The proposers plan a series of three-Dimensional (3D) analytical and numerical projects to investigate the triggering of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and to model the evolution of the coronal magnetic field following CME onset. The proposed analytical work would fully develop a 3D line-tied flux rope model, starting from the PI's recent preliminary results, in order to explore the consequences for equilibrium and stability of this configuration. The analytical model is derived from the 3D equilibrium magnetic configuration presented by Titov & Demoulin [1999], which the PI has extended to allow for line-tied motions of the flux rope. The proposers would determine the equilibrium properties of such a magnetic flux rope when its footpoints remain anchored in the solar surface, then obtain the model conditions leading to eruption, and ultimately evaluate the energy available to drive the CME. The PI intended to modify the initial Titov & Demoulin model to provide the capability to study different loss-of-equilibrium, breakout, and tether-cutting mechanisms. The proposed analytical and numerical work would also produce models of the 3D coronal magnetic field during the eruption. The proposers would analyze the predicted connectivity of these fields to yield the structure and evolution of observable features such as sigmoids, CME ribbons, and transient coronal holes. This work will ultimately explain how the sudden release of coronal magnetic energy is triggered to cause the onset of a CME.
The PI and Co-PI will supervise two PhD students who are supported by other grants from National Science Foundation. The research proposed here will inform and enrich the education of those students, through the close interaction of this work with their separate, but related, thesis projects.
