Magnetic Flux Cancellation as the Trigger Mechanism of Solar Coronal Jets

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal Vol. 882; no. 1; pp. 16 - 24
• Main Authors: McGlasson, Riley A., Panesar, Navdeep K., Sterling, Alphonse C., Moore, Ronald L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia The American Astronomical Society 01.09.2019; IOP Publishing
• Subjects: Astrophysics; Cancellation; Corona; Coronal holes; Eruptions; Fluctuations; Jets; Magnetic fields; Magnetic flux; Quiet Sun; Solar activity; Solar corona; Solar observatories; Sun: activity; Sun: filaments, prominences; Sun: photosphere
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ab2fe3

Coronal jets are transient narrow features in the solar corona that originate from all regions of the solar disk: active regions, quiet Sun, and coronal holes. Recent studies indicate that at least some coronal jets in quiet regions and coronal holes are driven by the eruption of a minifilament following flux cancellation at a magnetic neutral line. We have tested the veracity of that view by examining 60 random jets in quiet regions and coronal holes using multithermal (304, 171, 193, and 211 ) extreme ultraviolet images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and line-of-sight magnetograms from the SDO/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. By examining the structure and changes in the magnetic field before, during, and after jet onset, we found that 85% of these jets resulted from a minifilament eruption triggered by flux cancellation at the neutral line. The 60 jets have a mean base diameter of 8800 3100 km and a mean duration of 9 3.6 minutes. These observations confirm that minifilament eruption is the driver and magnetic flux cancellation is the primary trigger mechanism for most coronal hole and quiet region coronal jets.