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Abstract Our study of Hαline profiles of rapid blue- and redshifted excursions measured with Goode Solar Telescope revealed an asymmetrical three-peak structure present in the blue wing of the Hαline, suggesting complex internal velocity fields that may include bidirectional flows and transverse and torsional motions. Blueshifted plasma predominates across the field of view (FOV), correlating with higher temperatures (>10⁴K) and extending to greater heights. Conversely, redshifts are less spread over the FOV, are localized near network magnetic fields, and diminish rapidly with altitude. The frequency distribution associated with blueshifted events displays a bimodal structure with peaks centered at 7200 and 8800 K. The redshifted events display a much weaker and wide peak centered at about 9000 K. No significant difference in temperature distributions for blue- and redshifted events is observed in the range above 10,000 K. Variations of Hαline profiles with height seem to indicate that the line-of-sight integration effects may be most significant within the 0–6 Mm layer above the photosphere, and it decreases with height. 

Abstract Solar active region 11283 produced an X2.1 flare associated with a solar eruption on 2011 September 6. Observations revealed a preflare sigmoidal structure and a circular flare ribbon surrounding the typical two-ribbon structure, along with remote brightenings located at a considerable distance from the main flare site. To interpret these observations in terms of the dynamics of the three-dimensional coronal magnetic field, we conducted data-constrained magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Using a nonlinear force-free field as the initial condition, we reconstructed a realistic preflare magnetic environment, capturing a sheared sigmoid above the polarity inversion line surmounted by a fan–spine structure. Our simulations revealed that reconnection between the sigmoidal field, the adjacent fan–dome field lines, and the neighboring large loops facilitated the transfer of magnetic twist and led to the formation of a large magnetic flux rope (MFR). This transfer and propagation of twist are clearly visible throughout the MFR. As reconnection progresses, the entire fan–spine structure expands along with the evolving MFR. A notable outcome of the simulation is that the footpoints of the newly formed MFR align closely with the observed circular flare ribbon and the remote brightening region. Our findings suggest that a large MFR formed during the X2.1 flare, providing a coherent explanation for the observed phenomena. 

Abstract Spicules are among the most ubiquitous small-scale, jet-like features in the solar chromosphere and are widely believed to play a significant role in transporting mass and energy into the solar corona, with their mechanisms not fully understood. We utilize high-resolution Hαimages acquired from the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory to investigate spatial and dynamical properties of both spicules and network bright points (NBPs), and for the first time, incorporated NBP motions in the analyses of spicules. Our main results are as follows: (1) The speed distributions of blueshifted spicules and NBPs both exhibit distinct peaks, whereas that of redshifted spicules is monotonically decreasing. (2) Torsional motions of spicules inferred from alternating signs of Doppler shifts are faster than the NBPs’ transversal motions by a factor of 10–10², which may imply the mass density ratio in two different heights as 10²–10⁴. (3) Blueshifted spicules are found to be more abundant than redshifted spicules in general, but their relative population difference reduces to ∼10% at Doppler speeds above ∼35 km s⁻¹. (4) Redshifted spicules lying at higher heights share morphological and dynamical similarity with the blueshifted spicules, which implies the same driving mechanism operating in both directions. (5) These two populations appear above NBPs concentrated under the AIA 193 Å bright region. We interpret these results in favor of a scenario that Alfvén waves generated by NBPs' motions impart their energies to spicules in both torsional and field-aligned motions, and also contribute to the coronal heating and possibly the acceleration of the solar wind. 

Abstract On 2024 July 25, while observing the solar active region NOAA 13762 with the high-resolution 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory, we witnessed two mysterious phenomena: the partial detachment of filament strands from its main body in the chromosphere and the sudden disappearance of a sunspot penumbra in the photosphere, the former accompanied by small flares. Our analysis reveals a spatiotemporal correlation between the filament peeling process and the penumbral disappearance. To understand the above observations physically, we performed a magnetohydrodynamic simulation that successfully replicated the disappearance of the penumbra as a consequence of weakened horizontal magnetic field. The simulations demonstrate that both the filament peeling and the penumbral decay are driven by the same underlying process: the upward expansion of the magnetic flux rope induced by null point magnetic reconnection. These results suggest a novel mechanism by which the Sun sheds magnetic flux to interplanetary space in the form of filament peeling and penumbral disappearance. 

Abstract We investigated minifilament (MF) eruptions (MFEs) near coronal hole (CH) boundaries to explore their role in coronal dynamics and their potential contributions to the solar wind. Using high-resolution Hαimages from the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly 193 Å extreme ultraviolet (EUV) data from Solar Dynamics Observatory, we analyzed 28 MFE events over 7.5 hr of observation spanning 5 days. The three largest MF eruptions triggered distinct coronal responses: two consecutive MFEs produced a small-scale eruptive coronal ejection, while the other generated a jetlike brightening. Furthermore, the 25 smaller-scale MFEs were associated with localized brightenings in coronal bright points. These findings suggest that MFs play a significant role in transferring mass and magnetic flux to the corona, particularly within CH regions. We found a certain trend that the size of MFEs is correlated with the EUV emissions. In addition, we observed magnetic flux cancellation associated with MFEs. However, except for a few of the largest MFEs, quantitative analysis of magnetic field evolution is beyond the capability of the data. These results underscore the importance of MFEs in the dynamic coupling between the chromosphere and corona, highlighting their potential role in shaping heliospheric structures. 

