A Model for Confined Solar Eruptions Including External Reconnection

The violent disruption of the coronal magnetic field is often observed to be restricted to the low corona, appearing as a confined eruption. The possible causes of the confinement remain elusive. Here, we model the eruption of a magnetic flux rope in a quadrupolar active region, with the parameters set such that magnetic X-lines exist both below and above the rope. This facilitates the onset of magnetic reconnection in either place but with partly opposing effects on the eruption. The lower reconnection initially adds poloidal flux to the rope, increasing the upward hoop force and supporting the rise of the rope. However, when the flux of the magnetic side lobes enters the lower reconnection, the flux rope is found to separate from the reconnection site and the flux accumulation ceases. At the same time, the upper reconnection begins to reduce the poloidal flux of the rope, decreasing its hoop force; eventually this cuts the rope completely. The relative weight of the two reconnection processes is varied in the model, and it is found that their combined effect and the tension force of the overlying field confine the eruption if the flux ratio of the outer to the inner polarities exceeds a threshold, which is about 1.3 for our Cartesian box and chosen parameters. We hence propose that external reconnection between an erupting flux rope and overlying flux can play a vital role in confining eruptions.Comment: submitted to ApJ Letters that has addressed the referee repor

Observations of a Failed Solar Filament Eruption Involving External Reconnection

We report a failed solar filament eruption that involves external magnetic reconnection in a quadrupolar magnetic configuration. The evolution exhibits three kinematic evolution phases: a slow-rise phase, an acceleration phase, and a deceleration phase. In the early slow rise, extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) brightenings appear at the expected null point above the filament and are connected to the outer polarities by the hot loops, indicating the occurrence of a breakout reconnection. Subsequently, the filament is accelerated outward, accompanied by the formation of low-lying high-temperature post-flare loops ($>$ 15 MK), complying with the standard flare model. However, after 2--3 minutes, the erupting filament starts to decelerate and is finally confined in the corona. The important finding is that the confinement is closely related to an external reconnection as evidenced by the formation of high-lying large-scale hot loops ($>$ 10 MK) with their brightened footpoints at the outer polarities, the filament fragmentation and subsequent falling along the newly formed large-scale loops, as well as a hard X-ray source close to one of the outer footpoint brightenings. We propose that, even though the initial breakout reconnection and subsequent flare reconnection commence and accelerate the filament eruption, the following external reconnection between the erupting flux rope and overlying field, as driven by the upward filament eruption, makes the eruption finally failed, as validated by the numerical simulation of a failed flux rope eruption.Comment: Accepted by Ap

Spectral Features of the Solar Transition Region and Chromospheric Lines at Flare Ribbons Observed with IRIS

We report on the spectral features of the Si IV 1402.77 \AA, C II 1334.53 \AA, and Mg II h or k lines, formed in the layers from the transition region to the chromosphere, in three two-ribbon flares (with X-, M-, and C-class) observed with IRIS. All the three lines show significant redshifts within the main flare ribbons, which mainly originate from the chromospheric condensation during the flares. The average redshift velocities of the Si IV line within the main ribbons are 56.6, 25.6, and 10.5 km s$^{-1}$ for the X-, M-, and C-class flares, respectively, which show a decreasing tendency with the flare class. The C II and Mg II lines show a similar tendency but with smaller velocities compared to the Si IV line. Additionally, the Mg II h or k line shows a blue-wing enhancement in the three flares in particular at the flare ribbon fronts, which is supposed to be caused by an upflow in the upper chromosphere due to the heating of the atmosphere. Moreover, the Mg II h or k line exhibits a central reversal at the flare ribbons, but turns to pure emission shortly after 1--4 minutes. Correspondingly, the C II line also shows a central reversal but in a smaller region. However, for the Si IV line, the central reversal is only found in the X-class flare, but not in the other two flares. As usual, the central reversal of these lines can be caused by the opacity effect. This implies that in addition to the optically thick lines (C II and Mg II lines), the Si IV line can become optically thick in a strong flare, which is likely related to the nonthermal electron beam heating.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Three-dimensional Turbulent Reconnection within Solar Flare Current Sheet

