Rising of Two Crossing Prominences and the Resulting Oscillations

Abstract

Prominences are important features in the solar atmosphere. Their activities often develop into solar eruptions, such as flares and/or coronal mass ejections. We report here on observations of activities of two crossing prominences and the resulting oscillations observed with the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We observed the two crossing prominences rising simultaneously with a speed of about 100 km s⁻¹. The lower-lying prominence consists of threads that show increase of writhe during the rising process. We find evidence that the writhe of the lower-lying prominence is transferred into the overlying one. This transfer of writhe leads to a failure of the eruption of the lower-lying prominence and a shearing motion of the legs of the overlying prominence. The failed eruption of the lower-lying prominence also triggers kink oscillations of its threads, which show periods of about 300 s and amplitudes of less than 10 Mm. Such oscillations are considered to be intrinsic mode and can help to probe the magnetic field of the prominence. Our observations support the idea that the transfer and release of writhe play an important role in confining eruptions of a prominence, and interactions among prominences/filaments might be a crucial aspect of a solar eruption.