arXiv subjects

Ronald L. Moore

Publications and source records attributed to Ronald L. Moore.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Hbeta Spicules, Small-scale Jets, and Hbeta Microflashes: Sub-arcsecond Dynamic Events and their Magnetic Origins in the Lower Solar Chromosphere Observed by DKIST

We examine an on-disk solar quiet region of enhanced magnetic network using Hbeta images from Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescopes (DKISTs) Visible Broadband Imager (VBI) and line-of-sight magnetograms from DKISTs Visible Spectro-Polarimeter (ViSP). We also compare the ViSP magnetograms with co-aligned co-temporal line-of-sight magnetograms from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). We find:(i) Two types of chromospheric jet-like features: Hbeta spicules, and small-scale jets. Both are rooted near edges of magnetic network lanes. Several sit close to ViSP-detected tiny islands of either minority-polarity flux or dips in majority-polarity flux. Hence, those several plausibly stem from mixed-polarity magnetic flux, and are caused by chromospheric magnetic reconnection. For H\b{eta} spicules, the average width, length, lifetimes, and speeds are 420$\pm$400 km, 2600$\pm$1600 km, 4.3$\pm$0.25 min, and 12$\pm$4.7 kms. For small-scale jets, those are 385$\pm$100 km, 620$\pm$40 km, 5$\pm$3min, and 4.4$\pm$1.5 kms. (ii) H$\beta$ microflashes sit in evidently unipolar flux. Their widths, lengths, lifetimes, and speeds are 180$\pm$65 km, 365$\pm$100 km, 4.3$\pm$2.6 min, and 3.1$\pm$0.2 kms. (iii) At the base of a coronal plume, due to its higher spatial resolution than HMI, ViSP shows both some very strong (>800 G) majority-polarity flux not shown by HMI and some sub-arc-second minority-polarity-flux inclusions not shown by HMI. These sub-arcsecond chromospheric transients carry sufficient energy (10^{24}erg) to transiently heat the local chromosphere and corona and potentially contribute to solar-wind acceleration. They may represent the small-scale end of a continuum of magnetic-reconnection-driven activity, highlighting the importance of DKIST's high-resolution magnetic-field measurements for understanding small-scale chromospheric dynamics.

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arXiv2026

Extreme Ultraviolet Microflashes at Plume Bases: A Candidate for Powering the Corona and Solar Wind?

Solar plumes - outflows of bright coronal plasma - are a major component of the open-magnetic-field corona and solar wind, but their driving mechanism remains uncertain. Here we report on network microflashes, fine-scale bright bursts captured by Solar Orbiters Extreme Ultraviolet Imager in 174A images encompassing magnetic network at the base of plumes. Because they sit in evidently unipolar magnetic flux, they are evidently a new, previously unidentified, kind of network event. Approximately 20 microflashes are ongoing within a plume base, with a new microflash starting every second. The energy for an average microflash is 1024 erg, in the range of nanoflares. A 3D data-driven global MHD model yields open magnetic field with fast solar wind for the investigated plumes. From our findings, we suggest that network microflashes result from fine-scale bursts of reconnection of crossed legs of unipolar magnetic field, that the bursts are often triggered by 5-minute p-mode oscillations, and that the bursts are candidates for powering the open-field corona and solar wind. That is, unipolar microflashes such as ours are plausibly from unipolar-network-field reconnection bursts that sustain the heliosphere.

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arXiv2026

Turbulence and its Potential Impact on Solar Chromospheric and Coronal Heating

Low-frequency turbulence in the solar chromosphere remains poorly understood. We address 1) the sources of low-frequency turbulence that potentially heat the chromosphere, and 2) how turbulence is transported and dissipated throughout the chromosphere and lower corona. We use particle-in-cell simulations to investigate mixed polarity magnetic fields corresponding to emergent magnetic carpet field in coronal holes or quiet Sun regions for strong (imbalanced) and weak (balanced) guide magnetic fields. The initial mixed polarity magnetic field transitions rapidly to a turbulent state dominated by advected small-scale nonlinear structures, with a minority slab turbulence population and the emergent field is largely annihilated. Turbulence is anisotropic for imbalanced magnetic field and more isotropic for balanced cases. We develop a transport model for turbulence advected and dissipated throughout the chromosphere by randomly distributed energy-containing scale dynamical flows described by log-normal statistics. We compute the expectations for the total energy per unit volume (h) J m^{-3}, the Elsasser specific energy (h) m^2 s^{-2}, the heating rate <\cdot{H}>(h) J m^{-3} s^{-1}, and the correlation length <{\lambda}>(h) km as functions of height h above the photosphere. Turbulent energy is injected into the low corona by a random "patchwork" of sites across the transition region surface. The expected energy injection rates <\cdot{S}> J m^{-2} s^{-1} for the chromosphere and at the base of the corona exceed the estimated energy requirements needed to heat both the chromosphere and corona. Similarly, we show that spicules can be heated gradually with increasing height by entrained magnetic carpet and photospheric turbulence.

