On the eruption of prominences and disappearance of quiescent filaments

Abstract

We suggest the following heuristic model for the evolution of a quiescent filament. The middle part of the filament rises due to heating, while its ends remain anchored in the chromosphere; and a kink appears in the H alpha filament due to projection and line-of-sight effects. Further, the top segment of the filament rises rapidly above the solar surface 1-2 days before the disappearance of a filament or eruption of a prominence. The top of the filament attains a high temperature due to further heating, thereby becoming invisible in H alpha, giving the impression that the filament has slit into two parts. It is expected that this gap between the H alpha filament can be seen in the observations in high-temperature lines and soft X-rays.