Formation and Evolution of Transient Prominence Bubbles Driven by Erupting Mini-filaments

Abstract

Prominence bubbles, the dark arch-shaped "voids" below quiescent prominences, are generally believed to be caused by the interaction between the prominences and the slowly-emerging or quasi-stable underlying magnetic loops. However, this scenario could not explain some short-lived bubbles with extremely dynamic properties of evolution. Based on high-resolution H$\alpha$ observations, here we propose that bubbles should be classified into two categories according to their dynamic properties: quasi-steady (Type-I) bubbles and transient (Type-II) bubbles. Type-I bubbles could remain relatively stable and last for several hours, indicating the existence of a quasi-stable magnetic topology, while Type-II bubbles grow and collapse quickly within one hour without stability duration, which are usually associated with erupting mini-filaments. Analysis of several typical Type-II bubbles from different views, especially including an on-disk event, reveals that Type-II bubbles quickly appear and expand at a velocity of $\thicksim$5--25 km s$^{-1}$ accompanied by an erupting mini-filament below. The mini-filament's rising velocity is slightly larger than that of the Type-II bubbles' boundary, which will lead to the collision with each other in a short time, subsequent collapse of Type-II bubbles, and formation of a large plume into the above prominence. We also speculate that only if the angle between the axis of the erupting mini-filament and the line-of-sight is large enough, the interaction between the erupting mini-filament and the overlying prominence could trigger a Type-II bubble with a typical arch-shaped but quickly-expanding bright boundary.