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arXiv2026

The Making of Delta Sunspots

We explore what fraction of delta sunspots in which the polarity inversion line (PIL) is sharp in photospheric magnetograms are made from a writhe kink in an emerging twisted flux rope. We searched simultaneous full-disk magnetograms and continuum images from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to find 28 random sharp-PIL delta sunspots that are born well on the disk. Only one of these is made from a single newly emerged bipolar magnetic region (BMR) and therefore is a candidate for being made from a single emerging writhe-kinked flux rope. That outcome indicates that few, if any, sharp-PIL delta sunspots are made by a single emerging writhe-kinked flux rope. That is the main new finding of this paper. Each of the other 27 is made by merging of two or more emerging or emerged BMRs. We name delta-sunspot genesis from a single BMR Type I genesis. We identify another three genesis types among the other 27 delta sunspots: Type II, Type III, and Type IV. We present an observed example genesis for each of the four genesis types, and for each example present schematic drawings depicting our scenario(s) for the cause of that example genesis. The core idea of each scenario is that the delta sunspot is made by packing opposite-polarity magnetic flux together by advection into a convection downflow.

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arXiv2026

Observations of a Twin Pair of Atypical Solar Flares and a Magnetic-reconnection Scenario

We present observations and a magnetic-reconnection scenario of a twin pair of "atypical flares" that occurred on 2022 April 22 in a quadrupolar magnetic configuration formed by two active regions. The spatio-temporal evolution of the two flares is examined using images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and from the ground-based Multi-Application Solar Telescope (MAST) in Udaipur, India. Characteristic of atypical flares and indicative of slipping reconnection, the ribbons of each flare (1) do not spread apart and (2) grow longer by sequential brightening of new flare kernels. The two atypical flares are homologous and plausibly have homologous triggers. There are four additional pairs of flare ribbons, each from a different flaring event that releases much less energy than the atypical flares. Two of these four pairs are produced by precursors, each possibly triggering one of the two atypical flares. The remaining two pairs accompany a filament activation, occurring twice within the span of the two atypical flares. Using a nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) extrapolation model, we approximate the coronal magnetic field and find two quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs) that are nearly rooted in the flare ribbons. The observations and the extrapolated field together suggest a scenario in which the nearly simultaneous occurrence of many reconnections between magnetic field lines crossing at small angles (slipping reconnection) within each of the two QSLs produces the observed pair of atypical flares.

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arXiv2025

Surprisingly Large Doppler Shifts in Hinode EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) Solar Spectra, Resulting from an Inconspicuous Small-scale Jet in EUV Images

Strong EUV lineshifts in solar spectra are generally indicative of highly dynamic and explosive events that are easily detected in comparable-wavelength EUV images, with the strongest such line shifts (several 100 km/s) occurring in solar flares. Here we present observations of exceptionally strong lineshifts detected in Hinode/EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) spectra outside the time of a flare-like brightening, with 195 Ang blueshifts of ~200 km/s. Although the likely culprit is too weak to register in GOES Soft X-ray fluxes, EIS pinpoints the source at the edge of an active region. Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) images and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) magnetograms show a nondescript small-scale eruptive event at this location. We find this event likely to be an inconspicuous coronal jet, apparently triggered by converging/canceling magnetic flux patches, with plane-of-sky velocity ~159+-29 km/s. AIA and HMI observations of this faint transient feature, together with observations of a slightly brighter jetting event near the same location an hour earlier, suggest that the strong EIS Doppler shifts are indeed due to a coronal jet that is hard to detect in AIA images. These observations, together with other recent studies, show that EUV Doppler maps are a much more sensitive tool for detecting small-scale eruptions than are EUV images, and those eruptions are frequently triggered by magnetic flux cancelation episodes. Such-detected small-scale eruptions, that often produce small-scale coronal-jet-like features, might propagate into and help drive the solar wind.

