Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Magnetic Flux Ropes in Active Regions with M-Class Flares

  • Published:
Geomagnetism and Aeronomy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The dynamics of the magnetic field reconstructed in the nonlinear force-free approximation in the pre-flare and post-flare phases of M-class X-ray flares in seven active regions is considered: two flares with a coronal mass ejection (CME), two flares with eruption but no CMEs, and three flares without eruption. Extrapolation of the magnetic field to the corona of an active region (AR) showed that in all seven events at the site of the flare, 2–3 hours or less before it, a twisted state of the magnetic field is observed. It manifests itself in eruptive events most clearly in the form of magnetic ropes. Magnetic ropes and their dynamics are more pronounced in flares with CMEs; after the flare, they undergo a cardinal restructuring. In events with eruption, but without a CME, the flux ropes are pronounced, they are also rearranged after the flares, but the closed magnetic configuration prevents the coronal ejection. In events without eruption, flares occur in the interspot zone, where less pronounced flux ropes are observed, and in such events we do not observe significant changes in magnetic fields after the flare. In the pre-flare phase, at the location of the magnetic ropes, crossed loops are observed in all studied ARs in the extreme ultraviolet range; there is also a maximum brightness of microwave emission.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.

REFERENCES

  1. Ahrens, J., Geveci, B., and Law, Ch., An End-User Tool for Large Data Visualization (Visualization Handbook), Elsevier, 2005.

  2. Anfinogentov, S.A., GX box preparation library: A set of programs for preparing GX-Simulator compatible magnetic field data cubes. https://github.com/Sergey-Anfinogentov/GXBox_prep.

  3. Bakunina, I.A. and Melnikov, V.F., Dynamics of solar microwave emission before powerful flares in September 2017, Astron. Astrophys. Trans., 2019, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 251–266.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bakunina, I.A., Melnikov, V.F., and Morgachev, A.S., Preflare dynamics of microwave and ultraviolet emission in active regions of the Sun, Astrophysics,2020a, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 252–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bakunina, I.A., Melnikov, V.F., and Morgachev, A.S., Signs of preflare situation in solar ultraviolet and microwave emission, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2020b, vol. 60, no. 7, pp. 853–859.

  6. Bakunina, I.A., Mel’nikov, V.F., Shain, A.V., et al., Spatial and temporal features of the behavior of microwave and ultraviolet emission for eruptive events, Izv. Krym. Astrofiz. Obs., 2022a, vol. 118, no. 1, pp. 65–74.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bakunina, I.A., Melnikov, V.F., Shain, A.V., and Abramov-Maximov, V.E., Analysis of the preflare phase of eruptive and noneruptive flares using data on the spatial dynamics of coronal magnetic structures and their microwave and ultraviolet emission, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2022b, vol. 62, no. 8, pp. 1066–1072.

  8. Carmichael, H., A process for flares, in The Physics of Solar Flares, Proceedings of the AAS-NASA Symposium held at the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., 28–30 October, 1963, Hess, N.H., Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Science and Technical Information Division, 1964, pp. 451–456.

  9. Duan, A., Jiang, C., He, W., Feng, X., Zou, P., and Cui, J., A study of pre-flare solar coronal magnetic fields: Magnetic flux ropes, Astrophys. J., 2019, vol. 884, p. 73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Gibson, S.E., Fan, Y., Török, T., and Kliem, B., The evolving sigmoid: Evidence for magnetic flux ropes in the corona before, during, and after CMEs, Space Sci. Rev., 2006, vol. 124, pp. 131–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Hassanin, A. and Kliem, B., Helical kink instability in a confined solar eruption, Astrophys. J., 2016, vol. 832, no. 2, p. 106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Hirayama, T., Theoretical model of flares and prominences. I. Evaporating flare model, Sol. Phys., 1974, vol. 34, pp. 323–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Ishkov, V.N., Catalog of solar flare events with X-ray classes M1 – X > 17.5 XXIV cycle of solar activity (I.2009–I2.2019), November 2018. http://www.wdcb.ru/stp/ data/Solar_Flare_Events/Fl_XXIV.txt. https://doi.org/10.2205/ESDB-SAD-FE-02.

