SXT AND EIT OBSERVATIONS OF A QUIET REGION LARGE-SCALE ERUPTION: IMPLICATIONS FOR ERUPTION THEORIES

摘要

In order to understand what drives solar eruptions, it is critical to test theoretical scenarios with data from observations. Here we investigate the idea that "tether cutting" reconnection in a core magnetic field region is responsible for the onset of solar eruptions. We do this by looking to see whether observational signatures of reconnection precede signatures of the eruption, as expected if tether cutting does indeed drive the eruption. Using data from the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) instrument on SOHO, we examine the evolution of a slow filament eruption occurring in a quiet region. We find that brightenings associated with reconnection become obvious after the start of the rapid ejection of the erupting filament, suggesting that, at least for this case, the tether cutting is a byproduct of, rather than the cause of, the eruption.