A Study of a Compound Solar Eruption with Two Consecutive Erupting Magnetic Structures

Abstract

We report a study of a compound solar eruption that was associated with two consecutively erupting magnetic structures and correspondingly two distinct peaks, during impulsive phase, of an M-class flare (M8.5). Simultaneous multi-viewpoint observations from $\text{SDO}$, $\text{GOES}$ and $\text{STEREO-A}$ show that this compound eruption originated from two pre-existing sigmoidal magnetic structures lying along the same polarity inversion line. Observations of the associated pre-existing filaments further show that these magnetic structures are lying one on top of the other, separated by 12 Mm in height, in a so-called "double-decker" configuration. The high-lying magnetic structure became unstable and erupted first, appearing as an expanding hot channel seen at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. About 12 minutes later, the low-lying structure also started to erupt and moved at an even faster speed compared to the high-lying one. As a result, the two erupting structures interacted and merged with each other, appearing as a single coronal mass ejection in the outer corona. We find that the double-decker configuration is likely caused by the persistent shearing motion and flux cancellation along the source active region's strong-gradient polarity inversion line. The successive destabilization of these two separate but closely spaced magnetic structures, possibly in the form of magnetic flux ropes, led to a compound solar eruption. The study of the compound eruption provides a unique opportunity to reveal the formation process, initiation, and evolution of complex eruptive structures in solar active regions.

arXiv comment21 pages, 12 figures

References in corpus (24)

• A Model for Solar Coronal Mass Ejections
• An Observational Overview of Solar Flares
• The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) Vector Magnetic Field Pipeline: Overview and Performance
• Optimization code with weighting function for the reconstruction of coronal magnetic fields
• Preprocessing of vector magnetograph data for a non-linear force-free magnetic field reconstruction
• Observation of An Evolving Magnetic Flux Rope Prior To and During A Solar Eruption
• Differential Emission Measure Analysis of Multiple Structural Components of Coronal Mass Ejections in the Inner Corona
• Observing Flux Rope Formation During the Impulsive Phase of a Solar Eruption
• Why Is the Great Solar Active Region 12192 Flare-Rich But CME-Poor?
• Photospheric flux cancellation and associated flux rope formation and eruption
• Direct Evidence for a Fast CME Driven by the Prior Formation and Subsequent Destabilization of a Magnetic Flux Rope
• A model for magnetically coupled sympathetic eruptions
• A Comparative Study Between Eruptive X-class Flares Associated with Coronal Mass Ejections and Confined X-class Flares
• Slow Rise and Partial Eruption of a Double-Decker Filament. I Observations and Interpretation
• Formation of a Double-decker Magnetic Flux Rope in the Sigmoidal Solar Active Region 11520
• Simulations of Emerging Magnetic Flux. I: The Formation of Stable Coronal Flux Ropes
• Formation of Magnetic Flux Ropes during Confined Flaring Well Before the Onset of a Pair of Major Coronal Mass Ejections
• Slow Rise and Partial Eruption of a Double-Decker Filament. II. Modeling by a Double Flux Rope Equilibrium
• A Time Series of Filament Eruptions Observed by Three Eyes from Space: From Failed to Successful Eruptions
• Simulations of Emerging Magnetic Flux. II: The formation of Unstable Coronal Flux Ropes and the Initiation of CMEs
• Temperature evolution of magnetic flux rope in a failed solar eruption
• On the Characteristics of Footpoints of Solar Magnetic Flux Ropes during the Eruption
• Successive Homologous Coronal Mass Ejections driven by shearing and converging motions in solar active region NOAA 12371
• Complex Flare Dynamics Initiated by a Filament-Filament Interaction

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Decoding the Pre-Eruptive Magnetic Field Configurations of Coronal Mass Ejections
• Magnetic Flux Ropes in the Solar Corona: Structure and Evolution toward Eruption
• Recurring Homologous Solar Eruptions in NOAA AR 11429
• Radio Spectral Imaging of an M8.4 Eruptive Solar Flare: Possible Evidence of a Termination Shock
• Pre-eruption Splitting of the Double-Decker Structure in a Solar Filament
• On the partial eruption of a bifurcated solar filament structure
• Formation and eruption of sigmoidal structure from a weak field region of NOAA 11942
• MHD simulation of Solar Eruption from Active Region 11429 Driven by Photospheric Velocity Field
• Multiwavelength Signatures of Episodic Null Point Reconnection in a Quadrupolar Magnetic Configuration and the Cause of Failed Flux Rope Eruption
• Untwisting and Disintegration of a Solar Filament Associated with Photospheric Flux Cancellation
• Compound eruptions of twin flux ropes in a solar active region
• Resolving Two Distinct Thermal X-ray Components in A compound Solar Flare