Evidence For The Magnetic Breakout Model in an Equatorial Coronal-Hole Jet

TL;DR

This study provides observational evidence supporting the magnetic breakout model as a mechanism for equatorial coronal-hole jets, demonstrating how magnetic shear and topology contribute to energy release in solar eruptions.

Contribution

The paper offers the first detailed observational validation of the breakout jet model in an equatorial coronal-hole jet event.

Findings

Magnetic topology consistent with embedded-bipole model.

Energy likely stored in magnetic shear, not flux emergence.

Observed activity matches breakout jet model predictions.

Abstract

Small, impulsive jets commonly occur throughout the solar corona, but are especially visible in coronal holes. Evidence is mounting that jets are part of a continuum of eruptions that extends to much larger coronal mass ejections and eruptive flares. Because coronal-hole jets originate in relatively simple magnetic structures, they offer an ideal testbed for theories of energy buildup and release in the full range of solar eruptions. We analyzed an equatorial coronal-hole jet observed by SDO/AIA on 09 January 2014, in which the magnetic-field structure was consistent with the embedded-bipole topology that we identified and modeled previously as an origin of coronal jets. In addition, this event contained a mini-filament, which led to important insights into the energy storage and release mechanisms. SDO/HMI magnetograms revealed footpoint motions in the primary minority-polarity region at the eruption site, but show negligible flux emergence or cancellation for at least 16 hours before the eruption. Therefore, the free energy powering this jet probably came from magnetic shear concentrated at the polarity inversion line within the embedded bipole. We find that the observed activity sequence and its interpretation closely match the predictions of the breakout jet model, strongly supporting the hypothesis that the breakout model can explain solar eruptions on a wide range of scales.