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arXiv2025

A sudden fine-scale bright kernel captured by Hi-C Flare in 11 MK emission during an M1.6-class solar flare's post-maximum phase

On April 17, 2024, the third successful Hi-C sounding rocket flight, Hi-C Flare, recorded coronal images in Fe XXI 129 A emission from 11 MK plasma during the post-maximum phase of an M1.6-class solar flare, achieving unprecedented spatial (~300 km) and temporal (1.3 s) resolutions. The flare started at 21:55 UT, peaked at 22:08 UT, and lasted ~40 minutes. Hi-C observed for over five minutes (22:15:45 to 22:21:25), starting roughly eight minutes after flare maximum. A sudden compact bright burst - 875 +/- 25 km wide, lasting 90 +/- 1.3 s, exhibiting a proper motion of ~50 km/s, and splitting into two toward the end - occurs near the foot of some post-flare loops. Its size and brightness are reminiscent of flare-ribbon kernels during a flare's rapid rise phase, kernels marking sites of sudden heating and hot plasma upflow, making its occurrence during the late phase surprising. Such isolated brightenings in a flare's post-maximum phase are rare, and have not been previously reported. The kernel was detected in all SDO/AIA channels. Its 1600 A light curve peaked ~50 s earlier than its 131 A light curve, similar to that of flare-ribbon kernels, albeit with a smaller delay of ~25 s, during the impulsive phase of the flare. In SDO/HMI magnetograms, the kernel sits in unipolar positive magnetic flux near an embedded clump of negative flux. Although localized magnetic reconnection within the kernel (a microflare) cannot be ruled out for its cause, the observations favor the localized brightening being an isolated, exceptionally late flare-ribbon kernel, resulting from an exceptionally late burst of the flare's coronal reconnection.

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arXiv2025

Buildup, Explosion, and Untwisting of a Solar Active Region Jet Observed with Solar Orbiter, IRIS, and SDO

We present detailed analysis of an active region coronal jet accompanying a minifilament eruption that is fully captured and well-resolved in high spatial resolution 174A coronal images from Solar Orbiters Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI). The active region jet is simultaneously observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). An erupting minifilament is rooted at the edge of an active region where mixed-polarity magnetic flux is present. Minority-polarity positive flux merges and cancels with the active regions dominant negative flux at an average rate of 1019 Mx/hr, building a minifilament-holding flux rope and triggering its eruption. The eruption shows a slow rise followed by a fast rise, akin to large-scale filament eruptions. EUI images and Mg II k spectra, displaying simultaneously blueshifts and redshifts at the opposite edges of the spire, indicate counterclockwise untwisting of the jet spire. This jet is the clearest, most comprehensively observed active-region jet with this instrument set, displaying striking similarities with quiet Sun and coronal hole jets. Its magnetic, thermal, and kinetic energies suggest a significant contribution to local coronal heating. We conclude that magnetic flux cancelation builds a minifilament-carrying twisted flux rope and also eventually triggers the flux ropes eruption that makes the coronal jet, in line with our recent results on the buildup and explosion of solar coronal jets in quiet Sun and coronal holes. That is, this active region jet clearly works the same way as the vast majority of quiet Sun and coronal hole jets.

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arXiv2025

Pivot of the Emerging Bipolar Magnetic Region in the Birth of Sigmoidal Solar Active Regions

We present an augmentation to longstanding evidence from observations and MHD modeling that (1) every solar emerging bipolar magnetic region (BMR) is made by an emerging omega-loop flux rope, and (2) twist in the flux-rope field makes the emerged field sigmoidal. Using co-temporal full-disk coronal EUV images, magnetograms, and continuum images from Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), we found and tracked the emergence of 42 emerging single-BMR sigmoidal active regions (ARs) that have sunspots in both polarity domains. Throughout each AR's emergence, we quantified the emerging BMR's tilt angle to the east-west direction (the x-direction in SDO images) by measuring in the continuum images the tilt angle of the line through the (visually located) two centroids of the BMR's opposite-polarity sunspot clusters. As each AR emerges, it becomes either S-shaped (shows net right-handed magnetic twist) or Z-shaped (shows net left-handed magnetic twist) in the coronal EUV images. Nineteen of the ARs become S-shaped and 23 become Z-shaped. For all 42 ARs, in agreement with published MHD simulations of the emergence of a single-BMR sigmoidal AR from a subsurface twisted flux rope, if the AR becomes S-shaped, the emerging BMR pivots counterclockwise, and if the AR becomes Z-shaped, the emerging BMR pivots clockwise. For our 42 ARs, the pivot amount roughly ranges from 10{\deg} to 90{\deg} and averages about 35{\deg}. Thus, at the onset of the emergence of our average emerging omega-loop flux rope, the magnetic field's twist pitch angle at the flux rope's top edge is plausibly about 35{\deg}.

