Sigmoidal Structure of Emerging Magnetic Flux Tube

We investigated emergence of a twisted flux tube into a solar corona by performing a three-dimensional MHD simulation. After emerging, outer field lines composing the envelope of the flux tube expanded to form a potential field-like (shearless) arcade, while inner field lines underlying an axis of the flux tube formed sigmoidal structure. The underlying inner field lines had footpoints in a chromospheric layer where high current density was distributed, suggesting that a plasma distributed along these inner field lines could be heated via dissipation of the intense current at their chromospheric footpoints associated with efficient thermal conduction along the field lines, observed as a soft X-ray sigmoid (Magara & Longcope 2001).


Reference

Magara, T. & Longcope, D. W. 2001 ApJ, 559, L55





Evolution of magnetic polarity regions in photosphere.
(contours: vertical magnetic flux density;
colors: vertical flow velocity;
arrows: horizontal flow velocity field)



Snapshot of flow and magnetic structure in subphotosphere.
(contours: vertical magnetic flux density;
colors: vertical flow velocity;
arrows: horizontal flow velocity field)


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