Talk abstract

We present simulations designed to determine the circumstances when flux emerge will produce eruptions and initiate CMEs and disrupt filaments. We begin our simulations with buoyant flux ropes placed in the convection zone that rise through the photosphere into the corona. Particular attention is paid to shear flows driven by the Lorentz force that occur during flux emergence. These flows drawn the magnetic field nearly horizontal and parallel to the polarity inversion line of the active region. Observations are showing in increasing detail that vigorous shearing motions in active regions proceed CMEs. Here, we examine the degree to which these shear flows transport magnetic flux and energy from the convection zone to the coronal portion of the magnetic field to produce eruptions, which we propose as a primary cause for CMEs.