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arXiv2025

Quantifying Suppression of Solar Surface Magnetic Flux Advection with Increasing Field Strength

One of the main theories for heating of the solar corona is based on the idea that solar convection shuffles and tangles magnetic field lines to make many small-scale current sheets that, via reconnection, heat coronal loops. Tiwari et al 2017 present evidence that, besides depending on loop length and other factors, the brightness of a coronal loop depends on the field strength in the loop feet and the freedom of convection in the feet. While it is known that strong solar magnetic fields suppress convection, the decrease in the speed of horizontal advection of magnetic flux with increasing field strength has not been quantified before. We quantify that trend by analyzing 24hours of HMI SHARP vector magnetograms of each of six sunspot active regions and their surroundings. Using Fourier Local Correlation Tracking, we estimate the horizontal advection speed of the magnetic flux at each pixel in which the vertical component of the magnetic field strength (Bz) is well above (greater than or equal to 150 G) noise level. We find that the average horizontal advection speed of magnetic flux steadily decreases as Bz increases, from 110 pm 3 meters per sec for 150 G (in network and plage) to 10 pm 4 meters per sec for 2500 G (in sunspot umbra). The trend is well fit by a fourth degree polynomial. These results quantitatively confirm the expectation that magnetic flux advection is suppressed by increasing magnetic field strength. The presented quantitative relation should be useful for future MHD simulations of coronal heating.

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arXiv2025

Formation of chromospheric fan-shaped jets through magnetic reconnection

Recurrent chromospheric fan-shaped jets highlight the highly dynamic nature of the solar atmosphere. They have been named as ''light walls'' or ''peacock jets'' in high-resolution observations. In this study, we examined the underlying mechanisms responsible for the generation of recurrent chromospheric fan-shaped jets utilizing data from the Goode Solar Telescope (GST) at Big Bear Solar Observatory, along with data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO). These jets appear as dark elongated structures in H$\alpha$ wing images, persist for over an hour, and are located in the intergranular lanes between a pair of same-polarity sunspots. Our analysis reveals that magnetic flux cancellation at the jet base plays a crucial role in their formation. HMI line-of-sight magnetograms show a gradual decrease in opposite-polarity fluxes spanning the sequence of jets in H$\alpha$ - 0.8 angstrom images, suggesting that recurrent magnetic reconnection, likely driven by recurrent miniature flux-rope eruptions that are built up and triggered by flux cancellation, powers these jets. Additionally, magnetic field extrapolations reveal a 3D magnetic null-point topology at the jet formation site $\sim$1.25 Mm height. Furthermore, we observed strong brightening in AIA 304 angstrom channel above the neutral line. Based on our observations and extrapolation results, we propose that these recurrent chromospheric fan-shaped jets align with the minifilament eruption model previously proposed for coronal jets. Though our study focuses on fan-shaped jets in between same-polarity sunspots, similar mechanism might be responsible for light bridge-associated fan-shaped jets.

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arXiv2025

Unveiling the Dynamics and Genesis of Small-scale Fine Structure Loops in the Lower Solar Atmosphere

Recent high-resolution solar observations have unveiled the presence of small-scale loop-like structures in the lower solar atmosphere, often referred to as unresolved fine structures, low-lying loops, and miniature hot loops. These structures undergo rapid changes within minutes, and their formation mechanism has remained elusive. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of two small loops utilizing data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), the Goode Solar Telescope (GST) at Big Bear Solar Observatory, and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), aiming to elucidate the underlying process behind their formation. The GST observations revealed that these loops, with lengths of $\sim$3.5 Mm and heights of $\sim$1 Mm, manifest as bright emission structures in H$\alpha$ wing images, particularly prominent in the red wing. IRIS observations showcased these loops in 1330 angstrom slit-jaw images, with TR and chromospheric line spectra exhibiting significant enhancement and broadening above the loops, indicative of plasmoid-mediated reconnection during their formation. Additionally, we observed upward-erupting jets above these loops across various passbands. Furthermore, differential emission measurement analysis reveals an enhanced emission measure at the location of these loops, suggesting the presence of plasma exceeding 1 MK. Based on our observations, we propose that these loops and associated jets align with the minifilament eruption model. Our findings suggest a unified mechanism governing the formation of small-scale loops and jets akin to larger-scale X-ray jets.

