Solar Physics最新文献

The AIA 304 Å channel on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) offers a unique view of (approx 10^{5}text{ K}) plasma emitting in the He ii 304 Å line. However, when observing off-limb, the emission of the (small) cool structures in the solar atmosphere (such as spicules, coronal rain and prominence material) can be of the same order as the surrounding hot coronal emission from other spectral lines included in the 304 Å passband, particularly over active regions. In this paper, we investigate three methods based on temperature and morphology that are able to distinguish the cool and hot emission within the 304 Å passband. The methods are based on the Differential Emission Measure (DEM), a linear decomposition of the AIA response functions (RFit) and the Blind Source Separation (BSS) technique. All three methods are found to produce satisfactory results in both quiescent and flaring conditions, largely removing the diffuse corona and leading to images with cool material off-limb in sharp contrast with the background. We compare our results with co-aligned data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) in the SJI 1400 Å and 2796 Å channels, and find the RFit method to best match the quantity and evolution of the cool material detected with IRIS. Some differences can appear due to plasma emitting in the (log T=5.1,text{--},5.5) temperature range, particularly during the catastrophic cooling stage prior to rain appearance during flares. These methods are, in principle, applicable to any passband from any instrument suffering from similar cool and hot emission ambiguity, as long as there is good coverage of the high-temperature range.

The solar eruption that occurred on 28 November 2023 (SOL2023-11-28) triggered an intense geomagnetic storm on 1 December 2023. The associated terrestrial auroras manifested at the most southern latitudes in the northern hemisphere observed in the past two decades. In order to explore the profound geoeffectiveness of this event, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of its solar origin to offer potential factors contributing to its impact. Magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) are twisted magnetic structures recognized as significant contributors to coronal mass ejections (CMEs), thereby impacting space weather greatly. In this event, we identified multiple MFRs in the solar active region and observed distinct slipping processes of the three MFRs: MFR1, MFR2, and MFR3. All three MFRs exhibit slipping motions at a speed of 40 – 137 km s⁻¹, extending beyond their original locations. Notably, the slipping of MFR2 extends to (sim 30text{ Mm}) and initiates the eruption of MFR3. Ultimately, MFR1’s eruption results in an M3.4-class flare and a CME, while MFR2 and MFR3 collectively produce an M9.8-class flare and another halo CME. This study shows the slipping process in a multi-MFR system, showing how one MFR’s slipping can trigger the eruption of another MFR. We propose that the CME–CME interactions caused by multiple MFR eruptions may contribute to the significant geoeffectiveness.

The combination of the H i Ly(alpha ) (121.6 nm) line formation mechanism with ultraviolet (UV) Ly(alpha ) and white-light (WL) observations provides an effective method for determining the electron temperature of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). A key to ensuring the accuracy of this diagnostic technique is the precise calculation of theoretical Ly(alpha ) intensities. This study performs a modeled CME and its driven shock via the three-dimensional numerical magneto-hydrodynamic simulation. Then, we generate synthetic UV and WL images of the CME and shock within a few solar radii to quantify the impact of different assumptions on the theoretical Ly(alpha ) intensities, such as the incident intensity of the solar chromospheric Ly(alpha ) line ((I_{disk})), the geometric scattering function ((p(theta ))), and the kinetic temperature ((T_{ boldsymbol{n}})) assumed to be equal to either the proton ((T_{p})) or electron ((T_{e})) temperature. By comparing differences of the Ly(alpha ) intensities of the CME and shock under these assumptions, we find that: (1) Using the uniform or Carrington maps of the disk Ly(alpha ) emission underestimates the corona Ly(alpha ) intensity (with relative uncertainties below 10%) compared to the synchronic map, except for a slight overestimate (<4%) observed in the partial CME core. The Carrington map yields lower uncertainties than the uniform disk. (2) Neglecting the geometric scattering process has a relatively minor impact on the Ly(alpha ) intensity, with a maximum relative uncertainty of no more than 5%. The Ly(alpha ) intensity is underestimated for the most part but overestimated in the CME core. (3) Compared to the assumption (T_{boldsymbol{n}}=T_{p}), using (T_{boldsymbol{n}}=T_{e}) leads to more complex relative uncertainties in CME Ly(alpha ) intensity. The CME core and void are both overestimated, with the maximum relative uncertainty in the core exceeding 50% and in the void remaining below 35%. An appropriate increasing proton-to-electron temperature ratio can reduce the uncertainty in the CME core and void. In the CME front, both overestimates and underestimates exist with relative uncertainties of less than 35%. The electron temperature assumption has a smaller impact on the shock, with an underestimated relative uncertainty of less than 20%.

In this study, we investigate the decay of sunspots in the active region NOAA 13229 using data from the ASO-S/FMG and SDO/HMI. We closely examine the decay patterns of sunspots S1 and S2, which reveal different decay rates and features due to the mechanisms of magnetic cancellation, dispersion, and the role of horizontal flows. Our analysis highlights the significant impact of magnetic flux changes, including the decrease of both the sunspot area and magnetic flux over time, which adheres to distinct decay laws. This study elucidates the complex interplay between magnetic submergence, cancellation, and dispersion in the sunspot decay process, contributing to our understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving these phenomena. Our results emphasize the importance of horizontal flow dynamics in shaping the decay characteristics of sunspots, providing insights for the role played by the magnetic and plasma processes in solar active regions.

