Modeling and measuring the flux reconnected and ejected by the two-ribbon flare/CME Event on 7 November 2004

Abstract

Observations of the large two-ribbon flare on 7 November 2004 made using SOHO and TRACE data are interpreted in terms of a three-dimensional magnetic field model. Photospheric flux evolution indicates that −1.4×1043 Mx2 of magnetic helicity was injected into the active region during the 40-hour buildup prior to the flare. The magnetic model places a lower bound of 8×1031 ergs on the energy stored by this motion. It predicts that 5×1021 Mx of flux would need to be reconnected during the flare to release the stored energy. This total reconnection compares favorably with the flux swept up by the flare ribbons, which we measure using high-time-cadence TRACE images in 1 600 Å. Reconnection in the model must occur in a specific sequence that would produce a twisted flux rope containing significantly less flux and helicity (1021 Mx and −3×1042 Mx2, respectively) than the active region as a whole. The predicted flux compares favorably with values inferred from the magnetic cloud observed by Wind. This combined analysis yields the first quantitative picture of the flux processed through a two-ribbon flare and coronal mass ejection.