Eruptivity of Flaring Active Regions Based on Electric Current Neutralization and Torus Instability Analysis

Solar flares are frequently accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that release a significant amount of energetic plasma into interplanetary space, potentially causing geomagnetic disturbances on Earth. However, many solar flares have no association with CMEs. The relationship between solar fl...

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Main Authors: Johan Muhamad, Kanya Kusano
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc560
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author Johan Muhamad
Kanya Kusano
author_facet Johan Muhamad
Kanya Kusano
author_sort Johan Muhamad
collection DOAJ
description Solar flares are frequently accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that release a significant amount of energetic plasma into interplanetary space, potentially causing geomagnetic disturbances on Earth. However, many solar flares have no association with CMEs. The relationship between solar flare and CME occurrences remains unclear. Therefore, it is valuable to distinguish between active regions (ARs) that potentially produce flares and CMEs and those that do not. It is believed that the eruptivity of a flare can be characterized by the properties of the AR from which it originates. In this study, we analyzed selected ARs that produced solar flares with and without CMEs during solar cycle 24. We carefully calculated the electric current neutralization of each AR by selecting relevant magnetic fluxes based on their connectivities using nonlinear force-free field models. Additionally, we analyzed their stabilities against the torus instability by estimating the proxies of critical heights of the ARs. We found that several noneruptive ARs, which lacked clear signatures of neutral electric currents, exhibited a more apparent relationship with high critical heights of torus instability. Furthermore, we introduced a new nondimensional parameter that incorporates current neutralization and critical height. We found that analyzing ARs based on this new parameter can better discriminate eruptive and noneruptive flare events compared to analysis that relied solely on current neutralization or torus instability. This indicates that torus instability analysis is necessary to complement electric current neutralization in characterizing the eruptivity of solar flares.
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spelling doaj-art-9b341c1b6dd1456a863d25f95b219e6e2025-08-20T02:16:06ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019831L2810.3847/2041-8213/adc560Eruptivity of Flaring Active Regions Based on Electric Current Neutralization and Torus Instability AnalysisJohan Muhamad0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7214-3754Kanya Kusano1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6814-6810Research Center for Space, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) , Gedung 124 KST Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, Jl. Raya Puspiptek 60, Tangerang Selatan, Banten 15314, Indonesia ; johan.muhamad@brin.go.idInstitute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University , Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, JapanSolar flares are frequently accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that release a significant amount of energetic plasma into interplanetary space, potentially causing geomagnetic disturbances on Earth. However, many solar flares have no association with CMEs. The relationship between solar flare and CME occurrences remains unclear. Therefore, it is valuable to distinguish between active regions (ARs) that potentially produce flares and CMEs and those that do not. It is believed that the eruptivity of a flare can be characterized by the properties of the AR from which it originates. In this study, we analyzed selected ARs that produced solar flares with and without CMEs during solar cycle 24. We carefully calculated the electric current neutralization of each AR by selecting relevant magnetic fluxes based on their connectivities using nonlinear force-free field models. Additionally, we analyzed their stabilities against the torus instability by estimating the proxies of critical heights of the ARs. We found that several noneruptive ARs, which lacked clear signatures of neutral electric currents, exhibited a more apparent relationship with high critical heights of torus instability. Furthermore, we introduced a new nondimensional parameter that incorporates current neutralization and critical height. We found that analyzing ARs based on this new parameter can better discriminate eruptive and noneruptive flare events compared to analysis that relied solely on current neutralization or torus instability. This indicates that torus instability analysis is necessary to complement electric current neutralization in characterizing the eruptivity of solar flares.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc560Solar coronal mass ejectionsSolar flaresSolar photosphereSolar coronaSolar active regions
spellingShingle Johan Muhamad
Kanya Kusano
Eruptivity of Flaring Active Regions Based on Electric Current Neutralization and Torus Instability Analysis
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Solar coronal mass ejections
Solar flares
Solar photosphere
Solar corona
Solar active regions
title Eruptivity of Flaring Active Regions Based on Electric Current Neutralization and Torus Instability Analysis
title_full Eruptivity of Flaring Active Regions Based on Electric Current Neutralization and Torus Instability Analysis
title_fullStr Eruptivity of Flaring Active Regions Based on Electric Current Neutralization and Torus Instability Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Eruptivity of Flaring Active Regions Based on Electric Current Neutralization and Torus Instability Analysis
title_short Eruptivity of Flaring Active Regions Based on Electric Current Neutralization and Torus Instability Analysis
title_sort eruptivity of flaring active regions based on electric current neutralization and torus instability analysis
topic Solar coronal mass ejections
Solar flares
Solar photosphere
Solar corona
Solar active regions
url https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc560
work_keys_str_mv AT johanmuhamad eruptivityofflaringactiveregionsbasedonelectriccurrentneutralizationandtorusinstabilityanalysis
AT kanyakusano eruptivityofflaringactiveregionsbasedonelectriccurrentneutralizationandtorusinstabilityanalysis