Evolution of Hard X-Ray Sources and Ultraviolet Solar Flare Ribbons for a Confined Eruption of a Magnetic Flux Rope

The onset and final stage of a confined eruption, following the CSHKP thread but not allowing a CME to take place. The paper speaks of no less than four steps of magnetic reconnection, showing how versatile this tool is as a kind of shorthand notation for the actual physics that must be involved. The prediction of this cartoon seems to be that hard X-ray sources would be at the diagonal ends of the flare ribbons, not something that is often observed. As is often the case, the cartoon refers to a specific event (SOL2005-05-27) and may lack generality because of that. The Yan cartoon more recently uses reconnection with emerging flux for the same purpose, but again for a specific single event (SOL2019-05-09).

      Technically the cartoon is a bit confusing because of the suggestion implied for the gray magnetic fluxes (nowhere explained) that they simultaneously provide strapping as well as undergo reconnection.