Analysis of magnetic helicity of eruptive and confined flaring events indicates that non-potential magnetic helicity is indicative to eruptive potentials of active regions.
A novel approach is developed to reconstruct the surface magnetic helicity density for the Sun or sun-like stars. The method is applied on the SDO/HMI-observed vector field synoptic data to study the temporal evolution of the Sun’s magnetic helicity density during Solar Cycle 24.
Helicity injection by the continued shear and converging flows contributes to a sigmoid’s sustenance, its core field twist, ans its eventual eruption.