Dichotomy of Solar Coronal Jets: Standard Jets and Blowout Jets

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal Vol. 720; no. 1; pp. 757 - 770
• Main Authors: Moore, Ronald L, Cirtain, Jonathan W, Sterling, Alphonse C, Falconer, David A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.09.2010; IOP
• Subjects: Astronomy; ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ATMOSPHERES; Earth, ocean, space; ERUPTION; Exact sciences and technology; MAGNETISM; MAIN SEQUENCE STARS; PLASMA; SOLAR ACTIVITY; SOLAR ATMOSPHERE; SOLAR CORONA; SOLAR PROMINENCES; STARS; STELLAR ACTIVITY; STELLAR ATMOSPHERES; STELLAR CORONAE; SUN; TELESCOPES; Plasma; Shear; Coronal mass ejection; Sun: corona; Coronal holes; Sun: coronal mass ejections (CMEs); Topology; Transition zone; Sun: activity; Brightening; Sun; Sun: magnetic topology; Filaments; Sun: surface magnetism; Jets; Sun: transition region
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/720/1/757

By examining many X-ray jets in Hinode/X-Ray Telescope coronal X-ray movies of the polar coronal holes, we found that there is a dichotomy of polar X-ray jets. About two thirds fit the standard reconnection picture for coronal jets, and about one third are another type. We present observations indicating that the non-standard jets are counterparts of erupting-loop H{alpha} macrospicules, jets in which the jet-base magnetic arch undergoes a miniature version of the blowout eruptions that produce major coronal mass ejections. From the coronal X-ray movies we present in detail two typical standard X-ray jets and two typical blowout X-ray jets that were also caught in He II 304 A snapshots from STEREO/EUVI. The distinguishing features of blowout X-ray jets are (1) X-ray brightening inside the base arch in addition to the outside bright point that standard jets have, (2) blowout eruption of the base arch's core field, often carrying a filament of cool (T {approx} 10{sup 4} - 10{sup 5} K) plasma, and (3) an extra jet-spire strand rooted close to the bright point. We present cartoons showing how reconnection during blowout eruption of the base arch could produce the observed features of blowout X-ray jets. We infer that (1) the standard-jet/blowout-jet dichotomy of coronal jets results from the dichotomy of base arches that do not have and base arches that do have enough shear and twist to erupt open, and (2) there is a large class of spicules that are standard jets and a comparably large class of spicules that are blowout jets.