A RECONNECTING CURRENT SHEET IMAGED IN A SOLAR FLARE

作者:Liu Rui*; Lee Jeongwoo; Wang Tongjiang; Stenborg Guillermo; Liu Chang; Wang Haimin
来源:Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2010, 723(1): L28-L33.
DOI:10.1088/2041-8205/723/1/L28

摘要

Magnetic reconnection changes the magnetic field topology and powers explosive events in astrophysical, space, and laboratory plasmas. For flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar atmosphere, the standard model predicts the presence of a reconnecting current sheet, which has been the subject of considerable theoretical and numerical modeling over the last 50 years, yet direct, unambiguous observational verification has been absent. In this Letter, we show a bright sheet structure of global length (>0.25 R(circle dot)) and macroscopic width ((5-10) x 10(3) km) distinctly above the cusp-shaped flaring loop, imaged during the flare rising phase in EUV. The sheet formed due to the stretch of a transequatorial loop system and was accompanied by various reconnection signatures. This unique event provides a comprehensive view of the reconnection geometry and dynamics in the solar corona.

  • 出版日期2010-11-1