Evolution of Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability in the Fan-spine Topology

Abstract

Abstract We use multiwavelength imaging observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory to study the evolution of the Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) instability in a fan-spine magnetic field configuration. This magnetic topology exists near an active region AR12297 and is rooted in a nearby sunspot. In this magnetic configuration, two layers of cool plasma flow in parallel and interact with each other inside an elongated spine. The slower plasma flow (5 km s−1) is the reflected stream along the spine’s field lines from the top, which interacts with the impulsive plasma upflows (114–144 km s−1) from below. This process generates a shear motion and subsequent evolution of the K–H instability. The amplitude and characteristic wavelength of the K–H unstable vortices increase, satisfying the criterion of the fastest-growing mode of this instability. We also describe how the velocity difference between two layers and the velocity of K–H unstable vortices are greater than the Alfvén speed in the second denser layer, which also satisfies the criterion of the growth of the K–H instability. In the presence of the magnetic field and sheared counterstreaming plasma as observed in the fan-spine topology, we estimate the parametric constant Λ ≥ 1, which confirms the dominance of velocity shear and the evolution of the linear phase of the K–H instability. This observation indicates that in the presence of complex magnetic field structuring and flows, the fan-spine configuration may evolve into rapid heating, while the connectivity changes due to the fragmentation via the K–H instability.