Abstract
To determine the relationship between transient coronal (soft X-ray or EUV) sigmoids and erupting flux ropes, we analyse four events in which a transient sigmoid could be associated with a filament whose apex rotates upon eruption and two further events in which the two phenomena were spatially but not temporally coincident. We find the helicity sign of the erupting field and the direction of filament rotation to be consistent with the conversion of twist into writhe under the ideal MHD constraint of helicity conservation, thus supporting our assumption of flux rope topology for the rising filament. For positive (negative) helicity the filament apex rotates clockwise (counterclockwise), consistent with the flux rope taking on a reverse (forward) S shape, which is opposite to that observed for the sigmoid. This result is incompatible with two models for sigmoid formation: one identifying sigmoids with upward arching kink-unstable flux ropes and one identifying sigmoids with a current layer between two oppositely sheared arcades. We find instead that the observations agree well with the model by Titov and Démoulin (Astron. Astrophys. 351, 707, 1999), which identifies transient sigmoids with steepened current layers below rising flux ropes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, D., Liu, R., Gilbert, H.R.: 2006, Astrophys. J. 653, 719.
Amari, T., Luciani, J.F., Aly, J.J., Tagger, M.: 1996, Astrophys. J. 466, L39.
Amari, T., Luciani, J.F., Mikic, Z., Linker, J.: 1999, Astrophys. J. 518, L57.
Attrill, G.D.R., Nakwacki, M.S., Harra, L.K., van Driel-Gesztelyi, L., Mandrini, C.H., Dasso, S., Wang, J.: 2006, Solar Phys. 238, 117.
Aulanier, G., Démoulin, P.: 1998, Astron. Astrophys. 329, 1125.
Aulanier, G., Démoulin, P., Grappin, R.: 2005, Astron. Astrophys. 430, 1067.
Aulanier, G., Srivastava, N., Martin, S.F.: 2000, Astrophys. J. 543, 447.
Berger, M.A.: 1985, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 59, 433.
Berger, M.A.: 2000a, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 41, 167.
Berger, M.A.: 2000b, Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Institute of Physics, Bristol, 2403.
Berger, M.A., Field, G.B.: 1984, J. Fluid Mech. 147, 133.
Berger, M.A., Prior, C.: 2006, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 39, 8321.
Brown, D.S., Nightingale, R.W., Alexander, D., Schrijver, C.J., Metcalf, T.R., Shine, R.A., Title, A.M., Wolfson, C.J.: 2003, Solar Phys. 216, 79.
Burnette, A.B., Canfield, R.C., Pevtsov, A.A.: 2004, Astrophys. J. 606, 565.
Canfield, R.C., Hudson, H.S., McKenzie, D.E.: 1999, Geophys. Res. Lett. 26, 627.
Chae, J.: 2000, Astrophys. J. 540, L115.
Démoulin, P., Priest, E.R., Lonie, D.P.: 1996, J. Geophys. Res. 101, 7631.
DeVore, C.R., Antiochos, S.K.: 2000, Astrophys. J. 539, 954.
Fan, Y., Gibson, S.E.: 2003, Astrophys. J. 589, L105.
Fan, Y., Gibson, S.E.: 2004, Astrophys. J. 609, 1123.
Gibson, S.E., Fletcher, L., Del Zanna, G., Pike, C.D., Mason, H.E., Mandrini, C.H., Démoulin, P., Gilbert, H., Burkepile, J., et al.: 2002, Astrophys. J. 574, 1021.
Gibson, S.E., Fan, Y., Mandrini, C., Fisher, G., Demoulin, P.: 2004, Astrophys. J. 617, 600.
Gibson, S.E., Fan, Y., Török, T., Kliem, B.: 2006, Space Sci. Rev. 124, 131.
Hagino, M., Sakurai, T.: 2004, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan 56, 831.
Hale, G.E.: 1925, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 37, 268.
Handy, B.N., Acton, L.W., Kankelborg, C.C., Wolfson, C.J., Akin, D.J., Bruner, M.E., Caravalho, R., Catura, R.C., Chevalier, R., et al.: 1999, Solar Phys. 187, 229.
Ji, H., Wang, H., Schmahl, E.J., Moon, Y.-J., Jiang, Y.: 2003, Astrophys. J. 595, L135.
Kliem, B., Török, T.: 2006, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 255002.
Kliem, B., Titov, V.S., Török, T.: 2004, Astron. Astrophys. 413, L23.
Kusano, K.: 2005, Astrophys. J. 631, 1260.
Kusano, K., Maeshiro, T., Yokoyama, T., Sakurai, T.: 2004, Astrophys. J. 610, 537.
Lionello, R., Mikić, Z., Linker, J.A., Amari, T.: 2002, Astrophys. J. 581, 718.
López Fuentes, M.C., Démoulin, P., Mandrini, C.H., van Driel-Gesztelyi, L.: 2000, Astrophys. J. 544, 540.
Low, B.C.: 1996, Solar Phys. 167, 217.
Low, B.C., Berger, M.A.: 2003, Astrophys. J. 589, 644.
Manoharan, P.K., van Driel-Gesztelyi, L., Pick, M., Démoulin, P.: 1996, Astrophys. J. 468, L73.
