2:00 PM - 2:15 PM
[PEM18-07] Jet-Producing Minifilament Eruptions as Keys to Understanding CME-Producing Large-Scale-Filament Eruptions
Keywords:Sun, Solar Filament Eruptions and Flares, Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) Onset
Coronal Jets are a common phenomenon on the Sun, occurring at a rate of several tens per day
in polar coronal holes, with many more covering the entirety of the Sun. They are observed
at EUV and X-ray wavelengths, and can reach heights of ~50,000 km with widths ~10,000 km,
with transient lifetimes of only about 10 min. Recent investigations suggest that coronal jets result
when small-scale (<~10,000—20,000 km) miniature filaments, which we call ``minifilaments,’’ erupt
from near the solar surface and into the corona (Sterling et al. 2015, Nature, 523, 437). Several
studies (e.g., Panesar et al. 2016, ApJ, 832L, 7) demonstrate that minifilament eruptions share
many characteristics with larger-scale filament eruptions: Prior to eruption, both minifilaments
and filaments reside at locations where the photospheric magnetic field reverses direction (magnetic
neutral lines); minifilament eruptions produce expulsions of cool chromospheric and warmer
transition-region material in the form of a coronal jet, while the larger-scale-filament eruptions
expel material that can form part of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME); and a jet-producing minifilament
eruption occurs along with an EUV/X-ray brightening near the solar surface that we call a jet-base
bright point (JBP), and this corresponds to the situation where a CME-producing large-scale
filament eruption accompanies a typical solar flare occurring on the neutral line beneath the
erupting filament. Therefore the jet-producing erupting minifilaments appear to be small-scale
analogues to typical CME-producing erupting filaments. The smaller size scale and apparent
shorter lifetimes of minifilaments offers an opportunity to study with high-resolution instruments,
e.g. with DKIST and with coronal imagers with the resolution of Hi-C that might fly on the next
generation solar space mission, the buildup to and the onset of minifilament eruptions. These
anticipated observations of minifilament eruptions may well reveal how the eruption is initiated
in filament eruptions of all size scales, including large ones that produce geophysically-important CMEs.
in polar coronal holes, with many more covering the entirety of the Sun. They are observed
at EUV and X-ray wavelengths, and can reach heights of ~50,000 km with widths ~10,000 km,
with transient lifetimes of only about 10 min. Recent investigations suggest that coronal jets result
when small-scale (<~10,000—20,000 km) miniature filaments, which we call ``minifilaments,’’ erupt
from near the solar surface and into the corona (Sterling et al. 2015, Nature, 523, 437). Several
studies (e.g., Panesar et al. 2016, ApJ, 832L, 7) demonstrate that minifilament eruptions share
many characteristics with larger-scale filament eruptions: Prior to eruption, both minifilaments
and filaments reside at locations where the photospheric magnetic field reverses direction (magnetic
neutral lines); minifilament eruptions produce expulsions of cool chromospheric and warmer
transition-region material in the form of a coronal jet, while the larger-scale-filament eruptions
expel material that can form part of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME); and a jet-producing minifilament
eruption occurs along with an EUV/X-ray brightening near the solar surface that we call a jet-base
bright point (JBP), and this corresponds to the situation where a CME-producing large-scale
filament eruption accompanies a typical solar flare occurring on the neutral line beneath the
erupting filament. Therefore the jet-producing erupting minifilaments appear to be small-scale
analogues to typical CME-producing erupting filaments. The smaller size scale and apparent
shorter lifetimes of minifilaments offers an opportunity to study with high-resolution instruments,
e.g. with DKIST and with coronal imagers with the resolution of Hi-C that might fly on the next
generation solar space mission, the buildup to and the onset of minifilament eruptions. These
anticipated observations of minifilament eruptions may well reveal how the eruption is initiated
in filament eruptions of all size scales, including large ones that produce geophysically-important CMEs.