Solar flares can release coronal magnetic energy explosively and may impact the safety of near-earth space environments. Their structures and properties on macroscale have been interpreted successfully by the generally-accepted two-dimension standard model invoking magnetic reconnection theory as the key energy conversion mechanism. Nevertheless, some momentous dynamical features as discovered by recent high-resolution observations remain elusive. Here, we report a self-consistent high-resolution three-dimension magnetohydrodynamical simulation of turbulent magnetic reconnection within a flare current sheet. It is found that fragmented current patches of different scales are spontaneously generated with a well-developed turbulence spectrum at the current sheet, as well as at the flare loop-top region. The close coupling of tearing-mode and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities plays a critical role in developing turbulent reconnection and in forming dynamical structures with synthetic observables in good agreement with realistic observations. The sophisticated modeling makes a paradigm shift from the traditional to three-dimension turbulent reconnection model unifying flare dynamical structures of different scales.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure, accepted for publication in ApJ

Microwave imaging of quasi-periodic pulsations at flare current sheet

Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) are frequently detected in solar and stellar flares, but the underlying physical mechanisms are still to be ascertained. Here, we show microwave QPPs during a solar flare originating from quasi-periodic magnetic reconnection at the flare current sheet. They appear as two vertically detached but closely related sources with the brighter ones located at flare loops and the weaker ones along the stretched current sheet. Although the brightness temperatures of the two microwave sources differ greatly, they vary in phase with periods of about 10–20 s and 30–60 s. The gyrosynchrotron-dominated microwave spectra also present a quasi-periodic soft-hard-soft evolution. These results suggest that relevant high-energy electrons are accelerated by quasi-periodic reconnection, likely arising from the modulation of magnetic islands within the current sheet as validated by a 2.5-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation

Vibration Information Acquisition and Representation Control Strategy for Construction Vehicle Driver Seat

Vibration information acquisition and representation control strategy in the experiment of construction of vehicle driver seat are investigated in this study. An improved adaptive algorithm of multisensor attitude data fusion is proposed. The nonlinear equations of vehicle attitude quaternions are constructed by using the test information of accelerometers and magnetometers. Then, a complementary filter is used to fuse the obtained attitude with gyroscope information to obtain attitude information during vehicle travel. Weight matrix and filter coefficients in the algorithm are adjusted with vehicle motions to ensure accuracy of attitude measurement under static, low-, and high-acceleration conditions. The vehicle vibration displacement information is reconstructed by the low-frequency attenuation integration method on the basis of attitude measurement to inhibit integral trend items and reduce vibration displacement reconstruction errors. The three-state controller is designed to control a six-degree-of-freedom hydraulic simulated vibration test bed, and the obtained vibration signal is used as an excitation signal to perform a vibration representation control test. Finally, results verify that the proposed method demonstrates favourable data fusion and representation accuracy

Temperature and Electric Field Distribution Characteristics of a DC-GIL Basin-Type Spacer with 3D Modelling and Simulation

The temperature properties of real-type direct-current gas-insulated transmission lines (DC-GIL) with a basin-type spacer were investigated by the finite element method in this paper. A horizontally installed model was established and the temperature distribution was obtained with a 3D model. The specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of the spacer were measured and applied in the simulation. The results show that the temperature of the convex surface was slightly higher than that of the concave surface. With an increase in the SF6 pressure, the temperature of the spacer decreased, which can be attributed to the improvement of convection due to increases in the heat capacity per unit volume. With an increase in the ambient temperature, the temperature of the spacer increased linearly. The temperature difference between the inner and outer parts of the spacer increased with increases in the load current. Besides, an obvious increase in the surface electric field strength appeared under the influence of the thermal gradient compared to the results without the thermal gradient. Thus, special attention should be paid to the insulation properties of the spacer considering the influence of temperature distribution. This study evaluates both the thermal and insulation characteristics of the GIL along with the spacer under various conditions

Current-sheet Oscillations Caused by Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability at the Loop Top of Solar Flares

Current sheets (CSs), long stretching structures of magnetic reconnection above solar flare loops, are usually observed to oscillate, their origins, however, are still puzzled at present. Based on a high-resolution 2.5-dimensional MHD simulation of magnetic reconnection, we explore the formation mechanism of the CS oscillations. We find that large-amplitude transverse waves are excited by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) at the highly turbulent cusp-shaped region. The perturbations propagate upward along the CS with a phase speed close to local Alfv\'{e}n speed thus resulting in the CS oscillations we observe. Though the perturbations damp after propagating for a long distance, the CS oscillations are still detectable. In terms of detected CS oscillations, with a combination of differential emission measure technique, we propose a new method for measuring the magnetic field strength of the CSs and its distribution in height.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter