Photospheric Flows, Lorentz Forces, and Solar-Eruption Initiation
Abstract
Eruptive Flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are almost certainly magnetically driven. We discuss the role that the Lorentz force must play in driving an eruption, and how both the radial and horizontal components of this force can be related to changes that occur in observations of the vector magnetic field observed at the photosphere. We then review recent observational work on observed flows in the solar atmosphere, and how these flows might be related to changes in the Lorentz force observed during flares. Flows in magnetized regions of the photosphere also generate electric fields, which can affect the flux of magnetic energy transported across the photosphere and into the chromosphere and corona, and result in changes to the magnetic field there as well. We will discuss how such electric fields are incorporated into models of active-regions, to study the buildup of electric currents and the ejection of plasma in the context of our recently funded project, the ``Coronal Global Evolutionary Model (CGEM)'', a collaboration between UC Berkeley, Stanford University, and the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory.
- Publication:
-
40th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014cosp...40E.874F