paper

Sympathetic Magnetic Breakout Coronal Mass Ejections from Pseudostreamers

arXiv:1212.6677 · doi:10.1088/0004-637X/764/1/87

Abstract

We present high resolution 2.5-dimensional MHD simulation results of magnetic breakout-initiated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) originating from a coronal pseudostreamer configuration. The coronal null point in the magnetic topology of pseudostreamers means the initiation of consecutive sympathetic eruptions is a natural consequence of the system's evolution. A generic source region energization process -- ideal footpoint shearing parallel to the pseudostreamer arcade polarity inversion lines -- is all that is necessary to store sufficient magnetic energy to power consecutive CME eruptions given that the pseudostreamer topology enables the breakout initiation mechanism. The second CME occurs because the eruptive flare reconnection of the first CME simultaneously acts as the overlying pre-eruption breakout reconnection for the sympathetic eruption. We examine the details of the magnetic and kinetic energy evolution and the signatures of the overlying null point distortion, current sheet formation, and magnetic breakout reconnection giving rise to the runaway expansion that drives the flare reconnection below the erupting sheared field core. The numerical simulation's spatial resolution and output cadence are sufficient to resolve the formation of magnetic islands during the reconnection process in both the breakout and eruptive flare current sheets. We quantify the flux transfer between the pseudostreamer arcades and show the eruptive flare reconnection processes flux ~10 times faster than the pre-eruption breakout reconnection. We show that the breakout reconnection jets cause bursty, intermittent upflows along the pseudostreamer stalk as well as downflows in the adjacent pseudostreamer arcade, both of which may be observable as pre-eruption signatures. Finally, we examine the flux rope CME trajectories and show that the breakout current sheet provides a path of least resistance as an...

22 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

References in corpus (12)

Cited by in corpus (64)