Imaging and spectroscopic observations of a confined solar filament eruption with two-stage evolution

Abstract

Solar filament eruptions are often characterized by stepwise evolution due to the involvement of multiple mechanisms, such as magnetohydrodynamic instabilities and magnetic reconnection. In this article, we investigated a confined filament eruption with a distinct two-stage evolution by using the imaging and spectroscopic observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The eruption originated from a kinked filament thread that separated from an active region filament. In the first stage, the filament thread rose slowly and was obstructed due to flux pile-up in its front. This obstruction brought the filament thread into reconnection with a nearby loop-like structure, which enlarged the flux rope and changed its connectivity through the foot-point migration. The newly formed flux rope became more kink unstable and drove the rapid eruption in the second stage. It ascended into the upper atmosphere and initiated the reconnection with the overlying field. Finally, the flux rope was totally disintegrated, producing several solar jets along the overlying field. These observations demonstrate that the external reconnection between the flux rope and overlying field can destroy the flux rope, thus playing a crucial role in confining the solar eruptions.