Spectro-polarimetric Imaging Reveals Helical Magnetic Fields in Solar Prominence Feet

TL;DR

This study uses advanced spectro-polarimetric imaging to map the magnetic fields in solar prominences, revealing helical magnetic structures in the prominence feet that connect to the solar surface.

Contribution

It provides the first direct observational evidence of helical magnetic fields in prominence feet using spectro-polarimetric data.

Findings

Helical magnetic fields are present in prominence feet.

Magnetic fields connect prominences to the solar surface.

Spectro-polarimetric imaging effectively maps complex magnetic structures.

Abstract

Solar prominences are clouds of cool plasma levitating above the solar surface and insulated from the million-degree corona by magnetic fields. They form in regions of complex magnetic topology, characterized by non-potential fields, which can evolve abruptly, disintegrating the prominence and ejecting magnetized material into the heliosphere. However, their physics is not yet fully understood because mapping such complex magnetic configurations and their evolution is extremely challenging, and must often be guessed by proxy from photometric observations.Using state-of-the-art spectro-polarimetric data, we reconstruct the structure of the magnetic field in a prominence. We find that prominence feet harbor helical magnetic fields connecting the prominence to the solar surface below.