Observational Comparison between Confined and Eruptive Flares: Magnetohydrodynamics Instability Parameters in a Similar Magnetic Configuration

Unstable states of the solar coronal magnetic field structure result in various flare behaviors. In this study, we compared the confined and eruptive flares that occurred under similar magnetic circumstances in the active region 12673, on 2017 September 6, using the twist number, decay index, and he...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kouhei Teraoka, Daiki Yamasaki, Yusuke Kawabata, Shinsuke Imada, Toshifumi Shimizu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc12d
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850200541174431744
author Kouhei Teraoka
Daiki Yamasaki
Yusuke Kawabata
Shinsuke Imada
Toshifumi Shimizu
author_facet Kouhei Teraoka
Daiki Yamasaki
Yusuke Kawabata
Shinsuke Imada
Toshifumi Shimizu
author_sort Kouhei Teraoka
collection DOAJ
description Unstable states of the solar coronal magnetic field structure result in various flare behaviors. In this study, we compared the confined and eruptive flares that occurred under similar magnetic circumstances in the active region 12673, on 2017 September 6, using the twist number, decay index, and height of magnetic field lines to identify observational behaviors of the flare eruption. We investigated the parameters from the magnetic field lines involved in an initial energy release, which were identified from the positions of the core of flare ribbons, i.e., flare kernels. The magnetic field lines were derived by nonlinear force-free field modeling calculated from the photospheric vector magnetic field obtained by the Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, and flare kernels were identified from the 1600 Å data obtained by the SDO/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. The twist number of all the magnetic field lines in the confined flare was below 0.6; however, the twist number in seven out of 24 magnetic field lines in the eruptive flare was greater than 0.6. These lines were tall. It is found that the decay index is not a clear discriminator of the confined and eruptive flares. Our study suggests that some magnetic field lines in the kink instability state may be important for eruptive flares, and that taller magnetic field lines may promote flare eruption.
format Article
id doaj-art-10d2b25cefa94f9290e40b5c3d175c86
institution OA Journals
issn 1538-4357
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series The Astrophysical Journal
spelling doaj-art-10d2b25cefa94f9290e40b5c3d175c862025-08-20T02:12:19ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01983212610.3847/1538-4357/adc12dObservational Comparison between Confined and Eruptive Flares: Magnetohydrodynamics Instability Parameters in a Similar Magnetic ConfigurationKouhei Teraoka0Daiki Yamasaki1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1072-3942Yusuke Kawabata2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7452-0656Shinsuke Imada3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7891-3916Toshifumi Shimizu4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4764-6856Department of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo , 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan ; k-teraoka892@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp, shimizu.toshifumi@jaxa.jp; Institute of Space and Astronautical Science , Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210, JapanInstitute of Space and Astronautical Science , Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210, JapanNational Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, JapanDepartment of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo , 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan ; k-teraoka892@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp, shimizu.toshifumi@jaxa.jpDepartment of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo , 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan ; k-teraoka892@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp, shimizu.toshifumi@jaxa.jp; Institute of Space and Astronautical Science , Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210, JapanUnstable states of the solar coronal magnetic field structure result in various flare behaviors. In this study, we compared the confined and eruptive flares that occurred under similar magnetic circumstances in the active region 12673, on 2017 September 6, using the twist number, decay index, and height of magnetic field lines to identify observational behaviors of the flare eruption. We investigated the parameters from the magnetic field lines involved in an initial energy release, which were identified from the positions of the core of flare ribbons, i.e., flare kernels. The magnetic field lines were derived by nonlinear force-free field modeling calculated from the photospheric vector magnetic field obtained by the Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, and flare kernels were identified from the 1600 Å data obtained by the SDO/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. The twist number of all the magnetic field lines in the confined flare was below 0.6; however, the twist number in seven out of 24 magnetic field lines in the eruptive flare was greater than 0.6. These lines were tall. It is found that the decay index is not a clear discriminator of the confined and eruptive flares. Our study suggests that some magnetic field lines in the kink instability state may be important for eruptive flares, and that taller magnetic field lines may promote flare eruption.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc12dSolar flaresMagnetohydrodynamicsSolar magnetic reconnectionSolar physicsSolar coronal mass ejections
spellingShingle Kouhei Teraoka
Daiki Yamasaki
Yusuke Kawabata
Shinsuke Imada
Toshifumi Shimizu
Observational Comparison between Confined and Eruptive Flares: Magnetohydrodynamics Instability Parameters in a Similar Magnetic Configuration
The Astrophysical Journal
Solar flares
Magnetohydrodynamics
Solar magnetic reconnection
Solar physics
Solar coronal mass ejections
title Observational Comparison between Confined and Eruptive Flares: Magnetohydrodynamics Instability Parameters in a Similar Magnetic Configuration
title_full Observational Comparison between Confined and Eruptive Flares: Magnetohydrodynamics Instability Parameters in a Similar Magnetic Configuration
title_fullStr Observational Comparison between Confined and Eruptive Flares: Magnetohydrodynamics Instability Parameters in a Similar Magnetic Configuration
title_full_unstemmed Observational Comparison between Confined and Eruptive Flares: Magnetohydrodynamics Instability Parameters in a Similar Magnetic Configuration
title_short Observational Comparison between Confined and Eruptive Flares: Magnetohydrodynamics Instability Parameters in a Similar Magnetic Configuration
title_sort observational comparison between confined and eruptive flares magnetohydrodynamics instability parameters in a similar magnetic configuration
topic Solar flares
Magnetohydrodynamics
Solar magnetic reconnection
Solar physics
Solar coronal mass ejections
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc12d
work_keys_str_mv AT kouheiteraoka observationalcomparisonbetweenconfinedanderuptiveflaresmagnetohydrodynamicsinstabilityparametersinasimilarmagneticconfiguration
AT daikiyamasaki observationalcomparisonbetweenconfinedanderuptiveflaresmagnetohydrodynamicsinstabilityparametersinasimilarmagneticconfiguration
AT yusukekawabata observationalcomparisonbetweenconfinedanderuptiveflaresmagnetohydrodynamicsinstabilityparametersinasimilarmagneticconfiguration
AT shinsukeimada observationalcomparisonbetweenconfinedanderuptiveflaresmagnetohydrodynamicsinstabilityparametersinasimilarmagneticconfiguration
AT toshifumishimizu observationalcomparisonbetweenconfinedanderuptiveflaresmagnetohydrodynamicsinstabilityparametersinasimilarmagneticconfiguration