Related papers: Distribution of Electric Currents in Solar Active …
Strong solar flares and coronal mass ejections, here defined not only as the bursts of electromagnetic radiation but as the entire process in which magnetic energy is released through magnetic reconnection and plasma instability, emanate…
When magnetic field in the solar convection zone buoyantly rises to pierce the visible solar surface (photosphere), the atmosphere (corona) above this surface must respond in some way. One response of the coronal field to photospheric…
Both coronal holes and active regions are source regions of the solar wind. The distribution of these coronal structures across both space and time is well known, but it is unclear how much each source contributes to the solar wind. In this…
Active regions (ARs) often possess an observed net electric current in a single magnetic polarity. We show that such "non-neutralized" currents can arise from a geometric projection effect when a twisted flux tube obliquely intersects the…
Solar flares are frequently accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that release significant amount of energetic plasma into interplanetary space, potentially causing geomagnetic disturbances on Earth. However, many solar flares have…
Solar flares are sudden and violent releases of magnetic energy in the solar atmosphere that can be divided in eruptive flares, when plasma is ejected from the solar atmosphere, resulting in a coronal mass ejection (CME), and confined…
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are associated with rapid changes in field connectivity and powered by the partial dissipation of electrical currents in the solar atmosphere. A critical unanswered question is whether the currents…
Electric currents in solar active regions are thought to provide the energy released via magnetic reconnection in solar flares. Vertical electric current densities $J_z$ at the photosphere may be estimated from vector magnetogram data,…
Solar eruptions are spectacular magnetic explosions in the Sun's corona, and how they are initiated remains unclear. Prevailing theories often rely on special magnetic topologies that may not generally exist in the pre-eruption source…
It is clear that the solar corona is being heated and that coronal magnetic fields undergo reconnection all the time. Here we attempt to show that these two facts are in fact related - i.e. coronal reconnection generates heat. This attempt…
A proxy for horizontal electric currents in the solar photosphere was suggested. For a set of evolving active regions (ARs) observed with {\it Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)} Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) in the high resolution…
Solar active regions are driven dissipative dynamical systems. The turbulent convection zone forces new magnetic flux tubes to rise above the photosphere and shuffles the magnetic fields which are already above the photosphere. The driven…
Seven different models are applied to the same problem of simulating the Sun's coronal magnetic field during the solar eclipse on 2015 March 20. All of the models are non-potential, allowing for free magnetic energy, but the associated…
The interaction between emerging active regions and the pre-existing coronal magnetic field is important to understand better the mechanisms of storage and release of magnetic energy from the convection zone to the high corona. We are…
Coronal electric currents store the magnetic energy that is released in solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Here, we use photospheric vector magnetic field observations to study currents in active regions 10930 and 11158, which…
$\delta$-sunspots, with highly complex magnetic structures, are very productive in energetic eruptive events, such as X-class flares and homologous eruptions. We here study the formation of such complex magnetic structures by numerical…
The origin and evolution of the magnetic helicity in the solar corona are not well understood. For instance, the magnetic helicity of an active region is often about $10^{42}$ Mx$^2$ ($10^{26}$ Wb$^{2}$), but the observed processes whereby…
Magnetic neutral points, where the magnitude of the magnetic field vanishes locally, are potential locations for energy conversion in the solar corona. The fact that the magnetic field is identically zero at these points suggests that for…
We discuss the evolution of solar coronal element abundances over an active region lifetime. Magneto-convection drives the complexity of magnetic fields that emerge above the photosphere. This complexity is dissipated, together with that of…
Analysis of a time series of high spatial resolution vector magnetograms of the active region NOAA 10930 available from SOT/SP on-board Hinode revealed that there is a mixture of upward and downward currents in the two foot-points of an…