  14. Kliem, B., Lee, J., Liu, R., et al., Nonequilibrium flux rope formation by confined flares preceding a solar coronal mass ejection, Astrophys. J., 2021, vol. 909, no. 1, p. 91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kopp, R.A. and Pneuman, G.W., Magnetic reconnection in the corona and the loop prominence phenomenon, Sol. Phys., 1976, vol. 50, pp. 85–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kuznetsov, S.A., Zimovets, I.V., Morgachev, A.S., and Struminsky, A.B., Spatio–temporal dynamics of sources of hard X-ray pulsations in solar flares, Sol. Phys., 2016, vol. 291, pp. 3385–3426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Kuznetsov, S.A., Zimovets, I.V., Melnikov, V.F., and Wang, R., Spatio–temporal evolution of sources of microwave and hard X-ray pulsations of the solar flare using the NoRH, RHESSI, and AIA/SDO observation data, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2017, vol. 57, no. 8, pp. 1067–1072.

  18. Lee, J.-Y., Raymond, J.C., Reeves, K.K., et al., Heating of an erupting prominence associated with a solar coronal mass ejection on 2012 January 27, Astrophys. J., 2017, vol. 844, no. 1, p. 3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Li, T., Liu, L., Hou, Y., and Zhang, J., Two Types of Solar Confined Flares, Astrophys. J., 2019, vol. 881, p. 151. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab3121

  20. Sharykin, I.N., Zimovets, I.V., and Myshyakov, I.I., Flare energy release at the magnetic field polarity inversion line during the M1.2 solar flare of 2015 March 15. II. Investigation of photospheric electric current and magnetic field variations using HMI 135 s vector magnetograms, Astrophys. J., 2020, vol. 893, p. 159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Shen, Y., Liu, Y., and Su, J., Sympathetic partial and full filament eruptions observed in one solar breakout event, Astrophys. J., 2012, vol. 750, p. 12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Stupishin, A.G., Alexey-Stupishin/Magnetic-Field_Library: NLFFF and magnetic lines (v3.4.22.1025-beta), 2022. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7272052

  23. Sturrock, P.A., Model of the high-energy phase of solar flares, Nature, 1966, vol. 211, pp. 695–697.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Török, T., Leake, J.E., Titov, V., et al., Distribution of electric currents in solar active regions, Astrophys. J., 2014, vol. 782, p. L10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Tsap, Y., Fedun, V., Cheremnykh, O., et al., On the stabilization of a twisted magnetic flux tube, Astrophys. J., 2020, vol. 901, no. 2, p. 99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Van Ballegooijen, A.A. and Martens, P.C.H., Formation and eruption of solar prominences, Astrophys. J., 1989, vol. 343, pp. 971–984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Wiegelmann, T., Optimization code with weighting function for the reconstruction of coronal magnetic fields, Sol. Phys., 2004, vol. 219, pp. 87–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Zaitsev, V.V. and Stepanov, A.V., Prominence activation by increase in electric current, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 2018, vol. 179, pp. 149–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Zimovets, I.V., Wang, R., Liu, Y.D., et al., Magnetic structure of solar flare regions producing hard X-ray pulsations, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 2018, vol. 174, pp. 17–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The work was performed using data from the Nobeyama Radioheliograph operated by the International Consortium for the Continued Operation of Nobeyama Radioheliograph (ICCON). ICCON includes the ISEE/Nagoya University, NARC, KASI, NICT, and GSFC/NASA. We are grateful to the SDO team for the AIA and HMI observational data. The flares catalog is available from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center at: ftp://ftp.ngdc.noaa. gov/STP/swpc_products/weekly_reports/PRFs_of_SGD/. Programs for non-linear force-free extrapolation of the magnetic field into the corona developed by Anfinogentov S.A. and Stupishin A.G. and available at https://github. com/Sergey-Anfinogentov/GXBox\_prep, https://github. com/Alexey-Stupishin/Magnetic-Field\_Library. We are grateful to A.V. Shain for adapting the programs of Stupishin A.G. for the ParaView package.

Funding

The study was partially supported by grants from the Russian Science Foundation no. 22-12-00308 (S.A.K.) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research_Czech Republic no. 20-52-26006 (VFM), as well as within the framework of State Assignment no. 1021032422589-5 (V.E.A.-M.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. HSE University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

    I. A. Bakunina

  2. Central (Pulkovo) Astronomical Observatory, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

    V. F. Melnikov, S. A. Kuznetsov & V. E. Abramov-Maximov

Authors
  1. I. A. Bakunina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. V. F. Melnikov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. A. Kuznetsov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. V. E. Abramov-Maximov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to I. A. Bakunina.

Ethics declarations

The authors of this work declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note.

Pleiades Publishing remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bakunina, I.A., Melnikov, V.F., Kuznetsov, S.A. et al. Magnetic Flux Ropes in Active Regions with M-Class Flares. Geomagn. Aeron. 63, 1154–1166 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793223080030

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793223080030

Search

Navigation