Solar Filament Material Oscillations and Drainage before Eruption
Abstract
Both large-amplitude longitudinal (LAL) oscillations and material drainage in a solar filament are associated with the flow of material along the filament axis, often followed by an eruption. However, the relationship between these two motions and a subsequent eruption event is poorly understood. We analyze a filament eruption using EUV imaging data captured by the Atmospheric Imaging Array on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Hα images from the Global Oscillation Network Group. Hours before the eruption, the filament was activated, with one of its legs undergoing a slow rising motion. The asymmetric activation inclined the filament relative to the solar surface. After the active phase, LAL oscillations were observed in the inclined filament. The oscillation period increased slightly over time, which may suggest that the magnetic fields supporting the filament evolve to be flatter during the slow rising phase. After the oscillations, a significant amount of filament material was drained toward one filament endpoint, followed immediately by the violent eruption of the filament. The material drainage may further support the change in magnetic topology prior to the eruption. Moreover, we suggest that the filament material drainage could play a role in the transition from a slow to a fast rise of the erupting filament.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- August 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/790/2/100
- Bibcode:
- 2014ApJ...790..100B
- Keywords:
-
- Sun: coronal mass ejections: CMEs;
- Sun: filaments;
- prominences;
- Sun: oscillations