Eruption of a Kink-unstable Filament in NOAA Active Region 10696
Abstract
We present rapid-cadence Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) observations that show evidence of a filament eruption from NOAA active region 10696, accompanied by an X2.5 flare, on 2004 November 10. The eruptive filament, which manifests as a fast coronal mass ejection some minutes later, rises as a kinking structure with an apparently exponential growth of height within TRACE's field of view. We compare the characteristics of this filament eruption with MHD numerical simulations of a kink-unstable magnetic flux rope, finding excellent qualitative agreement. We suggest that while tether weakening by breakout-like quadrupolar reconnection may be the release mechanism for the previously confined flux rope, the driver of the expansion is most likely the MHD helical kink instability.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- August 2005
- DOI:
- 10.1086/432910
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/0507661
- Bibcode:
- 2005ApJ...628L.163W
- Keywords:
-
- Instabilities;
- Magnetohydrodynamics: MHD;
- Sun: Activity;
- Sun: Filaments;
- Sun: Magnetic Fields;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Accepted by ApJ Letters. 4 figures (Fig. 3 in two parts). For MPEG files associated with Figure 1, see: http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/~drw/papers/kink/ktrace.mpg http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/~drw/papers/kink/kmdi.mpg http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/~drw/papers/kink/ksimu.mpg