Direct Evidence for a Fast Coronal Mass Ejection Driven by the Prior Formation and Subsequent Destabilization of a Magnetic Flux Rope

Magnetic flux ropes play a central role in the physics of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). Although a flux rope topology is inferred for the majority of coronagraphic observations of CMEs, a heated debate rages on whether the flux ropes pre-exist or whether they are formed on-the-fly during the eruption. Here, we present a detailed analysis of Extreme Ultraviolet observations of the formation of a flux rope during a confined flare followed about seven hours later by the ejection of the flux rope and an eruptive flare. The two flares occurred during 18 and 19 July 2012. The second event unleashed a fast (> 1000 km/s) CME. We present the first direct evidence of a fast CME driven by the prior formation and destabilization of a coronal magnetic flux rope formed during the confined flare on 18 July.