arXiv subjects

Yuhong Fan

Publications and source records attributed to Yuhong Fan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

MHD simulation of prominence-cavity system

We present magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the evolution from quasi-equilibrium to onset of eruption of a twisted, prominence-forming coronal magnetic flux rope underlying a corona streamer. The flux rope is built up by an imposed flux emergence at the lower boundary. During the quasi-static phase of the evolution, we find the formation of a prominence-cavity system with qualitative features resembling observations, as shown by the synthetic SDO/AIA EUV images with the flux rope observed above the limb viewed nearly along its axis. The cavity contains substructures including ``U''-shaped or horn-liked features extending from the prominence enclosing a central ``cavity'' on top of the prominence. The prominence condensations form in the dips of the highly twisted field lines due to runaway radiative cooling and the cavity is formed by the density depleted portions of the prominence-carrying field lines extending up from the dips. The prominence ``horns'' are threaded by twisted field lines containing shallow dips, where the prominence condensations have evaporated to coronal temperatures. The central ``cavity'' enclosed by the horns is found to correspond to a central hot and dense core containing twisted field lines that do not have dips. The flux rope eventually erupts as its central part rises quasi-statically to a critical height consistent with the onset of the torus instability. The erupting flux rope accelerates to a fast speed of nearly 900 km/s and the associated prominence eruption shows significant rotational motion and a kinked morphology.

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arXiv2018

The eruption of a prominence carrying coronal flux rope: forward synthesis of the magnetic field strength measurement by the COronal Solar Magnetism Observatory Large Coronagraph

From a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the eruption of a prominence hosting coronal flux rope, we carry out forward synthesis of the circular polarization signal (Stokes V signal) of the FeXIII emission line at 1074.7 nm produced by the MHD model as measured by the proposed COronal Solar Magnetism Observatory (COSMO) Large Coronagraph (LC) and infer the line-of-sight magnetic field BLOS above the limb. With an aperture of 150 cm, integration time of 12 min, and a resolution of 12 arcsec, the LC can measure a significant BLOS with sufficient signal to noise level, from the simulated flux rope viewed nearly along its axis with a peak axial field strength of about 10 G. The measured BLOS is found to relate well with the axial field strength of the flux rope for the height range of the prominence, and can discern the increase with height of the magnetic field strength in that height range that is a definitive signature of the concave upturning dipped field supporting the prominence. The measurement can also detect an outward moving BLOS due to the slow rise of the flux rope as it develops the kink instability, during the phase when its rise speed is still below about 41 km/s and up to a height of about 1.3 solar radii. These results suggest that the COSMO LC has great potential in providing quantitative information about the magnetic field structure of CME precursors (e.g. the prominence cavities) and their early evolution for the onset of eruption.

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arXiv2018

MHD simulation of prominence eruption

We carry out magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the quasi-static evolution and eruption of a twisted coronal flux rope under a coronal streamer built up by an imposed flux emergence at the lower boundary. The MHD model incorporates a simple empirical coronal heating, optically thin radiative cooling, and field aligned thermal conduction, and thus allows the formation of prominence condensations. We find that during the quasi-static evolution, prominence/filament condensations of an elongated, sigmoid morphology form in the dips of the significantly twisted field lines of the emerged flux rope due to run-away radiative cooling. A prominence cavity also forms surrounding the prominence, which is best observed above the limb with the line-of-sight nearly along the length of the flux rope, as shown by synthetic SDO/AIA EUV images. The magnetic field supporting the prominence is significantly non-force-free despite the low plasma-beta. By comparing with a simulation that suppresses prominence formation, we find that the prominence weight is dynamically important and can suppress the onset of the kink instability and hold the flux rope in equilibrium for a significantly long time, until draining of the prominence plasma develops and lightens the prominence weight. The flux rope eventually develops the kink instability and erupts, producing a prominence eruption. The synthetic AIA 304 angstrom images show that the prominence is lifted up into an erupting loop, exhibiting helical features along the loop and substantial draining along the loop legs, as often seen in observations.

