A Reconnecting Current Sheet Imaged in a Solar Flare

Magnetic reconnection changes the magnetic field topology and powers explosive events in astrophysical, space, and laboratory plasmas. For flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar atmosphere, the standard model predicts the presence of a reconnecting current sheet, which has been the su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astrophysical journal. Letters Vol. 723; no. 1; pp. L28 - L33
Main Authors: Liu, Rui, Lee, Jeongwoo, Wang, Tongjiang, Stenborg, Guillermo, Liu, Chang, Wang, Haimin
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States IOP Publishing 01.11.2010
Subjects:
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ATMOSPHERES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
MAIN SEQUENCE STARS
PHYSICS
SIMULATION
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR ATMOSPHERE
SOLAR CORONA
SOLAR FLARES
STARS
STELLAR ACTIVITY
STELLAR ATMOSPHERES
STELLAR CORONAE
STELLAR FLARES
SUN
ISSN:2041-8205, 2041-8213
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Magnetic reconnection changes the magnetic field topology and powers explosive events in astrophysical, space, and laboratory plasmas. For flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar atmosphere, the standard model predicts the presence of a reconnecting current sheet, which has been the subject of considerable theoretical and numerical modeling over the last 50 years, yet direct, unambiguous observational verification has been absent. In this Letter, we show a bright sheet structure of global length (>0.25 R ) and macroscopic width ((5-10)X103 km) distinctly above the cusp-shaped flaring loop, imaged during the flare rising phase in EUV. The sheet formed due to the stretch of a transequatorial loop system and was accompanied by various reconnection signatures. This unique event provides a comprehensive view of the reconnection geometry and dynamics in the solar corona.
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ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.1088/2041-8205/723/1/L28