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arXiv2024

On the Onset Mechanism for Solar Coronal Jets, and Implications for the Onset Mechanism for CME-Producing Eruptions

Large-scale solar eruptions often include ejection of a filament, a solar flare, and expulsion of a coronal mass ejection (CME). Unravelling the magnetic processes that build up the free energy for these eruptions and trigger that energy's release in the eruption is a continuing challenge in solar physics. Such large-scale eruptions are comparatively infrequent, with the moderate level ones (say, GOES M-class events) occurring perhaps once every few days on average during active-activity times, and much less frequently during quieter times. In contrast, solar coronal jets, which are long (~50,000 km), narrow (less than about 10,000 km), transient (~10--20 min) plasma spires with bright bases and that are seen in soft X-rays and EUV, occur much more frequently, likely several hundred times per day independent of large-scale solar activity level. Recent studies indicate that coronal jets are small-scale versions of large-scale eruptions, often produced by eruption of a small-scale "miniflament," that results in a "miniflare" analogous to a larger typical solar flare, and that sometimes produces a CME analogue (a "narrow CME" or "white-light jet"). Under the assumption that jets are small-scale eruptions, their higher occurrence frequency and faster build-up evolution reveals perhaps fundamental aspects of all eruptions that are not as easy to discern in the more-complex magnetic environment and the slower build up to the larger eruptions. Therefore, the study of coronal jets can provide insights into the onset mechanism of CME-producing large-scale eruptions.

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arXiv2024

Stealth Non-standard-model Confined Flare Eruptions: Sudden Reconnection Events in Ostensibly Inert Magnetic Arches from Sunspots

We report seven examples of a long-ignored type of confined solar flare eruption that does not fit the standard model for confined flare eruptions. Because they are confined eruptions, do not fit the standard model, and unexpectedly erupt in ostensibly inert magnetic arches, we have named them stealth non-standard-model confined flare eruptions. Each of our flaring magnetic arches stems from a big sunspot. We tracked each eruption in full-cadence UV and EUV images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) of Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in combination with magnetograms from SDO's Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). We present the onset and evolution of two eruptions in detail: one of six that each make two side-by-side main flare loops, and one that makes two crossed main flare loops. For these two cases, we present cartoons of the proposed pre-eruption field configuration and how sudden reconnection makes the flare ribbons and flare loops. Each of the seven eruptions is consistent with being made by sudden reconnection at an interface between two internal field strands of the magnetic arch, where they cross at a small (10 - 20 degrees) angle. These stealth non-standard-model confined flare eruptions therefore plausibly support the idea of E. N. Parker for coronal heating in solar coronal magnetic loops by nanoflare bursts of reconnection at interfaces of internal field strands that cross at angles of 10 - 20 degrees.

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arXiv2024

Source Region and Launch Characteristics of Magnetic-arch-blowout Solar Coronal Mass Ejections Driven by Homologous Compact-flare Blowout Jets

We study the formation of four coronal mass ejections (CMEs) originating from homologous blowout jets. All of the blowout jets originated from NOAA active region (AR) 11515 on 2012 July 2, within a time interval of $\approx$14 hr. All of the CMEs were wide (angular widths $\approx$95$-$150$^\circ$), and propagated with speeds ranging between $\approx$300$-$500 km s$^{-1}$ in LASCO coronagraph images. Observations at various EUV wavelengths in Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly images reveal that in all the cases, the source region of the jets lies at the boundary of the leading part of AR 11515 that hosts a small filament before each event. Coronal magnetic field modeling based on nonlinear force free extrapolations indicate that in each case the filament is contained inside of a magnetic flux rope that remains constrained by overlying compact loops. The southern footpoint of each filament is rooted in the negative polarity region where the eruption onsets occur. This negative-polarity region undergoes continuous flux changes, including emergence and cancellation with opposite polarity in the vicinity of the flux rope, and the EUV images reveal brightening episodes near the filament's southeastern footpoint before each eruption. Therefore, these flux changes are likely the cause of the subsequent eruptions. These four homologous eruptions originate near adjacent feet of two large-scale loop systems connecting from that positive-polarity part of the AR to two remote negative-polarity regions, and result in large-scale consequences in the solar corona.

