Quantitative Characterization of Magnetic Flux Rope Properties for Two Solar Eruption Events

Abstract

Abstract In order to bridge the gap between heliospheric and solar observations of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), one of the key steps is to improve the understanding of their corresponding magnetic structures like the magnetic flux ropes (MFRs). But it remains a challenge to confirm the existence of a coherent MFR before or upon the CME eruption on the Sun and to quantitatively characterize the CME-MFR due to the lack of direct magnetic field measurements in the corona. In this study, we investigate MFR structures originating from two active regions (ARs), AR 11719 and AR 12158, and estimate their magnetic properties quantitatively. We perform nonlinear force-free field extrapolations with preprocessed photospheric vector magnetograms. In addition, remote-sensing observations are employed to find indirect evidence of MFRs on the Sun and to analyze the time evolution of magnetic reconnection flux associated with the flare ribbons during the eruption. A coherent “preexisting” MFR structure prior to the flare eruption is identified quantitatively for one event from the combined analysis of the extrapolation and observation. Then the characteristics of MFRs for two events on the Sun before and during the eruption forming the CME-MFR, including the axial magnetic flux, field line twist, and reconnection flux, are estimated and compared with the corresponding in situ modeling results. We find that the magnetic reconnection associated with the accompanying flares for both events injects a significant amount of flux into the erupted CME-MFRs.