SOLARNET Conference: The Many Scales of the Magnetic Sun

Solar prominences consist of cool and dense plasma that is suspended in the corona, surrounded by hotter and less dense coronal material. As predecessors of coronal mass ejections, solar prominences are important drivers of space weather, but their exact formation mechanism is still unknown. We use the radiative magnetohydrodynamic code MURaM to simulate the formation and dynamics of a prominence in the solar atmosphere. MURaM includes the relevant physical processes to realistically simulate the solar photosphere, chromosphere and corona.

We create a stable dipped magnetic field configuration in a 3D box of size 80 x 30 x 10 Mm and let it evolve. In the course of the simulation, a dense plasma seed ejected from the chromosphere randomly settles into a magnetic dip and is cooled by radiative losses. The resulting pressure drop drives a strong flow of plasma into the feature and builds up a cool, long-lasting structure in the solar corona. This prominence is very dynamic but stable due to the stability of the underlying magnetic field. Its properties and dynamics are comparable to certain observations of real prominences. In this contribution, we present the formation mechanism and properties of the simulated prominence.