Dynamic Responses to Magnetic Reconnection in Solar Arcades

We present a numerical simulation of the interaction between two line dipoles through magnetic reconnection in the lower solar atmosphere, a process believed to be the origin of many manifestations of solar activity. This work differs from previous studies in that the field is sheared asymmetrically and that the dipoles have markedly unequal field strengths. This calculation already yielded one key discovery, denoted reconnection driven current filamentation, as described in a previous Astrophysical Journal letter. In this paper we focus on the chromospheric and coronal dynamics resulting from the shear-driven reconnection of unequal dipoles, discuss the important implications for chromospheric eruptions, compare our calculation with high-resolution Normal Incidence X-Ray Telescope observations of a surge, and contrast our results with the predictions of "fast reconnection" models.

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