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Fast plasmoid-mediated reconnection in a solar flare

Author

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  • Xiaoli Yan

    (Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Center for Astronomical Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Zhike Xue

    (Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Center for Astronomical Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Chaowei Jiang

    (Institute of Space Science and Applied Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology)

  • E. R. Priest

    (School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews)

  • Bernhard Kliem

    (Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam)

  • Liheng Yang

    (Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Center for Astronomical Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Jincheng Wang

    (Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Center for Astronomical Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Defang Kong

    (Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Center for Astronomical Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Yongliang Song

    (Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Xueshang Feng

    (State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Zhong Liu

    (Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection is a multi-faceted process of energy conversion in astrophysical, space and laboratory plasmas that operates at microscopic scales but has macroscopic drivers and consequences. Solar flares present a key laboratory for its study, leaving imprints of the microscopic physics in radiation spectra and allowing the macroscopic evolution to be imaged, yet a full observational characterization remains elusive. Here we combine high resolution imaging and spectral observations of a confined solar flare at multiple wavelengths with data-constrained magnetohydrodynamic modeling to study the dynamics of the flare plasma from the current sheet to the plasmoid scale. The analysis suggests that the flare resulted from the interaction of a twisted magnetic flux rope surrounding a filament with nearby magnetic loops whose feet are anchored in chromospheric fibrils. Bright cusp-shaped structures represent the region around a reconnecting separator or quasi-separator (hyperbolic flux tube). The fast reconnection, which is relevant for other astrophysical environments, revealed plasmoids in the current sheet and separatrices and associated unresolved turbulent motions.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoli Yan & Zhike Xue & Chaowei Jiang & E. R. Priest & Bernhard Kliem & Liheng Yang & Jincheng Wang & Defang Kong & Yongliang Song & Xueshang Feng & Zhong Liu, 2022. "Fast plasmoid-mediated reconnection in a solar flare," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-28269-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28269-w
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