Observatoire de Paris Institut national de recherche scientifique français Univerité Pierre et Marie Curie Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7

Magnetic Imprints and Momentum Processes in Major Solar Eruptions

mercredi 3 octobre 2018, par Xudong SUN (University of Hawaii, USA)

Mardi 23 octobre 2018 à 11h00 , Lieu : Salle de confĂ©rence du bâtiment 17

The solar active region photospheric magnetic field evolves rapidly during major eruptive events, suggesting appreciable feedback from the corona. Using high-cadence vector magnetogram sequence, multi-wavelength coronal imaging, and numerical simulation, I will show how the observed photospheric "magnetic imprints” are highly structured in space and time, and how it can in principle be used to estimate the impulse of the Lorentz force that accelerates the coronal mass ejection (CME) plasma. In an archetypical event, the Lorentz force correlates well with the CME acceleration, but the total force impulse surprisingly exceeds the CME momentum by almost two orders of magnitude. Such a trend holds for the majority of the major eruptions from our survey sample. I propose a "gentle photospheric upwelling" scenario, where most of the Lorentz force is trapped in the lower atmosphere layer, counter-balanced by gravity of the upwelled mass. This unexpected effect dominates the momentum processes, but is negligible for the energy budget. I will discuss our follow-up project, how the upcoming high-sensitivity observations and new-generation numerical models may help elucidate the problem.