Formation of Magnetic Flux Rope During Solar Eruption. I. Evolution of Toroidal Flux and Reconnection Flux

Magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) constitute the core structure of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), but hot debates remain on whether the MFR forms before or during solar eruptions. Furthermore, how flare reconnection shapes the erupting MFR is still elusive in three dimensions. Here we studied a new MHD simulation of CME initiation by tether-cutting magnetic reconnection in a single magnetic arcade. The simulation follows the whole life, including the birth and subsequent evolution, of an MFR during eruption. In the early phase, the MFR is partially separated from its ambient field by a magnetic quasi-separatrix layer (QSL) that has a double-J shaped footprint on the bottom surface. With the ongoing of the reconnection, the arms of the two J-shaped footprints continually separate from each other, and the hooks of the J shaped footprints expand and eventually become closed almost at the eruption peak time, and thereafter the MFR is fully separated from the un-reconnected field by the QSL. We further studied the evolution of the toroidal flux in the MFR and compared it with that of the reconnected flux. Our simulation reproduced an evolution pattern of increase-to-decrease of the toroidal flux, which is reported recently in observations of variations in flare ribbons and transient coronal dimming. The increase of toroidal flux is owing to the flare reconnection in the early phase that transforms the sheared arcade to twisted field lines, while its decrease is a result of reconnection between field lines in the interior of the MFR in the later phase.

Cross helicity of magnetic clouds observed by Parker Solar Probe

<p>Magnetic clouds are large-scale transient structures in the solar wind with low plasma <em>β</em>, low-amplitude magnetic field fluctuations, and twisted field lines with both ends often connected to the Sun. We analyse the normalised cross helicity, <em>σ</em><sub>c</sub>, and residual energy, <em>σ</em><sub>r</sub>, in magnetic clouds observed by Parker Solar Probe (PSP). In the November 2018 cloud observed at 0.25 au, a low value of <em>σ</em><sub>c</sub> was present in the cloud core, indicating that wave power parallel and anti-parallel to the mean field was approximately balanced, while the cloud’s outer layers displayed larger amplitude Alfvénic fluctuations with high <em>σ</em><sub>c</sub> values and <em>σ</em><sub>r</sub> ~ 0. These properties are compared and contrasted to those found in clouds observed by PSP at larger heliocentric distances. We suggest that low <em>σ</em><sub>c</sub> is likely a common feature of magnetic clouds given their typically closed field structure, in contrast to the generally higher <em>σ</em><sub>c</sub> found on the open field lines of the solar wind.</p>

Induced fermionic current in AdS spacetime in the presence of a cosmic string and a compactified dimension

In this paper, we consider a massive charged fermionic quantum field and investigate the current densities induced by a magnetic flux running along the core of an idealized cosmic string in the background geometry of a 5-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime, assuming that an extra dimension is compactified. Along the compact dimension quasi-periodicity condition is imposed on the field with a general phase. Moreover, we admit the presence of a magnetic flux enclosed by the compactified axis. The latter gives rise to Ahanorov–Bohm-like effect on the vacuum expectation value of the currents. In this setup, only azimuthal and axial current densities take place. The former presents two contributions, with the first one due to the cosmic string in a 5-dimensional AdS spacetime without compact dimension, and the second one being induced by the compactification itself. The latter is an odd function of the magnetic flux along the cosmic string and an even function of the magnetic flux enclosed by the compactified axis with period equal to the quantum flux. As to the induced axial current, it is an even function of the magnetic flux along the string’s core and an odd function of the magnetic flux enclosed by the compactification perimeter. For untwisted and twisted field along compact dimension, the axial current vanishes. The massless field case is presented as well some asymptotic limits for the parameters of the model.

Resistive evolution of toroidal field distributions and their relation to magnetic clouds

We study the resistive evolution of a localized self-organizing magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium. In this configuration the magnetic forces are balanced by a pressure force caused by a toroidal depression in the pressure. Equilibrium is attained when this low-pressure region prevents further expansion into the higher-pressure external plasma. We find that, for the parameters investigated, the resistive evolution of the structures follows a universal pattern when rescaled to resistive time. The finite resistivity causes both a decrease in the magnetic field strength and a finite slip of the plasma fluid against the static equilibrium. This slip is caused by a Pfirsch–Schlüter-type diffusion, similar to what is seen in tokamak equilibria. The net effect is that the configuration remains in magnetostatic equilibrium whilst it slowly grows in size. The rotational transform of the structure becomes nearly constant throughout the entire structure, and decreases according to a power law. In simulations this equilibrium is observed when highly tangled field lines relax in a high-pressure (relative to the magnetic field strength) environment, a situation that occurs when the twisted field of a coronal loop is ejected into the interplanetary solar wind. In this paper we relate this localized magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium to magnetic clouds in the solar wind.

Azimuthal velocity shear within an Earthward fast flow – further evidence for magnetotail untwisting?

It is well known that nonzero interplanetary magnetic field By conditions lead to a twisted magnetotail configuration. The plasma sheet is rotated around its axis and tail magnetic field lines are twisted, which causes an azimuthal displacement of their ionospheric footprints. According to the untwisting hypothesis, the untwisting of twisted field lines is suggested to influence the azimuthal direction of convective fast flows in the nightside geospace. However, there is a lack of in situ magnetospheric observations, which show actual signatures of the possible untwisting process. In this paper, we report detailed Cluster observations of an azimuthal flow shear across the neutral sheet associated with an Earthward fast flow on 5 September 2001. The observations show a flow shear velocity pattern with a V⊥y sign change, near the neutral sheet (Bx~0) within a fast flow during the neutral sheet flapping motion over the spacecraft. Firstly, this implies that convective fast flows may not generally be unidirectional across the neutral sheet, but may have a more complex structure. Secondly, in this event tail By and the flow shear are as expected by the untwisting hypothesis. The analysis of the flow shear reveals a linear dependence between Bx and V⊥y close to the neutral sheet and suggests that Cluster crossed the neutral sheet in the dawnward part of the fast flow channel. The magnetospheric observations are supported by the semi-empirical T96 and TF04 models. Furthermore, the ionospheric SuperDARN convection maps support the satellite observations proposing that the azimuthal component of the magnetospheric flows is enforced by a magnetic field untwisting. In summary, the observations give strong supportive evidence to the tail untwisting hypothesis. However, the T96 ionospheric mapping demonstrates the limitations of the model in mapping from a twisted tail.

Antioscillons from bubble collisions at finite temperature

We study the role of the topology of bubbles at finite temperatures plays on collisions and the existence of new field configurations. We show that in the case of false vacuum decay at finite temperature, the cylindrical symmetry of bubbles admits a new exotic field with negative energies, the antiperiodic "twisted" field. New field configurations arise generically, not only at finite temperatures but whenever a cluster of bubbles resulting from collisions form nontrivial topologies. The interaction of both configurations induces instabilites on the bubble. Collisions of bubbles occupied by the new fields can lead to the emergence of new structures, named antioscillons.

A note on generalized twisted fields and autotopisms of translation planes

The first part of this paper is a discussion of autotopism groups of certain translation planes. The second part shows that there is a certain class of semifields of order q4 having nuclei of order q2 , and their translation planes are not desarguesian and not isomorphic to generalized twisted field planes.