Can a Closed Force-Free Field Have More Energy Than the Open Field?

Details Can a Closed Force-Free Field Have More Energy Than the Open Field? Can a Closed Force-Free Field Have More Energy Than the Open Field?

Dec 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufmsh12b0755c&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #SH12B-0755

Physics

7513 Coronal Mass Ejections, 7524 Magnetic Fields, 7843 Numerical Simulation Studies

Scientific paper

Observations of CMEs show an apparent opening of a coronal magnetic field which has assumed a closed configuration before the eruption. In order for this transition of field configuration to occur spontaneously, the pre-eruption closed field must have more energy than the open field. However, as far as force-free fields are concerned, such a transition is energetically forbidden according to the Aly-sturrock theorem. The theorem states that the maximum energy of the closed force-free fields with the same boundary-normal field distribution and the same field topology is the energy of the corresponding open field. The force-free fields treated in Aly and Sturrock's proofs of the theorem are force-free fields that can be generated from closed potential fields by footpoint motions conserving the boundary normal field distribution and the field topology. The force-free fields investigated in this paper are force-free fields which are not governed by Aly and Sturrock's proofs. We will construct force-free fields in weak equilibrium by a footpoint motion not conserving the boundary normal field distribution and show that there exist force-free fields having more magnetic energy than the corresponding open fields. The relevance with observations and the possible mechanisms of CMEs will also be discussed.

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