Simultaneous observation of a flux rope eruption and magnetic reconnection during an X-class solar flare

TL;DR

This paper reports detailed observations of a powerful X8.2 solar flare, capturing the simultaneous eruption of a flux rope and magnetic reconnection, providing insights into the dynamics of solar eruptions.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed observation of a flux rope eruption occurring alongside magnetic reconnection during a major solar flare.

Findings

Flux rope eruption was observed with associated inflow and current sheet formation.

The current sheet was segmented into smaller sheets at the eruption's final stage.

Quantitative velocities and accelerations of key features were measured.

Abstract

In this letter, we present a spectacular eruptive flare (X8.2) associated with a coronal mass ejection (CME) on 2017 September 10 at the west limb of the Sun. A flux rope eruption is followed by the inflow, the formation of a current sheet and a cusp structure, which were simultaneously observed during the occurrence of this flare. The hierarchical layers of the cusp-shaped structure are well observed in 131 \AA\ observation. The scenario that can be created from these observations is very consistent with the predictions of some eruptive models. Except for the characteristics mentioned above in the process of the flare predicted by classical eruption models, the current sheet separating into several small current sheets is also observed at the final stage of the flux rope eruption. The quantitative calculation of the velocities and accelerations of the inflow, hot cusp structure, and post-flare loops is presented. The width of the current sheet is estimated to be about 3 $\times$ $10^{3}$ km. These observations are very useful to understand the process of solar eruptions.