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arXiv2024

How Small-scale Jet-like Solar Events from Miniature Flux Rope Eruptions Might Produce the Solar Wind

We consider small-scale jet-like events that might make the solar wind, as has been suggested in recent studies. We show that the events referred to as "coronal jets" and as "jetlets" both fall on a power-law distribution that also includes large-scale eruptions and spicule-sized features; all of the jet-like events could contribute to the solar wind. Based on imaging and magnetic field data, it is plausible that many or most of these events might form by the same mechanism: Magnetic flux cancelation produces small-scale flux ropes, often containing a cool-material minifilament. This minifilament/flux rope erupts and reconnects with adjacent open coronal field, along which "plasma jets" flow and contribute to the solar wind. The erupting flux ropes can contain twist that is transferred to the open field, and these become Alfvénic pulses that form magnetic switchbacks, providing an intrinsic connection between switchbacks and the production of the solar wind.

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arXiv2023

Solar Active Region Coronal Jets. III. Hidden-Onset Jets

Solar quiet- and coronal-hole region coronal jets frequently clearly originate from erupting minifilaments, but active-region jets often lack an obvious erupting-minifilament source. We observe a coronal-jet-productive active region (AR), AR 12824, over 2021 May 22 0 -- 8 UT, primarily using Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Array (AIA) EUV images and SDO/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) magnetograms. Jets were concentrated in two locations in the AR: on the south side and on the northwest side of the AR's lone large sunspot. The south-location jets are oriented so that we have a clear view of the jets' origin low in the atmosphere: their source is clearly minifilaments erupting from locations showing magnetic flux changes/cancelations. After erupting a projected distance ~<5" away from their origin site, the minifilaments erupt outward onto far-reaching field as part of the jet's spire, quickly losing their minifilament character. In contrast, the northwest-location jets show no clear erupting minifilament, but the source site of those jets are obscured along our line-of-sight by absorbing chromospheric material. EUV and magnetic data indicate that the likely source sites were ~>15" from where the we first see the jet spire; thus an erupting minifilament would likely lose its minifilament character before we first see the spire. We conclude that such AR jets could work like non-AR jets, but the erupting-minifilament jet source is often hidden by obscuring material. Another factor is that magnetic eruptions making some AR jets carry only a harder-to-detect comparatively thin (~1--2") minifilament "strand."

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arXiv2023

Formation of an observed eruptive flux rope above the torus instability threshold through tether-cutting magnetic reconnection

Erupting magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) play a crucial role in producing solar flares. However, the formation of erupting MFRs in complex coronal magnetic configurations and their subsequent evolution in the flaring events are not fully understood. We performed an MHD simulation of active region NOAA 12241 to understand the formation of a rising MFR during the onset of an M6.9 flare on 2014 December 18, around 21:41 UT. The MHD simulation was initialised with an extrapolated non-force-free magnetic field generated from the photospheric vector magnetogram of the active region taken a few minutes before the flare. The initial magnetic field topology displays a pre-existing sheared arcade enveloping the polarity inversion line. The simulated dynamics exhibit the movement of the oppositely directed legs of the sheared arcade field lines towards each other due to the converging Lorentz force, resulting in the onset of tether-cutting magnetic reconnection that produces an underlying flare arcade and flare ribbons. Concurrently, an MFR above the flare arcade develops inside the sheared arcade and shows a rising motion. The MFR is found to be formed in a torus-unstable region, thereby explaining its eruptive nature. Interestingly, the location and rise of the rope are in good agreement with the corresponding observations seen in EUV channels. Furthermore, the foot points of the simulation's flare arcade match well with the location of the observed parallel ribbons of the flare. The presented simulation supports the development of the MFR by the tether-cutting magnetic reconnection inside the sheared coronal arcade during flare onset. The MFR is then found to extend along the polarity inversion line (PIL) through slip-running reconnection. The MFR's eruptive nature is ascribed both to its formation in the torus-unstable region and also to the runaway tether-cutting reconnection.

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