Solar Prominence Bubble and Plumes Caused By an Eruptive Magnetic Flux Rope

Prominence bubbles and plumes often form near the lower prominence–corona boundary. They are believed to play an important role in mass supply and evolution of solar prominences. However, how they form is still an open question. In this Letter we present a unique high-resolution Hα observation of a quiescent prominence by the New Vacuum Solar Telescope. Two noteworthy bubble–plume events are studied in detail. The two events are almost identical, except that an erupting mini filament appeared below the prominence–bubble interface in the second event, unlike the first one or any of the reported bubble observations. Analysis of the Hα and extreme-ultraviolet data indicates that the rising magnetic flux rope (MFR) in the mini filament is the cause of bubble expansion and that the interaction between the prominence and MFR results in plume formation. These observations provided clear evidence that emerging MFR may be a common trigger of bubbles and suggested a new mechanism of plumes in addition to Rayleigh–Taylor instability and reconnection.