In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal, Dr. YANG Bo from Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed a new perspective on the triggering mechanism of the solar recurrent two-sided loop jets.

With the joint observations from New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST) and Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO), YANG and his coauthors study in detail the initiation and evolution of recurrent two-sided loop jets caused by magnetic reconnection between erupting minifilaments and a nearby large filament.

They found that three two-sided loop jets were similar in appearance and originated from the same region. The first jet was driven by a minifilament eruption. The minifilament reformed at the same neutral line later, and then underwent partial and total eruptions, driving the second and third jets, respectively.

Furthermore, they observed that persistent magnetic flux cancellation occurred at the neutral line under the minifilament before its eruption and continued until the end of the observation.

Their observations imply that two-sided loop jets can be driven by minifilament eruptions, and magnetic flux cancellation may account for building and then triggering the minifilament to erupt to produce the two-sided loop jets.

Previous studies have suggested that a two-sided loop jet will be initiated when a bipolar emerging flux interacts with a horizontal coronal field. The emerged coronal loops continuously reconnect with the overlying horizontal magnetic field, producing the recurrent two-sided loop jets. Unlike previous studies, the new observation reported here confirms that the two-sided loop jets can be driven by minifilament eruptions.

"This observation sheds new light on our understanding of the recurrent mechanism of two-sided loop jets”, Dr. YANG said.

Contact:

YANG Bo, YNAO, CAS                                          

boyang@ynao.ac.cn