Direct Imaging of a Prolonged Plasma/Current Sheet and Quasiperiodic Magnetic Reconnection on the Sun

Magnetic reconnection is widely believed to be the fundamental process in the solar atmosphere that underlies magnetic energy release and particle acceleration. This process is responsible for the onset of solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other explosive events (e.g., jets). Here, we report direct imaging of a prolonged plasma/current sheet along with quasiperiodic magnetic reconnection in the solar corona using ultra-high-resolution observations from the 1.6-meter Goode Solar Telescope (GST) at BBSO and Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA). The current sheet appeared near a null point in the fan-spine topology and persisted over an extended period (~20 hours). The length and apparent width of the current sheet were about 6 arcsec and 2 arcsec respectively, and the plasma temperature was ~10-20 MK. We observed quasiperiodic plasma inflows and outflows (bidirectional jets with plasmoids) at the reconnection site/current sheet. Furthermore, quasiperiodic reconnection at the long-lasting current sheet produced recurrent eruptions (small flares and jets) and contributed significantly to the recurrent impulsive heating of the active region. Direct imaging of a plasma/current sheet and recurrent null-point reconnection for such an extended period has not been reported previously. These unprecedented observations provide compelling evidence that supports the universal model for solar eruptions (i.e., the breakout model) and have implications for impulsive heating of active regions by recurrent reconnection near null points. The prolonged and sustained reconnection for about 20 hours at the breakout current sheet provides new insights into the dynamics and energy release processes in the solar corona.