The relationship between flux rope acceleration and thermal energy release in a model of eruptive solar phenomena

In this paper, we examine the relationship between the thermal energy release rate and the flux rope acceleration in a loss-of-equilibrium CME model. The model consists of a flux rope in equilibrium in the corona and two point sources at the chromosphere. As the point sources are brought together quasi-statically, the equilibrium state of the flux rope is disturbed, and an eruption occurs. After the eruption begins, a current sheet forms under the flux rope. The thermal energy release rate is assumed to be equal to the Poynting flux swept into the current sheet as the flux rope accelerates. We find that the flux rope acceleration and the thermal energy release rate are well correlated when the background magnetic field is high and the reconnection rate is fast. They are not well correlated for events with low magnetic fields and slow reconnection rates.