The eruption of a prominence carrying coronal flux rope: forward synthesis of the magnetic field strength measurement by the COronal Solar Magnetism Observatory Large Coronagraph

TL;DR

This study uses MHD simulations and forward synthesis to demonstrate that the COSMO Large Coronagraph can effectively measure magnetic fields in erupting prominences, aiding in understanding CME precursors and early eruption dynamics.

Contribution

It presents a novel method for inferring coronal magnetic fields from simulated polarization signals, showcasing COSMO LC's potential in eruptive prominence analysis.

Findings

COSMO LC can measure significant line-of-sight magnetic fields with good signal-to-noise.

The measurements correlate well with the flux rope axial field strength.

The method can detect magnetic field increases and outward motions during eruptions.

Abstract

From a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the eruption of a prominence hosting coronal flux rope, we carry out forward synthesis of the circular polarization signal (Stokes V signal) of the FeXIII emission line at 1074.7 nm produced by the MHD model as measured by the proposed COronal Solar Magnetism Observatory (COSMO) Large Coronagraph (LC) and infer the line-of-sight magnetic field BLOS above the limb. With an aperture of 150 cm, integration time of 12 min, and a resolution of 12 arcsec, the LC can measure a significant BLOS with sufficient signal to noise level, from the simulated flux rope viewed nearly along its axis with a peak axial field strength of about 10 G. The measured BLOS is found to relate well with the axial field strength of the flux rope for the height range of the prominence, and can discern the increase with height of the magnetic field strength in that height range that is a definitive signature of the concave upturning dipped field supporting the prominence. The measurement can also detect an outward moving BLOS due to the slow rise of the flux rope as it develops the kink instability, during the phase when its rise speed is still below about 41 km/s and up to a height of about 1.3 solar radii. These results suggest that the COSMO LC has great potential in providing quantitative information about the magnetic field structure of CME precursors (e.g. the prominence cavities) and their early evolution for the onset of eruption.