Manifestations of Three-dimensional Magnetic Reconnection in an Eruption of a Quiescent Filament: Filament Strands Turning to Flare Loops

We report on observations of the conversion of bright filament strands into flare loops during the 2012 August 31 filament eruption. Prior to the eruption, individual bright strands composing one of the legs of the filament were observed in the 171 Å filter channel data of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. After the onset of the eruption, one of the hooked ribbons started to propagate and contract, sweeping footpoints of the bright filament strands as well as coronal loops located close by. Later on, hot flare loops appeared in regions swept by the hook, where the filament strands were rooted. Timing and localization of these phenomena suggest that they are caused by reconnection of field lines composing the filament at the hook, which, to our knowledge, has not been observed before. This process is not included in the standard flare model (CSHKP), as it does not address footpoints of erupting flux ropes and ribbon hooks. It has, however, been predicted using the recent three-dimensional extensions to the standard flare model. There, the erupting flux rope can reconnect with surrounding coronal arcades as the hooked extensions of current ribbons sweep its footpoints. This process results in formation of flare loops rooted in previous footpoints of the flux rope. Our observations of sweeping of filament footpoints are well described by this scenario. In all observed cases, all of the footpoints of the erupting filament became footpoints of flare loops. This process was observed to last for about 150 minutes, throughout the whole eruption.