Magnetic Helicity in Sigmoids, Coronal Mass Ejections and Magnetic Clouds

Abstract

Abstract.Sigmoids, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and magnetic clouds (MCs) all show signatures of twisted and writhing magnetic fields. CMEs are often associated with MCs, whose fields are regularly mapped with sensitive magnetometers. These measurements reveal that MC fields are helical, and each MC carries magnetic helicity away from the sun. It is more difficult to determine the magnetic helicity of the corresponding features on the sun. This presentation surveys recent work on helicity in solar features, focusing especially on the interpretation of sigmoids, which are S-shaped, bright features seen in images from the Yohkoh soft X-ray telescope. Several lines of evidence indicate that sigmoids are twisted and writhing flux ropes that erupt as components of CMEs. CMEs may be initiated by MHD-instable flux ropes. The fact that the ejected flux ropes carry off a large amount of positive helicity from the south and negative helicity from the north each solar cycle implies an equal, compensating flow of helicity through the sun's equatorial plane.