnetic and thermal energy. Generator regions with potential auroral consequences are located primarily off the equatorial plane in the boundary regions of the plasma sheet.

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