Abstract We propose a magnetic confinement nuclear fusion mechanism for the evolution of a solar flare in the solar atmosphere. The mechanism agrees with two observed characteristics of explosive flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that have proved to be very difficult to explain with previous mechanisms: the huge enrichments of 3 He and the high energy gamma ray radiation. The twisted magnetic flux rope is a typical structure during the solar flares, which is closely related to the solar active region that magnetic fields have almost complete control over the plasma. Consequently, the plasma inside the flux rope is heated to more than 1.0×107 K by an adiabatic compression process, and then the thermonuclear fusion can take place in the flux rope accompanied with high energy gamma rays. We utilize the time-dependent ideal 2.5-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation to demonstrate the physical mechanism for producing flares, which reveals three stages of flare development with the process of magnetic energy conversion and intense release during the solar flares and CMEs in the solar atmosphere. Furthermore, we discuss the relationship between magnetic reconnection and solar eruptions.
Keywords Sun: flares — Sun: activity — Sun: coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — Sun: magnetic fields
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