A Microfilament-Eruption Mechanism for Solar Spicules

Abstract

Recent investigations indicate that solar coronal jets result from eruptions of small-scale chromospheric filaments, called minifilaments; that is, the jets are produced by scaled-down versions of typical-sized filament eruptions. We consider whether solar spicules might in turn be scaled-down versions of coronal jets, being driven by eruptions of "microfilaments." Assuming a microfilament's size is about a spicule's width ($\sim$300~km), the estimated occurrence number plotted against the estimated size of erupting filaments, minifilaments, and microfilaments approximately follows a power-law distribution (based on counts of CMEs, coronal jets, and spicules), suggesting that many or most spicules could result from microfilament eruptions. Observed spicule-base Ca II brightenings plausibly result from such microfilament eruptions. By analogy with coronal jets, microfilament eruptions might produce spicules with many of their observed characteristics, including smooth rise profiles, twisting motions, and EUV counterparts. The postulated microfilament eruptions are presumably eruptions of twisted-core micro magnetic bipoles that are $\sim$1$".0$ wide. These explosive bipoles might be built and destabilized by merging and cancelation of magnetic-flux elements of $\sim$few$\times 100$~G and of size <~$0".5$---$1".0$. If however spicules are relatively more numerous than indicated by our extrapolated distribution, then only a fraction of spicules might result from this proposed mechanism.

References in corpus (21)

• A Tale Of Two Spicules: The Impact of Spicules on the Magnetic Chromosphere
• Chromospheric Anemone Jets as Evidence of Ubiquitous Reconnection
• Small-scale filament eruptions as the driver of solar coronal hole X-ray jets
• Prevalence of Small-scale Jets from the Networks of the Solar Transition Region and Chromosphere
• Dynamic Fibrils are driven by Magnetoacoustic Shocks
• Temporal aspects and frequency distributions of solar soft X-ray flares
• Ubiquitous torsional motions in type II spicules
• Quantifying Spicules
• Characteristics of EUV coronal jets observed with STEREO/SECCHI
• Coronal hole boundaries at small scales: IV. SOT view Magnetic field properties of small-scale transient brightenings in coronal holes
• Evidence for polar jets as precursors of polar plume formation
• Revision of Solar Spicule Classification
• Magnetic Untwisting in Solar Jets that Go into the Outer Corona in Polar Coronal Holes
• Can coronal hole spicules reach coronal temperatures?
• Effect of coronal temperature on the scale of solar chromospheric jets
• The Solar Internetwork. II. Magnetic Flux Appearance and Disappearance Rates
• Are Chromospheric Nanoflares a Primary Source of Coronal Plasma?
• The Effects of Spatio-temporal Resolution on Deduced Spicule Properties
• The dynamical behaviour of a jet in an on-disk coronal hole observed with AIA/SDO
• A Detailed Comparison Between The Observed and Synthesized Properties of a Simulated Type ii Spicule
• Can spicules be detected at disc centre in broad-band Ca II H filter imaging data ?

Cited by in corpus (25)

• On the generation of solar spicules and Alfvénic waves
• Generation of Solar Spicules and Subsequent Atmospheric Heating
• Observation and Modeling of Solar Jets
• Critical Science Plan for the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST)
• Solar Active Region Coronal Jets II: Triggering and Evolution of Violent Jets
• IRIS and SDO Observations of Solar Jetlets Resulting from Network-Edge Flux Cancelation
• Two-fluid numerical simulations of solar spicules
• Possible Production of Solar Spicules by Microfilament Eruptions
• Evidence of Twisting and Mixed-polarity Solar Photospheric Magnetic Field in Large Penumbral Jets: IRIS and Hinode Observations
• Chromospheric and coronal heating and jet acceleration due to reconnection driven by flux cancellation. I. At a three-dimensional current sheet
• Hi-C 2.1 Observations of Small-Scale Miniature-Filament-Eruption-Like Cool Ejections in Active Region Plage
• Power-law Distribution of Solar-Cycle Modulated Coronal Jets
• Solar Spicules, Filigrees and Solar Wind Switchbacks
• Contribution of spicules to solar coronal emission
• Inconspicuous Solar Polar Coronal X-ray Jets as the Source of Conspicuous Hinode/EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) Doppler Outflows
• Chromospheric and coronal heating and jet acceleration due to reconnection driven by flux cancellation. II. Cancellation of two magnetic polarities of unequal flux
• Possible Evolution of Minifilament-Eruption-Produced Solar Coronal Jets, Jetlets, and Spicules, into Magnetic-Twist-Wave "Switchbacks" Observed by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP)
• Numerical simulation of solar photospheric jet-like phenomena caused by magnetic reconnection
• The properties of small magnetic flux ropes inside the solar wind come from coronal holes, active regions, and quiet Sun
• Prospective Implications of EUV Coronal Plumes for Magnetic-network Genesis of Coronal Heating, Coronal-hole Solar Wind, and Solar-wind Magnetic-field Switchbacks
• Observations of Mini Coronal Dimmings Caused by Small-scale Eruptions in the Quiet Sun
• High-resolution He I 10830 Å narrowband imaging for precursors of chromospheric jets and their quasi-periodic properties
• Bidirectional Plasma Jets Driven by Magnetic Reconnection: Observations by GST and SDO
• Statistical Analysis of Minifilament Eruptions Using Full-disk H$\alpha$ Blue-wing Observations at Big Bear Solar Observatory
• Relation of Microstreams in the Polar Solar Wind to Switchbacks and Coronal X-ray Jets