Abstract We present the first joint high-resolution observations of small-scale EUV jets using Solar Orbiter (SolO)’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager and High Resolution Imager (EUI/HRI_EUV) and Hαimaging from the Visible Imaging Spectrometer installed on the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. These jets occurred on 2022 October 29 around 19:10 UT in a quiet Sun region, and their main axis aligns with the overarching magnetic structure traced by a cluster of spicules. However, they develop a helical morphology, while the Hαspicules maintain straight, linear trajectories elsewhere. Alongside the spicules, thin, elongated red- and blueshifted Hαfeatures appear to envelope the EUV jets, which we tentatively call sheath flows. The EUI jet moving upward at a speed of ∼110 km s⁻¹is joined by a strong Hαredshift at ∼20 km s⁻¹to form bidirectional outflows lasting ∼2 minutes. Using AI-assisted differential emission measure analysis of SolO’s Full Sun Imager, we derived total energy of the EUV jet as ∼1.9 × 10²⁶erg with 87% in thermal energy and 13% in kinetic energy. The parameters and morphology of this small-scale EUV jet are interpreted based on a thin flux tube model that predicts Alfvénic waves driven by impulsive interchange reconnection localized as narrowly as ∼1.6 Mm with a magnetic flux of ∼5.4 × 10¹⁷Mx, belonging to the smallest magnetic features in the quiet Sun. This detection of intricate corona–chromospheric coupling highlights the power of high-resolution imaging in unraveling the mechanisms behind small-scale solar ejections across atmospheric layers. 

Abstract Despite decades of research, the fundamental processes involved in the initiation and acceleration of solar eruptions remain not fully understood, making them long-standing and challenging problems in solar physics. Recent high-resolution observations by the Goode Solar Telescope have revealed small-scale magnetic flux emergence in localized regions of solar active areas prior to eruptions. Although much smaller in size than the entire active region, these emerging fluxes reached strengths of up to 2000 G. To investigate their impact, we performed data-constrained magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We find that while the small-scale emerging flux does not significantly alter the preeruption evolution, it dramatically accelerates the eruption during the main phase by enhancing the growth of torus instability, which emerges in the nonlinear stage. This enhancement occurs independently of the decay index profile. Our analysis indicates that even subtle differences in the preeruption evolution can strongly influence the subsequent dynamics, suggesting that small-scale emerging flux can play a critical role in accelerating solar eruptions. 

Abstract We revisit an existing but unexplored finding on the calculation of the baseline (i.e., potential) magnetic energy in observed solar magnetic configurations and apply it to two series of high-cadence, cospatial, and cotemporal line-of-sight photospheric magnetograms with a factor of ∼4 difference in spatial resolution. The target is a small coronal hole, ∼80^″across. We find significant differences between the two data sets, with approximate factors of 2.4 in the unsigned magnetic flux, 2.1 in the potential magnetic energy, and 5.2 in the mean amplitudes of the energy variation, all in favor of the higher-resolution magnetograms. Additionally, we find a factor of 2.5 difference in the characteristic magnetic flux replenishment time, with configurations at higher resolution renewing their flux every 46 minutes on average. Energy decreases associated with apparent magnetic flux cancellation events in higher resolution yield power densities above 10⁶erg cm⁻²s⁻¹, seemingly sufficient to sustain coronal holes and drive the fast solar wind. For the first time, this represents apparent energy released at photospheric altitudes rather than energy deposited via the Poynting flux. Lower-resolution magnetograms give 5.4 times less power density output. These intriguing results could have wide-ranging implications for in situ solar wind measurements and their solar sources in the Parker Solar Probe mission, as well as for high-resolution observations featuring simultaneous photospheric and chromospheric magnetograms including, but not limited to, data from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. 

Abstract High-resolution solar images captured at different wavelengths are essential for understanding solar activity. However, such images often exhibit geometric discrepancies due to varying instrument resolutions and observation conditions, making image registration a critical preprocessing step. In this study, we propose an unsupervised deep learning–based framework named hourGlass and haRdnEt (GRE) for accurate solar image registration. The method detects keypoints in both the reference and moving images, extracts local feature descriptors, performs bidirectional matching to establish reliable correspondences, and estimates affine transformation parameters to align the images. The proposed framework was evaluated on quiet Sun images from the New Vacuum Solar Telescope and active region (AR) images from the Goode Solar Telescope, covering both photospheric and chromospheric features. A synthetic data set with known transformations was also used to assess registration accuracy under controlled conditions. Registration performance was quantitatively measured using mutual information (MI) and structural similarity index (SSIM) methods, and results were compared with those obtained using the scale-invariant feature transform and intensity-based two-step methods. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves accurate registration across different solar features and imaging scenarios. The method maintains structural consistency in both AR and quiet Sun observations, including time-series data, with MI and SSIM improvements over baseline methods. The approach provides a validated tool for solar image alignment, suitable for further solar physics studies. 

Abstract An analytical cancellation nanoflare model has recently been established to show the fundamental role that ubiquitous small-scale cancellation nanoflares play in solar atmospheric heating. Although this model is well supported by simulations, observational evidence is needed to deepen our understanding of cancellation nanoflares. We present observations of a small-scale cancellation nanoflare event, analyzing its magnetic topology evolution, triggers, and physical parameters. Using coordinated observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory and Goode Solar Telescope, we identify a photospheric flow-driven cancellation event with a flux cancellation rate of ∼10¹⁵Mx s⁻¹and a heating rate of 8.7 × 10⁶erg cm⁻²s⁻¹. The event shows the characteristic transition fromπ-shaped to X-shaped magnetic configuration before the formation of a 2″ current sheet, closely matching model predictions. This event provides critical observational support for the cancellation nanoflare model and its role in solar atmospheric heating.