Martens, P.C., Zwaan, C.: 2001, Astrophys. J. 558, 872.
Martin, S.F.: 1998, Solar Phys. 182, 107.
Martin, S.F., Billimoria, R., Tracadas, P.W.: 1994, In: Rutten R.J., Schrijver C.J. (eds.) Solar Surface Magnetism, NATO ASI Ser. C 433, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 303.
Moore, R.L., LaBonte, B.J.: 1980, In: Dryer M., Tandberg-Hanssen E. (eds.) Solar and Interplanetary Dynamics, IAU Symp. 91, Reidel, Boston, 207.
Moore, R.L., Roumeliotis, G.: 1992, In: Svestka, Z., Jackson, B.V., Machado, M.E. (eds.) Eruptive Solar Flares, Springer, Berlin, 69.
Moore, R.L., Sterling, A.C., Hudson, H.S., Lemen, J.R.: 2001, Astrophys. J. 552, 833.
Nakagawa, Y., Raadu, M.A., Billings, D.E., McNamara, D.: 1971, Solar Phys. 19, 72.
Pevtsov, A.A.: 2002a, In: Martens P.C.H., Cauffman D. (eds.) Multi-Wavelength Observations of Coronal Structure and Dynamics, COSPAR Colloq. Ser. 13, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 125.
Pevtsov, A.A.: 2002b, Solar Phys. 207, 111.
Pevtsov, A.A., Canfield, R.C., Metcalf, T.R.: 1995, Astrophys. J. 440, L109.
Pevtsov, A.A., Canfield, R.C., McClymont, A.M.: 1997, Astrophys. J. 481, 973.
Priest, E.R., Hood, A.W., Anzer, U.: 1989, Astrophys. J. 344, 1010.
Priest, E.R., van Ballegooijen, A.A., Mackay, D.H.: 1996, Astrophys. J. 460, 530.
Romano, P., Contarino, L., Zuccarello, F.: 2003, Solar Phys. 214, 313.
Romano, P., Contarino, L., Zuccarello, F.: 2005, Astron. Astrophys. 433, 683.
Rust, D.M.: 2003, Adv. Space Res. 32, 1895.
Rust, D.M., Kumar, A.: 1994, Solar Phys. 155, 69.
Rust, D.M., Kumar, A.: 1996, Astrophys. J. 464, L199.
Rust, D.M., LaBonte, B.J.: 2005, Astrophys. J. 622, L69.
Rust, D.M., Martin, S.: 1994, In: Balasubramaniam, K.S., Simon, G.W. (eds.) Solar Active Region Evolution: Comparing Models with Observations, ASP Conf. Ser. 68, Astron. Soc. Pac., San Francisco, 337.
Ruzmaikin, A., Martin, S., Hu, Q.: 2003, J. Geophys. Res. 108, 13.
Scherrer, P.H., Bogart, R.S., Bush, R.I., Hoeksema, J.T., Kosovichev, A.G., Schou, J., Rosenburg, W., Springer, L., Tarbell, T.D., et al.: 2005, Solar Phys. 162, 129.
Seehafer, N.: 1990, Solar Phys. 125, 219.
Shibata, K.: 1998, Astrophys. Space Sci. 264, 129.
Song, L., Zhang, J., Yang, Z., Wang, W.: 2002, Solar Phys. 211, 315.
Titov, V.S., Démoulin, P.: 1999, Astron. Astrophys. 351, 707.
Titov, V.S., Démoulin, P., Hornig, G.: 1999, In: Wilson, A. (ed.) Magnetic Fields and Solar Processes, SP-448, ESA, Noordwijk, 715.
Titov, V.S., Galsgaard, K., Neukirch, T.: 2003, Astrophys. J. 582, 1172.
Török, T., Kliem, B.: 2003, Astron. Astrophys. 406, 1043.
Török, T., Kliem, B.: 2005, Astrophys. J. 630, L97.
Török, T., Kliem, B.: 2007, Astron. Nachr. 328, 743.
Török, T., Kliem, B., Titov, V.S.: 2004, Astron. Astrophys. 413, L27.
Tsuneta, S., Acton, L., Bruner, M., Lemen, J., Brown, W., Caravalho, R., Catura, R., Freeland, S., Jurcevich, B., et al.: 1991, Solar Phys. 136, 37.
Webb, D.F., Lepping, R.P., Burlaga, L.F., DeForest, C.E., Larson, D.E., Martin, S.F., Plunkett, S.P., Rust, D.M.: 2000, J. Geophys. Res. 105, 27251.
Williams, D.R., Török, T., Démoulin, P., van Driel-Gesztelyi, L., Kliem, B.: 2005, Astrophys. J. 628, L163.
Woltjer, L.: 1958, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 44, 480.
Zhang, H.: 2002, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 332, 500.
Zhang, H.: 2006, Chin. J. Astron. Astrophys. 6, 96.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Green, L.M., Kliem, B., Török, T. et al. Transient Coronal Sigmoids and Rotating Erupting Flux Ropes. Sol Phys 246, 365–391 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-007-9061-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-007-9061-z