A Hot Cusp-shaped Confined Solar Flare

We analyze a confined flare that developed a hot cusp-like structure high in the corona (H ∼ 66 Mm). A growing cusp-shaped flare arcade is a typical feature in the standard model of eruptive flares, caused by magnetic reconnection at progressively larger coronal heights. In contrast, we observe a st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astrophysical journal. Letters 2019-12, Vol.887 (2), p.L28
Main Authors: Hernandez-Perez, Aaron, Su, Yang, Thalmann, Julia, Veronig, Astrid M., Dickson, Ewan C., Dissauer, Karin, Joshi, Bhuwan, Chandra, Ramesh
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apexes
Corona
Cusps
Magnetic fields
Magnetic reconnection
Solar corona
Solar flares
Solar ultraviolet emission
Solar X-ray emission
Temperature distribution
Vertical distribution
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Summary:We analyze a confined flare that developed a hot cusp-like structure high in the corona (H ∼ 66 Mm). A growing cusp-shaped flare arcade is a typical feature in the standard model of eruptive flares, caused by magnetic reconnection at progressively larger coronal heights. In contrast, we observe a static hot cusp during a confined flare. Despite an initial vertical temperature distribution similar to that in eruptive flares, we observe a distinctly different evolution during the late (decay) phase, in the form of prolonged hot emission. The distinct cusp shape, rooted at locations of nonthermal precursor activity, was likely caused by a magnetic field arcade that kinked near the top. Our observations indicate that the prolonged heating was a result of slow local reconnection and an increased thermal pressure near the kinked apexes due to continuous plasma upflows.
ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.3847/2041-8213/ab5ba1