Spectropolarimetric Observation of an Emerging Flux Region: Triggering Mechanisms of Ellerman Bombs

Abstract

A high spatial resolution observation of an emerging flux region (EFR) was made using a vector magnetograph and a Hα Lyot filtergraph with the Domeless Solar Telescope at Hida Observatory on 2006 October 22. In Hα wing images, we could see many Ellerman bombs (EBs) in the EFR. Observations in two modes, slit scan and slit fixed, were performed with the vector magnetograph, along with the Hα filtergraph. Using the Hα wing images, we detected 12 EBs during the slit scan observation period and 9 EBs during the slit fixed observation period. With the slit scan observation, we found that all the EBs were distributed in the area where the spatial gradient of vertical field intensity was large, which indicates the possibility of rapid topological change in the magnetic field in the area of EBs. With the slit fixed observation, we found that EBs were distributed in the areas of undulatory magnetic fields, in both the vertical and horizontal components. This paper is the first to report the undulatory pattern in the horizontal components of the magnetic field, which is also evidence for emerging magnetic flux triggered by the Parker instability. These results allow us to confirm the association between EBs and emerging flux tubes. Three triggering mechanisms for EBs are discussed with respect to emerging flux tubes: 9 out of 21 EBs occurred at the footpoints of emerging flux tubes, 8 occurred at the top of emerging flux tubes, and 4 occurred in the unipolar region. Each case can be explained by magnetic reconnection in the low chromosphere.