The Origin of High‐Speed Motions and Threads in Prominences

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Abstract

Prominences are among the most spectacular manifestations of both quiescent and eruptive solar activity, yet the origins of their magnetic-field and plasma structures remain poorly understood. We have made steady progress toward a comprehensive model of prominence formation and evolution with our sheared three-dimensional arcade model for the magnetic field and our thermal nonequilibrium model for the cool, dense material suspended in the corona. According to the thermal nonequilibrium model, condensations form readily along long, low-lying magnetic field lines when the heating is localized near the chromosphere. In most cases this process yields a dynamic cycle in which condensations repetitively form, stream along the field, and ultimately disappear by falling onto the nearest footpoint. Two key observed features were not adequately explained by our earlier simulations of thermal nonequilibrium, however: the threadlike (i.e., elongated) horizontal structure and high-speed motions of many condensations. In this paper we discuss how simple modifications to the radiative loss function, the heating scale, and the geometry of our model largely eliminate these discrepancies. In particular, condensations in nearly horizontal flux tubes are most likely to develop both transient high-speed motions and elongated threads. These results strengthen the case for thermal nonequilibrium as the origin of prominence condensations and support low-twist models of prominence magnetic structure.

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