Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

Helicity Removal and Coronal Fe XII Stalks: Evidence That the Axial Field Is Not Ejected but Resubmerged

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dc.creator Wang, Y-M
dc.creator Berger, MA
dc.date 2018-11-23T15:22:51Z
dc.date 2018-11-21
dc.date 2018-11-23T15:22:51Z
dc.date.accessioned 2022-05-27T01:03:17Z
dc.date.available 2022-05-27T01:03:17Z
dc.identifier Vol. 868 (1), article 66
dc.identifier 10.3847/1538-4357/aae845
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10871/34889
dc.identifier 1538-4357
dc.identifier Astrophysical Journal
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/241937
dc.description This is the final version. Available from American Astronomical Society via the DOI in this record
dc.description The magnetic/current helicity of the coronal field is closely associated with the presence of a nonpotential axial component directed along the photospheric polarity inversion line (PIL), which is also the source of the axial/toroidal field in flux ropes and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). To better understand the role of this axial component in the evolution of coronal helicity, we use Fe xii 19.3 nm images and longitudinal magnetograms from the Solar Dynamics Observatory to track active regions (ARs) and their filament channels as they decay due to flux transport processes. We find that the Fe xii loop legs or "stalks," initially oriented almost perpendicular to the PIL, become closely aligned with it after ~1–4 rotations; this alignment is attributed to the progressive cancellation of the transverse field component at the PIL. As the AR flux continues to decay, the PIL becomes ever more distorted and the directions of the stalks are increasingly randomized. These observations suggest that most of the original axial field in ARs is not expelled in CMEs, but instead pinches off after the eruptions and becomes concentrated at the PIL. Because the twist of the field decreases, however, the helicity itself decreases, with CMEs removing a significant fraction of it in the form of disconnected flux ropes. Like most of the AR flux, the bulk of the axial field is eventually canceled/resubmerged, brought to the equator by the subsurface meridional flow, and annihilated (along with the remaining helicity) by merging with its opposite-handed counterpart from the other hemisphere.
dc.description This work was funded by the Chief of Naval Research.
dc.language en
dc.publisher American Astronomical Society
dc.rights © 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved
dc.subject Sun: activity
dc.subject Sun: corona
dc.subject Sun: coronal mass ejections (CMEs)
dc.subject Sun: filaments, prominences
dc.subject Sun: heliosphere
dc.subject Sun: magnetic fields
dc.title Helicity Removal and Coronal Fe XII Stalks: Evidence That the Axial Field Is Not Ejected but Resubmerged
dc.type Article


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