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arXiv2017

Emergence of magnetic flux generated in a solar convective dynamo. I: Formation of Sunspots and Active regions, and Origin of Their Asymmetries

We present a realistic numerical model of sunspot and active region formation based on the emergence of flux bundles generated in a solar convective dynamo. To this end we use the magnetic and velocity fields in a horizontal layer near the top boundary of the solar convective dynamo simulation to drive realistic radiative-magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the upper most layers of the convection zone. The main results are: (1) The emerging flux bundles rise with the mean speed of convective upflows, and fragment into small-scale magnetic elements that further rise to the photosphere, where bipolar sunspot pairs are formed through the coalescence of the small-scale magnetic elements. (2) Filamentary penumbral structures form when the sunspot is still growing through ongoing flux emergence. In contrast to the classical Evershed effect, the inflow seems to prevail over the outflow in a large part of the penumbra. (3) A well formed sunspot is a mostly monolithic magnetic structures that is anchored in a persistent deep-seated downdraft lane. The flow field outside the spot shows a giant vortex ring that comprises of an inflow below 15 Mm depth and an outflow above 15 Mm depth. (4) The sunspots successfully reproduce the fundamental properties of the observed solar active regions, including the more coherent leading spots with a stronger field strength, and the correct tilts of bipolar sunspot pairs. These asymmetries can be linked to the intrinsic asymmetries in the magnetic and flow fields adapted from the convective dynamo simulation.

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arXiv2017

MHD simulations of the eruption of coronal flux ropes under coronal streamers

Using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations, we investigate the eruption of coronal flux ropes underlying coronal streamers and the development of a prominence eruption. We initialize a quasi-steady solution of a coronal helmet streamer, into which we impose at the lower boundary the slow emergence of a part of a twisted magnetic torus. As a result a quasi-equilibrium flux rope is built up under the streamer. With varying sizes of the streamer and the different length and total twist of the emerged flux rope, we found different scenarios for the evolution from quasi-equilibrium to eruption. In the cases with a broad streamer, the flux rope remains well confined until there is sufficient twist such that it first develops the kink instability and evolves through a sequence of kinked, confined states with increasing height until it eventually develops a "hernia-like" ejective eruption. For the significantly twisted flux ropes, prominence condensations form in the dips of the twisted field lines due to run-away radiative cooling. Once formed, the prominence carrying field becomes significantly non-force-free due to the prominence weight despite being low plasma $β$. As the flux rope erupts, we obtain the eruption of the prominence, which shows substantial draining along the legs of the erupting flux rope. The prominence may not show a kinked morphology even though the flux rope becomes kinked. On the other hand, in the case with a narrow streamer, the flux rope with less than 1 wind of twist can erupt via the onset of the torus instability.

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arXiv2016

On the Observation and Simulation of Solar Coronal Twin Jets

We present the first observation, analysis and modeling of solar coronal twin jets, which occurred after a preceding jet. Detailed analysis on the kinetics of the preceding jet reveals its blowout-jet nature, which resembles the one studied in Liu et al. 2014. However the erupting process and kinetics of the twin jets appear to be different from the preceding one. In lack of the detailed information on the magnetic fields in the twin jet region, we instead use a numerical simulation using a three-dimensional (3D) MHD model as described in Fang et al. 2014, and find that in the simulation a pair of twin jets form due to reconnection between the ambient open fields and a highly twisted sigmoidal magnetic flux which is the outcome of the further evolution of the magnetic fields following the preceding blowout jet. Based on the similarity between the synthesized and observed emission we propose this mechanism as a possible explanation for the observed twin jets. Combining our observation and simulation, we suggest that with continuous energy transport from the subsurface convection zone into the corona, solar coronal twin jets could be generated in the same fashion addressed above.

