The formation of magnetic flux ropes in emerging solar active regions

Principal Investigator: Dr. Liu Lijuan

Period：2019 - 2021

Project funding amount：RMB 100,000

Project Description:

Magnetic flux ropes are key structures in the solar atmosphere, whose eruptions can lead to the formation of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), triggering hazardous space weather. Their formation mechanisms warrant in-depth investigation. This project aims to utilize all emerging active regions observed by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard SDO as samples. For each active region, ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), as well as vector magnetic field data from the HMI, will be employed to analyze phenomena such as reconnection and cancellation in the corona. Additionally, the velocity field of the photosphere will be calculated, and combined with EUV proxy of magnetic flux rope such as hot channels and extrapolated magnetic field evolution, to quantitatively analyze the formation process of magnetic flux ropes during active region emergence. This will help to clarify whether the magnetic flux ropes mainly emerge intact before eruption or form within the solar atmosphere, and address scientific questions regarding the source of photospheric flows and the height of reconnection. This project contributes to a deeper understanding of relevant plasma physics processes and can provide a theoretical foundation for space weather forecasting research.