1. Magnetic Structure of an Erupting Filament
- Author
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Debi Prasad Choudhary, Christian Beck, Valentin Martinez Pillet, Jack Jenkins, Karin Muglach, David Long, Shuo Wang, and James McAteer
- Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Field (physics) ,Solar magnetic fields ,Solar filament eruptions ,HANLE ,Flux ,VECTOR ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Field strength ,Astrophysics ,Astronomy & Astrophysics ,POLARIMETRY ,01 natural sciences ,Solar prominence ,Protein filament ,CORONAL MASS EJECTION ,FLOWS ,symbols.namesake ,0103 physical sciences ,MAPS ,Coronal mass ejection ,Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR) ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Physics ,Zeeman effect ,Science & Technology ,Solar filaments ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Magnetic field ,Quiet solar chromosphere ,SUNSPOT ,Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics ,Space and Planetary Science ,SOLAR PROMINENCES ,Physical Sciences ,Physics::Space Physics ,symbols - Abstract
The full 3-D vector magnetic field of a solar filament prior to eruption is presented. The filament was observed with the Facility Infrared Spectropolarimeter at the Dunn Solar Telescope in the chromospheric He i line at 10830 {\AA} on May 29 and 30, 2017. We inverted the spectropolarimetric observations with the HAnle and ZEeman Light (HAZEL) code to obtain the chromospheric magnetic field. A bimodal distribution of field strength was found in or near the filament. The average field strength was 24 Gauss, but prior to the eruption we find the 90th percentile of field strength was 435 Gauss for the observations on May 29. The field inclination was about 67 degree from the solar vertical. The field azimuth made an angle of about 47 to 65 degree to the spine axis. The results suggest an inverse configuration indicative of a flux rope topology. He i intensity threads were found to be co-aligned with the magnetic field direction. The filament had a sinistral configuration as expected for the southern hemisphere. The filament was stable on May 29, 2017 and started to rise during two observations on May 30, before erupting and causing a minor coronal mass ejection. There was no obvious change of the magnetic topology during the eruption process. Such information on the magnetic topology of erupting filaments could improve the prediction of the geoeffectiveness of solar storms.
- Published
- 2020
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