A Data-constrained Magnetohydrodynamic Simulation of Successive Events of Blowout Jet and C-class Flare in NOAA AR 12615

Abstract

Abstract Magnetohydrodynamic simulation is carried out for the NOAA AR 12615 in the time span t ∈ {05:48, 06:18} UT on 2016 December 5; covering events of a blowout jet and a C1.2 flare. The events are selected based on the small interval between their occurrences, which provides us with an opportunity to explore two energetically different events of magnetic reconnection (MR) within the run time of a single magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation. The simulation is initiated with magnetic field extrapolated from the vector magnetogram provided by the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager/ Solar Dynamics Observatory , using a non-force-free approximation. The extrapolated Lorentz force is found to decay at a rate faster than the volume current density, making the higher corona to be effectively force-free while the Lorentz force affects only the lower corona and the photosphere—a desirable feature that agrees with the contemporary understanding. For the simulation, the plasma is idealized to be incompressible, thermally homogeneous and having perfect electrical conductivity. The results affirm MRs near a set of two three-dimensional (3D) magnetic nulls to be responsible for initiating the jet. Moreover, a flux rope located near the nulls contributes to the jet by changing its magnetic field lines from an anchored to an open topology. The scenario agrees with the standard mini-filament breakout model for blowout jets and provides its first demonstration from a 3D data-constrained MHD simulation where the computational output is reconciled with magnetogram(s) only once. The generation of flare ribbons is attributed to reconnections at a 3D null and a quasi-separatrix layer (QSL), highlighting the importance of topological complexity in flare initiation.