Are Complex Magnetic Field Structures Responsible for the Confined X-class Flares in Super Active Region 12192?
From 2014 October 19 to 27, six X-class flares occurred in super active region (AR) 12192. They were all confined flares and were not followed by coronal mass ejections. To examine the structures of the four flares close to the solar disk center from October 22 to 26, we firstly employ composite triple-time images in each flare process to display the stratified structure of these flare loops. The loop structures of each flare in both the lower (171 Å) and higher (131 Å) temperature channels are complex, e.g., the flare loops rooting at flare ribbons are sheared or twisted (enwound) together, and the complex structures were not destroyed during the flares. For the first flare, although the flare loop system appears as a spindle shape, we can estimate its structures from observations, with lengths ranging from 130 to 300 Mm, heights from 65 to 150 Mm, widths at the middle part of the spindle from 40 to 100 Mm, and shear angles from 16° to 90°. Moreover, the flare ribbons display irregular movements, such as the left ribbon fragments of the flare on October 22 sweeping a small region repeatedly, and both ribbons of the flare on October 26 moved along the same direction instead of separating from each other. These irregular movements also imply that the corresponding flare loops are complex, e.g., several sets of flare loops are twisted together. Although previous studies have suggested that the background magnetic fields prevent confined flares from erupting,based on these observations, we suggest that complex flare loop structures may be responsible for these confined flares.