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arXiv2016

Modeling the initiation of the 2006 December 13 coronal mass ejection in AR 10930: the structure and dynamics of the erupting flux rope

We carry out a three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulation to model the initiation of the coronal mass ejection (CME) on 13 December 2006 in the emerging δ-sunspot active region NOAA 10930. The setup of the simulation is similar to a previous simulation by Fan (2011), but with a significantly widened simulation domain to accommodate the wide CME. The simulation shows that the CME can result from the emergence of a east-west oriented twisted flux rope whose positive, following emerging pole corresponds to the observed positive rotating sunspot emerging against the southern edge of the dominant pre-existing negative sunspot. The erupting flux rope in the simulation accelerates to a terminal speed that exceeds 1500 km/s and undergoes a counter-clockwise rotation of nearly 180 degrees such that its front and flanks all exhibit southward directed magnetic fields, explaining the observed southward magnetic field in the magnetic cloud impacting the Earth. With continued driving of flux emergence, the source region coronal magnetic field also shows the reformation of a coronal flux rope underlying the flare current sheet of the erupting flux rope, ready for a second eruption. This may explain the build up for another X-class eruptive flare that occurred the following day from the same region.

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arXiv2015

MHD Equilibria and Triggers for Prominence Eruption

Magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the emergence of twisted magnetic flux tubes from the solar interior into the corona are discussed to illustrate how twisted and sheared coronal magnetic structures (with free magnetic energy), capable of driving filament eruptions, can form in the corona in emerging active regions. Several basic mechanisms that can disrupt the quasi-equilibrium coronal structures and trigger the release of the stored free magnetic energy are discussed. These include both ideal processes such as the onset of the helical kink instability and the torus instability of a twisted coronal flux rope structure and the non-ideal process of the onset of fast magnetic reconnections in current sheets. Representative MHD simulations of the non-linear evolution involving these mechanisms are presented.

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arXiv2015

Differential Rotation in Solar Convective Dynamo Simulations

We carry out a magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of convective dynamo in the rotating solar convective envelope driven by the solar radiative diffusive heat flux. The simulation is similar to that reported in Fan & Fang (2014) but with further reduced viscosity and magnetic diffusion. The resulting convective dynamo produces a large scale mean field that exhibits similar irregular cyclic behavior and polarity reversals, and self-consistently maintains a solar-like differential rotation. The main driver for the solar-like differential rotation (with faster rotating equator) is a net outward transport of angular momentum away from the rotation axis by the Reynolds stress, and we found that this transport is enhanced with reduced viscosity and magnetic diffusion.

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arXiv2015

Numerical Study on Emergence of Kinked Flux Tube for Understanding of Possible Origin of Delta-spot Regions

We carried out a magnetohydrodynamics simulation where a subsurface twisted kink-unstable flux tube emerges from the solar interior to the corona. Unlike the previous expectations based on the bodily emergence of a knotted tube, we found that the kinked tube can spontaneously form a complex quadrupole structure at the photosphere. Due to the development of the kink instability before the emergence, the magnetic twist at the kinked apex of the tube is greatly reduced, although the other parts of the tube is still strongly twisted. This leads to the formation of a complex quadrupole structure: a pair of the coherent, strongly twisted spots and a narrow complex bipolar pair between it. The quadrupole is formed by the submergence of a portion of emerged magnetic fields. This result is relevant for understanding of the origin of the complex multipolar $δ$-spot regions that have a strong magnetic shear and emerge with polarity orientations not following Hale-Nicholson and Joy Laws.

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arXiv2015

$δ$-Sunspot Formation in Simulation of Active-Region-Scale Flux Emergence

$δ$-sunspots, with highly complex magnetic structures, are very productive in energetic eruptive events, such as X-class flares and homologous eruptions. We here study the formation of such complex magnetic structures by numerical simulations of magnetic flux emergence from the convection zone into the corona in an active-region-scale domain. In our simulation, two pairs of bipolar sunspots form on the surface, originating from two buoyant segments of a single subsurface twisted flux rope, following the approach of Toriumi et al. (2014). Expansion and rotation of the emerging fields in the two bipoles drive the two opposite polarities into each other with apparent rotating motion, producing a compact $δ$-sunspot with a sharp polarity inversion line. The formation of the $δ$-sunspot in such a realistic-scale domain produces emerging patterns similar to those formed in observations, e.g. the inverted polarity against Hale's law, the curvilinear motion of the spot, strong transverse field with highly sheared magnetic and velocity fields at the PIL. Strong current builds up at the PIL, giving rise to reconnection, which produces a complex coronal magnetic connectivity with non-potential fields in the Delta-spot overlaid by more relaxed fields connecting the two polarities at the two ends.

