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Tether-Cutting Energetics of a Solar Quiet Region Prominence EruptionWe study the morphology and energetics of a slowly evolving quiet-region solar prominence eruption occurring on 1999 February 8-9 in the solar north polar crown region, using soft X-ray data from the soft X-ray telescope (SXT) on Yohkoh and Fexv EUV 284 Angstrom data from the EUV Imaging Telescope (EIT) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). After rising at approximately equal to l kilometer per second for about six hours, the prominence accelerates to a velocity of approximately equal to 10 kilometers per second, leaving behind EUV and soft X-ray loop arcades of a weak flare in its source region. Intensity dimmings occur in the eruption region cospatially in EUV and soft X-rays, indicating that the dimmings result from a depletion of material. Over the first two hours of the prominences rapid rise, flare-like brightenings occur beneath the rising prominence that might correspond to tether-cutting magnetic reconnection. These brightenings have heating requirements of up to approximately 10(exp 28)-10(exp 29) ergs, and this is comparable to the mechanical energy required for the rising prominence over the same time period. If the ratio of mechanical energy to heating energy remains constant through the early phase of the eruption, then we infer that coronal signatures for the tether cutting may not be apparent at or shortly after the start of the fast phase in this or similar low-energy eruptions, since the plasma-heating energy levels would not exceed that of the background corona.
Document ID
20040085904
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Sterling, Alphonse C.
(United Applied Technologies, Inc. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Moore, Ronald L.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
December 20, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysics Journal
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Volume: 599
Subject Category
Solar Physics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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