Polar Coronal Plumes as Tornado-like Jets

Abstract

Abstract We examine the dynamical behavior of white-light polar-plume structures in the inner corona that are observed from the ground during total solar eclipses, based on their extreme ultraviolet (EUV) hot and cool emission line counterparts observed from space. EUV observations from Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA) of a sequence of rapidly varying coronal hole structures are analyzed. Evidence of events showing acceleration in the 1.25 Mk line of Fe xii at 193 Å is given. The structures along the plume show an outward velocity of about 140 km s−1 that can be interpreted as an upward propagating wave in the 304 Å and 171 Å lines; higher speeds are seen in 193 Å (up to 1000 km s−1). The ejection of the cold He ii plasma is delayed by about 4 minutes in the lowest layer and is delayed more than 12 minutes in the highest level compared to the hot 193 Å behavior. A study of the dynamics using time-slice diagrams reveals that a large amount of fast ejected material originates from below the plume, at the footpoints. The release of plasma material appears to come from a cylinder with quasi-parallel edge-enhanced walls. After the initial phase of a longitudinal acceleration, the speed substantially reduces, and the ejecta disperse into the environment. Finally, the detailed temporal and spatial relationships between the cool and hot components were studied with simultaneous multiwavelength observations, using more AIA data. The outward-propagating perturbation of the presumably magnetic walls of polar plumes supports the suggestion that Alfvén waves propagate outwardly along these radially extended walls.