Catastrophe versus instability for the eruption of a toroidal solar magnetic flux rope
Abstract
The onset of a solar eruption is formulated here as either a magnetic catastrophe or as an instability. Both start with the same equation of force balance governing the underlying equilibria. Using a toroidal flux rope in an external bipolar or quadrupolar field as a model for the current-carrying flux, we demonstrate the occurrence of a fold catastrophe by loss of equilibrium for several representative evolutionary sequences in the stable domain of parameter space. We verify that this catastrophe and the torus instability occur at the same point; they are thus equivalent descriptions for the onset condition of solar eruptions.
Citation
Kliem , B , Lin , J , Forbes , T G , Priest , E R & Toeroek , T 2014 , ' Catastrophe versus instability for the eruption of a toroidal solar magnetic flux rope ' , Astrophysical Journal , vol. 789 , no. 1 , 46 . https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/789/1/46
Publication
Astrophysical Journal
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0004-637XType
Journal article
Description
B.K. acknowledges support by the Chinese Academy of Sciences under grant No. 2012T1J0017. He also acknowledges support by the DFG, the STFC, and the NSF. J.L.'s work was supported by 973 Program grants 2013CB815103 and 2011CB811403, NSFC grants 11273055, and 11333007, and CAS grant KJCX2-EW-T07 to Yunnan Observatory. E.R.P. is grateful to the Leverhulme Trust for financial support. The contribution of T.T. was supported by NASA's HTP, LWS, and SR&T programs and by NSF.Collections
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