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arXiv2015

Effects of Radiative Diffusion on Thin Flux Tubes in Turbulent Solar-like Convection

We study the combined effects of convection and radiative diffusion on the evolution of thin magnetic flux tubes in the solar interior. Radiative diffusion is the primary supplier of heat to convective motions in the lower convection zone, and it results in a heat input per unit volume of magnetic flux tubes that has been ignored by many previous thin flux tube studies. We use a thin flux tube model subject to convection taken from a rotating spherical shell of turbulent, solar-like convection as described by Weber, Fan, and Miesch (2011, Astrophys. J., 741, 11; 2013, Solar Phys., 287, 239), now taking into account the influence of radiative heating on flux tubes of large-scale active regions. Our simulations show that flux tubes of less than or equal to 60 kG subject to solar-like convective flows do not anchor in the overshoot region, but rather drift upward due to the increased buoyancy of the flux tube earlier in its evolution as a result of the inclusion of radiative diffusion. Flux tubes of magnetic field strengths ranging from 15 kG to 100 kG have rise times of less than or equal to 0.2 years, and exhibit a Joy's Law tilt-angle trend. Our results suggest that radiative heating is an effective mechanism by which flux tubes can escape from the stably stratified overshoot region, and that flux tubes do not necessarily need to be anchored in the overshoot region to produce emergence properties similar to those of active regions on the Sun.

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arXiv2014

Simulation of homologous and cannibalistic Coronal Mass Ejections produced by the emergence of a twisted flux rope into the Solar Corona

We report the first results of a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the development of a homologous sequence of three coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and demonstrate their so-called cannibalistic behavior. These CMEs originate from the repeated formations and partial eruptions of kink unstable flux ropes as a result of continued emergence of a twisted flux rope across the lower boundary into a pre-existing coronal potential arcade field. The simulation shows that a CME erupting into the open magnetic field created by a preceding CME has a higher speed. The second of the three successive CMEs simulated is cannibalistic catching up and merging with the first into a single fast CME before exiting the domain. All the CMEs including the leading merged CME, attained speeds of about 1000 km/s as they exit the domain. The reformation of a twisted flux rope after each CME eruption during the sustained flux emergence can naturally explain the X-ray observations of repeated reformations of sigmoids and "sigmoid-under-cusp" configurations at a low-coronal source of homologous CMEs.

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arXiv2014

Rotating Solar Jets in Simulations of Flux Emergence with Thermal Conduction

We study the formation of coronal jets through numerical simulation of the emergence of a twisted magnetic flux rope into a pre-existing open magnetic field. Reconnection inside the emerging flux rope in addition to that between the emerging and pre-existing fields give rise to the violent eruption studied. The simulated event closely resembles the coronal jets ubiquitously observed by Hinode/XRT and demonstrates that heated plasma is driven into the extended atmosphere above. Thermal conduction implemented in the model allows us to qualitatively compare simulated and observed emission from such events. We find that untwisting field lines after the reconnection drive spinning outflows of plasma in the jet column. The Poynting flux in the simulated jet is dominated by the untwisting motions of the magnetic fields loaded with high-density plasma. The simulated jet is comprised of spires of untwisting field that are loaded with a mixture of cold and hot plasma and exhibit rotational motion of order 20 km/s and match contemporary observations.

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arXiv2014

A simulation of convective dynamo in the solar convective envelope: maintenance of the solar-like differential rotation and emerging flux

We report the results of a magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of a convective dynamo in a model solar convective envelope driven by the solar radiative diffusive heat flux. The convective dynamo produces a large-scale mean magnetic field that exhibits irregular cyclic behavior with oscillation time scales ranging from about 5 to 15 years and undergoes irregular polarity reversals. The mean axisymmetric toroidal magnetic field is of opposite signs in the two hemispheres and is concentrated at the bottom of the convection zone. The presence of the magnetic fields is found to play an important role in the self-consistent maintenance of a solar-like differential rotation in the convective dynamo model. Without the magnetic fields, the convective flows drive a differential rotation with a faster rotating polar region. In the midst of magneto-convection, we found emergence of strong super-equipartition flux bundles at the surface, exhibiting properties that are similar to emerging solar active regions.

