Formation Mechanism of Soft X-Ray Transient Trans-Equatorial Loop System

Abstract

The Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) onboard Yohkoh often observed large-scale coronal loops connecting two active regions situated in opposite hemispheres. These are the trans-equatorial loop systems (TLSs). The formation mechanism of TLSs is not yet known. We analyzed a TLS observed simultaneously with Yohkoh/SXT and a coronagraph (SOHO/LASCO-C1). SOHO/LASCO-C1 observed loop expansion and eruption at the west solar limb. Yohkoh/SXT observed a rising motion (chromospheric evaporation) of hot and dense plasmas from the active regions located at the footpoints of the loop. Important results of our analyses are that (1) the loop eruption and the rising motion of the plasmas were simultaneous, (2) the TLS had a cusp-like appearance, and (3) the highest temperature region of the TLS was located above the bright loop seen in soft X rays. These observational results (loop expansion, eruption, and chromospheric evaporation) suggest that this bright (high-density) TLS was created by the same mechanism by which a solar flare occurs, namely, magnetic reconnection. In this paper, we propose a formation mechanism of the TLS that forms between two independent active regions.