Formation and evolution of a multi-threaded prominence |
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Manuel Luna Submitted: 2012-01-18 09:22
We investigate the process of formation and subsequent evolution ofprominence plasma in a filament channel and its overlying arcade. We constructa three-dimensional time-dependent model of an intermediate quiescentprominence. We combine the magnetic field structure with one-dimensionalindependent simulations of many flux tubes, of a three-dimensional sheareddouble arcade, in which the thermal nonequilibrium process governs the plasmaevolution. We have found that the condensations in the corona can be dividedinto two populations: threads and blobs. Threads are massive condensations thatlinger in the field line dips. Blobs are ubiquitous small condensations thatare produced throughout the filament and overlying arcade magnetic structure,and rapidly fall to the chromosphere. The threads are the principalcontributors to the total mass. The total prominence mass is in agreement withobservations, assuming a reasonable filling factor. The motion of the threadsis basically horizontal, while blobs move in all directions along the field.The peak velocities for both populations are comparable. We have generatedsynthetic images of the whole structure in an Hα proxy and in two EUVchannels of the AIA instrument aboard SDO, thus showing the plasma at cool,warm, and hot temperatures. The predicted differential emission measure of oursystem agrees very well with observations. We conclude that the sheared-arcademagnetic structure and plasma behavior driven by thermal nonequilibrium fitwell the abundant observational evidence for typical intermediate prominences.
Authors: M. Luna, J. T. Karpen, C. R. DeVore
Projects: None
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Publication Status: ApJ, in press (ApJ, 746, 30)
Last Modified: 2012-01-18 10:28
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