Fast Downflows Observed during a Polar Crown Filament Eruption

TL;DR

This paper reports the observation of fast, symmetric downflows during a polar crown filament eruption, suggesting they are linked to magnetic flux rope dynamics and reconnection processes, providing insights into filament support and eruption mechanisms.

Contribution

It presents detailed observations of downflows in a polar crown filament eruption and proposes their association with magnetic flux ropes and reconnection, a novel insight into filament eruption dynamics.

Findings

Downflows range from 92 to 144 km/s and last about 2 hours.

Downflows originate from the filament's leading edge and appear symmetrically.

Downflows may trace magnetic flux rope footpoints during eruptions.

Abstract

Solar filaments can undergo eruptions and result in the formation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which could significantly impact planetary space environments. Observations of eruptions involving polar crown filaments, situated in the polar regions of the Sun, are limited. In this study, we report a polar crown filament eruption (SOL2023-06-12), characterized by fast downflows below the filament. The downflows appear instantly after the onset of the filament eruption and persist for approximately 2 hours, exhibiting plane-of-sky (POS) velocities ranging between 92 and 144 km s$^{-1}$. They originate from the leading edge of the filament and no clear acceleration is observed. Intriguingly, these downflows appear at two distinct sites, symmetrically positioned at the opposite ends of the conjugate flare ribbons. Based on the observations, we propose that the filament might be supported by a magnetic flux rope (MFR), and these downflows possibly occur along the legs of the MFR. The downflows likely result from continuous reconnections between the MFR and the overlying magnetic field structures, and could either be reconnection outflows or redirected filament materials. We also observed horizontal drifting of the locations of downflows, which might correspond to the MFR's footpoint drifting. This type of downflows can potentially be utilized to track the footpoints of MFRs during eruptions.