2010 August 1-2 sympathetic eruptions: I. Magnetic topology of the   source-surface background field
  A sequence of apparently coupled eruptions was observed on 2010 August 1-2 by SDO and STEREO. The eruptions were closely synchronized with one another, even though some of them occurred at widely separated locations. In an attempt to identify a plausible reason for such synchronization, we study the large-scale structure of the background magnetic configuration. The coronal field was computed from the photospheric magnetic field observed at the appropriate time period by using the potential field source-surface model.   We investigate the resulting field structure by analyzing the so-called squashing factor calculated at the photospheric and source-surface boundaries, as well as at different coronal cross-sections. Using this information as a guide, we determine the underlying structural skeleton of the configuration, including separatrix and quasi-separatrix surfaces. Our analysis reveals, in particular, several pseudo-streamers in the regions where the eruptions occurred. Of special interest to us are the magnetic null points and separators associated with the pseudo-streamers. We propose that magnetic reconnection triggered along these separators by the first eruption likely played a key role in establishing the assumed link between the sequential eruptions. The present work substantiates our recent simplified magnetohydrodynamic model of sympathetic eruptions and provides a guide for further deeper study of these phenomena. Several important implications of our results for the S-web model of the slow solar wind are also addressed. 
V. S. Titov, Z. Mikic, T. T\"or\"ok, J. A. Linker and O. Panasenco
astro-ph.SR