Falling Threads During Solar Filament Eruptions

TL;DR

This study investigates the dynamics of falling threads during solar filament eruptions, linking mass drainage patterns to magnetic field structures and reconnection processes, and proposes models to estimate the physical properties of the falling material.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the magnetic configurations involved in filament eruptions and introduces simplified analytical and numerical models to analyze the falling speeds and density contrasts of filament threads.

Findings

Most falling material lands on hooked ribbon segments.

Magnetic reconnection is a major cause of mass drainage.

Estimated density contrast suggests further investigation is needed.

Abstract

Mass drainage is frequently observed in solar filaments. During filament eruptions, falling material most likely flows along magnetic field lines, which may provide important clues for the magnetic structures of filaments. Here we study three filament eruptions exhibiting significant mass draining, often manifested as falling threads at a constant speed ranging between 30--300 km/s. We found that most of the falling material lands onto the hooked segments of flare ribbons, only a small fraction lands inside the hooks, and almost none lands onto the straight segments of ribbons. Based on these observations we surmise that before eruptions most of the filament mass is entrained by field lines threading the quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs), which wrap around the filament field and whose footpoints are mapped by the hooked ribbons, and that the magnetic reconnection involving these field lines is the major cause of the mass drainage during eruptions. Additionally, the light curves of the hooked ribbons suggest that during eruptions the earlier (later) QSL boundary of filaments is threaded by mass-loaded (depleted) field lines. By assuming that the constant-speed motion is due to a drag force balancing the gravity, we proposed a simplified analytical model to estimate the density contrast of the falling material. The estimated density contrast is then fed into a numerical model, in which filament threads fall along vertical magnetic field lines through a gravitationally stratified atmosphere. The resultant falling speeds, however, are short of observed values, which calls for further investigations.