A reconnecting current sheet imaged in a solar flare

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2010

Abstract

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 (>0.25R ⊙) and macroscopic width ((5-10)×103 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. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Identifier

78649296713 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Astrophysical Journal Letters

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/723/1/L28

e-ISSN

20418213

ISSN

20418205

First Page

L28

Last Page

L33

Issue

1 PART 2

Volume

723

Grant

0849453

Fund Ref

National Science Foundation

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