Anomalous cross-field motions of solar coronal loops

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Main Authors: Mandal, Sudip, Peter, Hardi, Klimchuk, James A., Chitta, Lakshmi Pradeep
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Mandal, Sudip
Peter, Hardi
Klimchuk, James A.
Chitta, Lakshmi Pradeep
author_facet Mandal, Sudip
Peter, Hardi
Klimchuk, James A.
Chitta, Lakshmi Pradeep
contents Here, we present several examples of unusual evolutionary patterns in solar coronal loops that resemble cross-field drift motions. These loops were simultaneously observed from two vantage points by two different spacecraft: the High-Resolution Imager (HRI$_{EUV}$) of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager aboard the Solar Orbiter and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Across all these events, a recurring pattern is observed: Initially, a thin, strand-like structure detaches and shifts several megameters (Mm) away from a main or parent loop. During this period, the parent loop remains intact in its original position. After a few minutes, the shifted strand reverses its direction and returns to the location of the parent loop. Key features of this `split-drift' type evolution are: (i) the presence of kink oscillations in the loops before and after the split events, (ii) a sudden split motion at about 30~km.s$^{-1}$, with additional slow drifts, either away from or back to the parent loops, at around 5~km.s$^{-1}$. Co-temporal photospheric magnetic field data obtained from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) reveal that during such split-drift evolution, one of the loop points in the photosphere moves back and forth between nearby magnetic polarities. While the exact cause of this `split-drift' phenomenon is still unclear, the consistent patterns observed in its characteristics indicate that there may be a broader physical mechanism at play. This underscores the need for further investigation through both observational studies and numerical simulations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_02138
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Anomalous cross-field motions of solar coronal loops
Mandal, Sudip
Peter, Hardi
Klimchuk, James A.
Chitta, Lakshmi Pradeep
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Here, we present several examples of unusual evolutionary patterns in solar coronal loops that resemble cross-field drift motions. These loops were simultaneously observed from two vantage points by two different spacecraft: the High-Resolution Imager (HRI$_{EUV}$) of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager aboard the Solar Orbiter and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Across all these events, a recurring pattern is observed: Initially, a thin, strand-like structure detaches and shifts several megameters (Mm) away from a main or parent loop. During this period, the parent loop remains intact in its original position. After a few minutes, the shifted strand reverses its direction and returns to the location of the parent loop. Key features of this `split-drift' type evolution are: (i) the presence of kink oscillations in the loops before and after the split events, (ii) a sudden split motion at about 30~km.s$^{-1}$, with additional slow drifts, either away from or back to the parent loops, at around 5~km.s$^{-1}$. Co-temporal photospheric magnetic field data obtained from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) reveal that during such split-drift evolution, one of the loop points in the photosphere moves back and forth between nearby magnetic polarities. While the exact cause of this `split-drift' phenomenon is still unclear, the consistent patterns observed in its characteristics indicate that there may be a broader physical mechanism at play. This underscores the need for further investigation through both observational studies and numerical simulations.
title Anomalous cross-field motions of solar coronal loops
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.02138