Mechanisms in prominence activity

Abstract

view Abstract Citations References Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Mechanisms in prominence activity Krook, Max ; Layzer, David ; Menzel, Donald H. Abstract H. Mechanisms in prominence activity. In a previous paper, we have indicated that sunspots arise from volumes detached from an azimuthal magnetic field that develops from torsional oscillations of the sun's interior. The toroidal current systems associated with a doughnut-shaped volume produce an internal magnetic field whose pressure tends to expand the region against the external gas pressure. The volume is less dense than its surroundings and, hence, rises because of magnetic buoyancy, as noted by Parker. When the toroidal current sheets extend above the solar surface, the internal pressures may appreciably exceed those of the sun's atmosphere. As a consequence, we expect the sheets to collect into loops, concentrating the matter simultaneously, through operation of the "pinch effect." This picture of prominences in the vicinity of sunspots is consistent with known masses of such prominences, the gravitational forces upon the gas masses, and the known magnitude of current densities in the neighborhood of spots. This work was supported by the Geophysics Research Directorate, Air Force Cambridge Research Center, through a contract with Harvard University. Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge, Mass. Publication: The Astronomical Journal Pub Date: 1955 DOI: 10.1086/107167 Bibcode: 1955AJ.....60S.166K full text sources ADS |