High-Resolution Observations of Prominence Plume Formation with the New Vacuum Solar Telescope

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution solar observations to analyze prominence plume formation, revealing turbulence, instabilities, and flows that support a combined KH/RT instability mechanism, with turbulence possibly triggering RT instability.

Contribution

First detailed high-resolution analysis of prominence plumes linking observed features to KH/RT instabilities and turbulence effects.

Findings

Brightening, blue shifts, and turbulence at plume fronts.

Splitting plumes and finger structures indicating RT instability.

Blue-shifted flows suggest KH/RT instability involvement.

Abstract

Prominence plumes are evacuated upflows that emerge from bubbles below prominences, whose formation mechanism is still unclear. Here we present a detailed study of plumes in a quiescent prominence using the high-resolution H-alpha filtergrams at the line center as well as line wing at +/-0.4 angstrom from the New Vacuum Solar Telescope. Enhancements of brightening, blue shifts, and turbulence at the fronts of plumes are found during their formation. Some large plumes split at their heads and finger-shaped structures are formed between them. Blue-shifted flows along the bubble-prominence interface are found before and during the plume formation. Our observations are consistent with the hypothesis that prominence plumes are related to coupled Kelvin-Helmholtz and Rayleigh-Taylor (KH/RT) instabilities. Plume splittings and fingers are evidence of RT instability, and the flows may increase the growth rate of KH/RT instabilities. However, the significant turbulence at plume fronts may suggest that the RT instability is triggered by the plumes penetrating into the prominence. In this scenario, extra mechanisms are necessary to drive the plumes.