Downward catastrophe of solar magnetic flux ropes

TL;DR

This study investigates the stability and energy release mechanisms of solar magnetic flux ropes, revealing both upward and downward catastrophes in force-free magnetic fields, which are linked to solar activity phenomena.

Contribution

It extends previous MHD models by incorporating force-free fields and identifies a novel downward catastrophe, highlighting its role in magnetic energy release and solar activity.

Findings

Existence of both upward and downward catastrophes in force-free magnetic flux ropes.

Magnetic energy is released during both types of catastrophes.

The Ampère's force during catastrophes contributes to energy release.

Abstract

2.5D time-dependent ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models in Cartesian coordinates were used in previous studies to seek MHD equilibria involving a magnetic flux rope embedded in a bipolar, partially open background field. As demonstrated by these studies, the equilibrium solutions of the system are separated into two branches: the flux rope sticks to the photosphere for solutions at the lower branch but is suspended in the corona for those at the upper branch. Moreover, a solution originally at the lower branch jumps to the upper, as the related control parameter increases and reaches a critical value, and the associated jump is here referred to as upward catastrophe. The present paper advances these studies in three aspects. First, the magnetic field is changed to be force-free. The system still experiences an upward catastrophe with an increase in each control parameter. Secondly, under the force-free approximation, there also exists a downward catastrophe, characterized by a jump of a solution from the upper branch to the lower. Both catastrophes are irreversible processes connecting the two branches of equilibrium solutions so as to form a cycle. Finally, the magnetic energy in the numerical domain is calculated. It is found that there exists a magnetic energy release for both catastrophes. The Amp\`{e}re's force, which vanishes everywhere for force-free fields, appears only during the catastrophes and does a positive work, which serves as a major mechanism for the energy release. The implications of the downward catastrophe and its relevance to solar activities are briefly discussed.