French, RJ;
Matthews, SA;
Rae, IJ;
Smith, AW;
(2021)
Probing Current Sheet Instabilities from Flare Ribbon Dynamics.
The Astrophysical Journal
, 922
(2)
, Article 117. 10.3847/1538-4357/ac256f.
Preview |
Text
French_2021_ApJ_922_117.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
The presence of current sheet instabilities, such as the tearing mode instability, are needed to account for the observed rate of energy release in solar flares. Insights into these current sheet dynamics can be revealed by the behavior of flare ribbon substructure, as magnetic reconnection accelerates particles down newly reconnected field lines into the chromosphere to mark the flare footpoints. Behavior in the ribbons can therefore be used to probe processes occurring in the current sheet. In this study, we use high-cadence (1.7 s) IRIS Slit Jaw Imager observations to probe for the growth and evolution of key spatial scales along the flare ribbons—resulting from dynamics across the current sheet of a small solar flare on 2016 December 6. Combining analyses of spatial scale growth with Si iv nonthermal velocities, we piece together a timeline of flare onset for this confined event, and provide evidence of the tearing mode instability triggering a cascade and inverse cascade toward a power spectrum consistent with plasma turbulence.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Probing Current Sheet Instabilities from Flare Ribbon Dynamics |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3847/1538-4357/ac256f |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac256f |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Solar flares; Solar magnetic reconnection; Solar physics; Solar atmosphere; The Sun; Solar flare spectra |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10139540 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
