Particle Acceleration In Plasmoid Ejections Derived From Radio Drifting Pulsating Structures

We report observations of slowly drifting pulsating structures (DPS) in the 0.8-4.5 GHz frequency range of the RT4 and RT5 radio spectrographs at Ondrejov observatory, between 2002 and 2012. We found 106 events of drifting pulsating structures, which we classified into 4 cases: (I) single events with a constant frequency drift [12 events], (II) multiple events occurring in the same flare with constant frequency drifts [11 events], (III) single or multiple events with increasing or decreasing frequency drift rates [52 events], and (IV) complex events containing multiple events occurring at the same time in the different frequency range [31 events]. Many DPSs are associated with hard X-ray bursts (15-25 keV) and soft X-ray gradient peaks, as they typically occurred at the beginning of the hard X-ray peaks. This indicates that DPS events are related to the processes of fast energy release and particle acceleration. Furthermore, interpreting DPSs as signatures of plasmoids, we measured their ejection velocity, their width and their height from the DPS spectra, from which we also estimated the reconnection rate and the plasma beta. In this interpretation, constant frequency drift indicates a constant velocity of a plasmoid, and an increasing/decreasing frequency drift indicates a deceleration/acceleration of a plasmoid ejection. The reconnection rate shows a good positive correlation with the plasmoid velocity. Finally we confirmed that some DPS events show plasmoid counterparts in AIA/SDO images.

A Laboratory Experiment of Magnetic Reconnection: Outflows, Heating and Waves in Chromospheric Jets

Hinode observations have revealed intermittent recurrent plasma ejections/jets in the chromosphere. These are interpreted as a result of non-perfectly anti-parallel magnetic reconnection, i.e. component reconnection, between a twisted magnetic flux tube and the pre-existing coronal/chromospheric magnetic field, though the fundamental physics of component reconnection is unrevealed. In this paper, we experimentally reproduced the magnetic configuration and investigated the dynamics of plasma ejections, heating and wave generation triggered by component reconnection in the chromosphere. We set plasma parameters as in the chromosphere (density 10^14 cm^-3, temperature 5-10 eV, i.e. (5-10)x10^4 K, and reconnection magnetic field 200 G) using argon plasma. Our experiment shows bi-directional outflows with the speed of 5 km/s at maximum, ion heating in the downstream area over 30 eV and magnetic fluctuations mainly at 5-10 us period. We succeeded in qualitatively reproducing chromospheric jets, but quantitatively we still have some differences between observations and experiments such as jet velocity, total energy and wave frequency. Some of them can be explained by the scale gap between solar and laboratory plasma, while the others probably by the difference of microscopy and macroscopy, collisionality and the degree of ionization, which have not been achieved in our experiment.

The Power-Law Distribution of Flare Kernels and Fractal Current Sheets in a Solar Flare

We report a detailed examination of the fine structure inside flare ribbons and the temporal evolution of this fine structure during the X2.5 solar flare that occurred on 2004 November 10. We examine elementary bursts of the C IV (1550{AA}) emission lines seen as local transient brightenings inside the flare ribbons in the ultraviolet (1600{AA}) images taken with Transition Region and Coronal Explorer, and we call them C IV kernels. This flare was also observed in Ha with the Sartorius 18 cm Refractor telescope at Kwasan observatory, Kyoto University, and in hard X-rays (HXR) with Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. Many C IV kernels, whose sizes were comparable to or less than 2, were found to brighten successively during the evolution of the flare ribbon. The majority of them were well correlated with the Ha kernels in both space and time, while some of them were associated with the HXR emission. These kernels were thought to be caused by the precipitation of nonthermal particles at the footpoints of the reconnecting flare loops. The time profiles of the C IV kernels showed intermittent bursts, whose peak intensity, duration, and time interval were well described by power-law distribution functions. This result is interpreted as evidence for self-organized criticality in avalanching behavior in a single flare event, or for fractal current sheets in the impulsive reconnection region.

Fermi Acceleration in Plasmoids interacting with Fast Shocks of Reconnection via Fractal Reconnection

We propose the particle acceleration model coupled with multiple plasmoid ejections in a solar flare. Unsteady reconnection produces plasmoids in a current sheet and ejects them out to the fast shocks, where particles in a plasmoid are reflected upstream the shock front by magnetic mirror effect. As the plasmoid passes through the shock front, the reflection distance becomes shorter and shorter driving Fermi acceleration, until it becomes proton Larmor radius. The fractal distribution of plasmoids may also have a role in naturally explaining the power-law spectrum in nonthermal emissions.

Multiple Plasmoid Ejections and Associated Hard X-ray Bursts in the 2000 November 24 Flare

The Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) on board Yohkoh revealed that the ejection of X-ray emitting plasmoid is sometimes observed in a solar flare. It was found that the ejected plasmoid is strongly accelerated during a peak in the hard X-ray emission of the flare. In this paper we present an examination of the GOES X 2.3 class flare that occurred at 14.51 UT on 2000 November 24. In the SXT images we found multiple plasmoid ejections with velocities in the range of 250-1500 km/s, which showed blob-like or loop-like structures. Furthermore, we also found that each plasmoid ejection is associated with an impulsive burst of hard X-ray emission. Although some correlation between plasmoid ejection and hard X-ray emission has been discussed previously, our observation shows similar behavior for multiple plasmoid ejection such that each plasmoid ejection occurs during the strong energy release of the solar flare. As a result of temperature-emission measure analysis of such plasmoids, it was revealed that the apparent velocities and kinetic energies of the plasmoid ejections show a correlation with the peak intensities in the hard X-ray emissions.

Giant Chromospheric Anemone Jet Observed with Hinode and Comparison with Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations: Evidence of Propagating Alfven Waves and Magnetic Reconnection

Hinode discovered a beautiful giant jet with both cool and hot components at the solar limb on 2007 February 9. Simultaneous observations by the Hinode SOT, XRT, and TRACE 195 satellites revealed that hot (5x10^6 K) and cool (10^4 K) jets were located side by side and that the hot jet preceded the associated cool jet (1-2 minutes). A current-sheet-like structure was seen in optical (Ca IIH), EUV (195A), and soft X-ray emissions, suggesting that magnetic reconnection is occurring in the transition region or upper chromosphere. Alfven waves were also observed with Hinode SOT. These propagated along the jet at velocities of 200 km/s with amplitudes (transverse velocity) of 5-15 km/s and a period of 200 s. We performed two-dimensional MHD simulation of the jets on the basis of the emerging flux-reconnection model, by extending Yokoyama and Shibatas model. We extended the model with a more realistic initial condition (10^6 K corona) and compared our model with multiwavelength observations. The improvement of the coronal temperature and density in the simulation model allowed for the first time the reproduction of the structure and evolution of both the cool and hot jets quantitatively, supporting the magnetic reconnection model. The generation and the propagation of Alfven waves are also reproduced self-consistently in the simulation model.