THE RAPID FORMATION OF A FILAMENT CAUSED BY MAGNETIC RECONNECTION BETWEEN TWO SETS OF DARK THREADLIKE STRUCTURES

Abstract

ABSTRACT Taking advantage of the high spatiotemporal resolution observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we present rare observations of the rapid formation of a filament caused by magnetic reconnection between two sets of dark threadlike structures. The two sets of dark threadlike structures belong to distinct flux systems with their adjacent ends anchored in an opposite-polarity magnetic field region, where the calculated photospheric velocity field shows that converging flows dominate there. Due to the converging flows, opposite-polarity magnetic flux converged and then canceled, leading to the formation of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) brightening that spread in opposite directions along the spine of the dark threadlike structures. Meanwhile, very weak remote brightening in the other terminals of the dark threadlike structures, as well as EUV loops, which rooted in the opposite-polarity magnetic field region, appeared. In addition, all of the AIA Fe line observations reveal that a flux rope was formed and underwent a rolling motion during the fadeaway of the EUV brightening. Soon after, as the EUV brightening disappeared, a filament that is very likely composed of two sets of intertwined dark threadlike structures was formed. Via differential emission measure (EM) analysis, it is found that both the EM and temperature of the plasma around the flux-canceling site increased during the brightening, implying that there, magnetic reconnection may occur to heat the plasma. These observations provide evidence that the filament is formed by magnetic reconnection associated with flux convergence and cancellation, and the magnetic structure of the filament is most likely a flux rope.