Solar Flares Triggered by a Filament Peeling Process Revealed by High-resolution GST Hα Observations
The dynamic structures of solar filaments prior to solar flares provide important physical clues about the onset of solar eruptions. Observations of those structures under subarcsecond resolution with high cadence are rare. We present high-resolution observations covering preeruptive and eruptive ph...
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adad74 |
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| author | Mia Mancuso Ju Jing Haimin Wang Wenda Cao |
| author_facet | Mia Mancuso Ju Jing Haimin Wang Wenda Cao |
| author_sort | Mia Mancuso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The dynamic structures of solar filaments prior to solar flares provide important physical clues about the onset of solar eruptions. Observations of those structures under subarcsecond resolution with high cadence are rare. We present high-resolution observations covering preeruptive and eruptive phases of two C-class solar flares, C5.1 (SOL2022-11-14T17:29) and C5.1 (SOL2022-11-14T19:29), obtained by the Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory. Both flares are ejective, i.e., accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). High-resolution H α observations reveal details of the flares and some striking features, such as a filament peeling process: individual strands of thin flux tubes are separated from the main filament, followed shortly thereafter by a flare. The estimated flux of rising strands is in the order of 10 ^17 Mx, versus the 10 ^19 Mx of the entire filament. Our new finding may explain why photospheric magnetic fields and overall active region and filament structures as a whole do not have obvious changes after a flare, and why some CMEs have been traced back to the solar active regions with only nonerupting filaments, as the magnetic reconnection may only involve a very small amount of flux in the active region, requiring no significant filament eruptions. We suggest internal reconnection between filament threads, instead of reconnection to external loops, as the process responsible for triggering this peeling of threads that results in the two flares and their subsequent CMEs. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-81e06f57cc2f48099825094b29100ada2025-02-04T08:37:44ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019801L410.3847/2041-8213/adad74Solar Flares Triggered by a Filament Peeling Process Revealed by High-resolution GST Hα ObservationsMia Mancuso0https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9313-6173Ju Jing1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8179-3625Haimin Wang2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5233-565XWenda Cao3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2427-6047Institute for Space Weather Sciences , New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), 323 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Center for Solar and Terrestrial Research (CSTR) , 323 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102, USAInstitute for Space Weather Sciences , New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), 323 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Center for Solar and Terrestrial Research (CSTR) , 323 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102, USAInstitute for Space Weather Sciences , New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), 323 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Center for Solar and Terrestrial Research (CSTR) , 323 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Big Bear Solar Observatory, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) , 40386 North Shore Ln., Big Bear City, CA 92314-9672, USAInstitute for Space Weather Sciences , New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), 323 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Center for Solar and Terrestrial Research (CSTR) , 323 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Big Bear Solar Observatory, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) , 40386 North Shore Ln., Big Bear City, CA 92314-9672, USAThe dynamic structures of solar filaments prior to solar flares provide important physical clues about the onset of solar eruptions. Observations of those structures under subarcsecond resolution with high cadence are rare. We present high-resolution observations covering preeruptive and eruptive phases of two C-class solar flares, C5.1 (SOL2022-11-14T17:29) and C5.1 (SOL2022-11-14T19:29), obtained by the Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory. Both flares are ejective, i.e., accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). High-resolution H α observations reveal details of the flares and some striking features, such as a filament peeling process: individual strands of thin flux tubes are separated from the main filament, followed shortly thereafter by a flare. The estimated flux of rising strands is in the order of 10 ^17 Mx, versus the 10 ^19 Mx of the entire filament. Our new finding may explain why photospheric magnetic fields and overall active region and filament structures as a whole do not have obvious changes after a flare, and why some CMEs have been traced back to the solar active regions with only nonerupting filaments, as the magnetic reconnection may only involve a very small amount of flux in the active region, requiring no significant filament eruptions. We suggest internal reconnection between filament threads, instead of reconnection to external loops, as the process responsible for triggering this peeling of threads that results in the two flares and their subsequent CMEs.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adad74Solar flaresSolar filament eruptionsSolar chromosphere |
| spellingShingle | Mia Mancuso Ju Jing Haimin Wang Wenda Cao Solar Flares Triggered by a Filament Peeling Process Revealed by High-resolution GST Hα Observations The Astrophysical Journal Letters Solar flares Solar filament eruptions Solar chromosphere |
| title | Solar Flares Triggered by a Filament Peeling Process Revealed by High-resolution GST Hα Observations |
| title_full | Solar Flares Triggered by a Filament Peeling Process Revealed by High-resolution GST Hα Observations |
| title_fullStr | Solar Flares Triggered by a Filament Peeling Process Revealed by High-resolution GST Hα Observations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Solar Flares Triggered by a Filament Peeling Process Revealed by High-resolution GST Hα Observations |
| title_short | Solar Flares Triggered by a Filament Peeling Process Revealed by High-resolution GST Hα Observations |
| title_sort | solar flares triggered by a filament peeling process revealed by high resolution gst hα observations |
| topic | Solar flares Solar filament eruptions Solar chromosphere |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adad74 |
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