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arXiv2013

Three-Dimensional MHD Simulations of Emerging Active Region Flux in a Turbulent Rotating Solar Convective Envelope: the Numerical Model and Initial Results

We describe a 3D finite-difference spherical anelastic MHD (FSAM) code for modeling the subsonic dynamic processes in the solar convective envelope. A comparison of this code with the widely used global spectral anlastic MHD code, ASH (Anelastic Spherical Harmonics), shows that FSAM produces convective flows with statistical properties and mean flows similar to the ASH results. Using FSAM, we first simulate the rotating solar convection in a partial spherical shell domain and obtain a statistically steady, giant-cell convective flow with a solar-like differential rotation. We then insert buoyant toroidal flux tubes near the bottom of the convecting envelope and simulate the rise of the flux tubes in the presence of the giant cell convection. We find that for buoyant flux tubes with an initial field strength of 100 kG, the magnetic buoyancy largely determines the rise of the tubes although strong down flows produce significant undulation and distortion to the shape of the emerging $Ω$-shaped loops. The convective flows significantly reduce the rise time it takes for the apex of the flux tube to reach the top. For the weakly twisted and untwisted cases we simulated, the apex portion is found to rise nearly radially to the top in about a month, and produce an emerging region (at a depth of about 30 Mm below the photosphere) with an overall tilt angle consistent with the active region tilts, although the emergence pattern is more complex compared to the case without convection. Near the top boundary at a depth of about 30 Mm, the emerging flux shows a retrograde zonal flow of about 345 m/s relative to the mean flow at that latitude.

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arXiv2013

A Theory on the Convective Origins of Active Longitudes on Solar-like Stars

Using a thin flux tube model in a rotating spherical shell of turbulent, solar-like convective flows, we find that the distribution of emerging flux tubes in our simulation is inhomogeneous in longitude, with properties similar to those of active longitudes on the Sun and other solar-like stars. The large-scale pattern of flux emergence our simulations produce exhibits preferred longitudinal modes of low order, drift with respect to a fixed reference system, and alignment across the Equator at low latitudes between 15 degrees. We suggest that these active-longitude-like emergence patterns are the result of columnar, rotationally aligned giant cells present in our convection simulation at low latitudes. If giant convecting cells exist in the bulk of the solar convection zone, this phenomenon, along with differential rotation, could in part provide an explanation for the behavior of active longitudes.

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arXiv2012

Comparing Simulations of Rising Flux Tubes Through the Solar Convection Zone with Observations of Solar Active Regions: Constraining the Dynamo Field Strength

We study how active-region-scale flux tubes rise buoyantly from the base of the convection zone to near the solar surface by embedding a thin flux tube model in a rotating spherical shell of solar-like turbulent convection. These toroidal flux tubes that we simulate range in magnetic field strength from 15 kG to 100 kG at initial latitudes of 1 degree to 40 degrees in both hemispheres. This article expands upon Weber, Fan, and Miesch (Astrophys. J., 741, 11, 2011) (Article 1) with the inclusion of tubes with magnetic flux of 10^20 Mx and 10^21 Mx, and more simulations of the previously investigated case of 10^22 Mx, sampling more convective flows than the previous article, greatly improving statistics. Observed properties of active regions are compared to properties of the simulated emerging flux tubes, including: the tilt of active regions in accordance with Joy's Law as in Article 1, and in addition the scatter of tilt angles about the Joy's Law trend, the most commonly occurring tilt angle, the rotation rate of the emerging loops with respect to the surrounding plasma, and the nature of the magnetic field at the flux tube apex. We discuss how these diagnostic properties constrain the initial field strength of the active region flux tubes at the bottom of the solar convection zone, and suggest that flux tubes of initial magnetic field strengths of \geq 40 kG are good candidates for the progenitors of large (10^21 Mx to 10^22 Mx) solar active regions, which agrees with the results from Article 1 for flux tubes of 10^22 Mx. With the addition of more magnetic flux values and more simulations, we find that for all magnetic field strengths, the emerging tubes show a positive Joy's Law trend, and that this trend does not show a statistically significant dependence on the magnetic flux.

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