Flare-CME Models: An Observational Perspective (Invited Review)

Eruptions, flares, and coronal mass ejection (CMEs) are due to physical phenomena mainly driven by an initially force-free current-carrying magnetic field. We review some key observations relevant to the current theoretical trigger mechanisms of the eruption and to the energy release via reconnection. Sigmoids observed in X-rays and UV, as well as the pattern (double J-shaped) of electric currents in the photosphere show clear evidence of the existence of currents parallel to the magnetic field and can be the signature of a flux rope that is detectable in CMEs. The magnetic helicity of filaments and active regions is an interesting indirectly measurable parameter because it can quantify the twist of the flux rope. On the other hand, the magnetic helicity of the solar structures allows us to associate solar eruptions and magnetic clouds in the heliosphere. The magnetic topology analysis based on the 3D magnetic field extrapolated from vector magnetograms is a good tool for identifying the reconnection locations (null points and/or the 3D large volumes – hyperbolic flux tube, HFT). Flares are associated more with quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs) and HFTs than with a single null point, which is a relatively rare case. We review various mechanisms that have been proposed to trigger CMEs and their observable signatures: by “breaking” the field lines overlying the flux rope or by reconnection below the flux rope to reduce the magnetic tension, or by letting the flux rope to expand until it reaches a minimum threshold height (loss of equilibrium or torus instability). Additional mechanisms are commonly operating in the solar atmosphere. Examples of observations are presented throughout the article and are discussed in this framework.