Sleuthing Stellar Filament Eruptions Using He 1083 nm: A Solar Test

Much effort has gone into detecting stellar CMEs due to their importance for stellar mass and angular momentum loss, and planetary habitability.  But what of their stealthier (flare-free) cousins, the filament eruptions (FE)?  We explore using the microvariability in filter observations of the He I 1083 nm line to observe FE in stars.  Using MLSO CHIP images as our data, we searched for short duration positive gradients in 10830 intensity up to a semi-stable, post eruption level.  Working from a solar FE database, we detected 55% of the eruptions with filaments longer than ~150" - mostly the longer, more opaque filaments.  A further 42% showed hints of an eruption, but did not pass our detection threshold.  Of the events identified, 73% coincided with actual FEs.  Application to stellar data should be feasible; tests are planned.

(Contributed talk in splinter session.)