The long-term study of the temporal variation of the rotation period of the solar photosphere, chromosphere, and corona has been widely undertaken. To date it is unclear whether the temporal variation of the rotation period of the solar transition region has a systematic periodicity. In this article we perform a study on the temporal variation of the rotation period of the solar transition region. For this purpose, we use the Lyman (alpha ) line emission at a wavelength of 121.56 nm corresponding to the solar transition region from the year 1965 to 2019, covering four complete solar cycles (i.e., Cycles 21, 22, 23, 24) as well as descending and ascending phases of Cycles 20 and 25, respectively. An autocorrelation analysis depicts that the average sidereal rotation period of the transition region (from 1965 to 2019) is 24.8 days. Furthermore, we find that a significant periodicity of about 12 years exists in the temporal variation of the sidereal rotation period of the solar transition region. The results indicate that this periodicity is closely linked to the 11-year Schwabe cycle. A cross-correlation analysis between the time series of the sidereal rotation period and sunspot numbers (as a function of lag in years) exhibits a positive correlation between these aforementioned parameters. From this result, we can state that the sidereal rotation period of the solar transition region leads the solar activity by about six months. This correlation again proves the periodicity of about 11 years in the rotation period of the transition region which is closely linked to the 11-year Schwabe cycle. Furthermore, long-term variation of rotation periods also demonstrates a decreasing trend from 1965 to 2019, which is similar to that in the sunspot numbers. From this long-term study, it seems that solar activity is largely driven by solar rotation.

Sympathetic eruptions of solar prominences have been studied for decades, however, it is usually difficult to identify their causal links. Here, we present two failed prominence eruptions on 26 October 2022 and explore their connections. Using stereoscopic observations, the South prominence (PRO-S) erupts with untwisting motions, flare ribbons occur underneath, and new connections are formed during the eruption. The North prominence (PRO-N) rises up along with PRO-S, and its upper part disappears due to catastrophic mass draining along an elongated structure after PRO-S failed eruption. We suggest that the eruption of PRO-S initiates due to a kink instability, and fails to erupt due to reconnection with surrounding fields. The elongated structure connecting PRO-N overlies PRO-S, which causes the rising up of PRO-N along with PRO-S and mass drainage after PRO-S eruption. This study suggests that a prominence may end its life through mass drainage forced by an eruption underneath.

Filament eruptions often result in flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Most studies attribute the filament eruptions to their instabilities or magnetic reconnection. In this study, we report a unique observation of a filament eruption whose initiation process has not been reported before. This large-scale filament, with a length of about 360 Mm crossing an active region, is forced to erupt by two small-scale erupting filaments pushing out from below. This process of multifilament eruption results in an M6.4 flare in the active region NOAA 13229 on 25 February 2023. The whole process can be divided into three stages: the eruptions of two active-region filaments, F1 and F2; the interactions between the erupting F1, F2, and the large-scale filament F3; and the eruption of F3. Though this multifilament eruption occurs near the northwest limb of the solar disk, it produces a strong halo CME that causes a significant geomagnetic disturbance. Our observations present a new filament eruption mechanism in which the initial kinetic energy of the eruption is obtained from and transported to by other erupting structures. This event provides us a unique insight into the dynamics of multifilament eruptions and their corresponding effects on the interplanetary space.

We present a new iterative rotation inversion technique based on the Simultaneous Algebraic Reconstruction Technique developed for image reconstruction. We describe in detail our algorithmic implementation and compare it to the classical inversion techniques like the Regularized Least Squares (RLS) and the Optimally Localized Averages (OLA) methods. In our implementation, we are able to estimate the formal uncertainty on the inferred solution using standard error propagation, and derive the averaging kernels without recourse to any Monte-Carlo simulation. We present the potential of this new technique using simulated rotational frequency splittings. We use noiseless sets that cover the range of observed modes and associate to these artificial splittings observational uncertainties. We also add random noise to present the noise magnification immunity of the method. Since the technique is iterative we also show its potential when using an a priori solution. With the correct regularization, this new method can outperform our RLS implementation in precision, scope, and resolution. Since it results in very different averaging kernels where the solution is poorly constrained, this technique infers different values. Adding such a technique to our compendium of inversion methods will allow us to improve the robustness of our inferences when inverting real observations and better understand where they might be biased and/or unreliable, as we push our techniques to maximize the diagnostic potential of our observations.

We analyzed Interface-Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA) observations of a small coronal jet that occurred at the solar west limb on 29 August 2014. The jet source region, a small bright point, was located at an active-region periphery and contained a fan-spine topology with a mini-filament. Our analysis has identified key features and timings that motivated the following interpretation of this event. As the stressed core flux rises, a current sheet forms beneath it; the ensuing reconnection forms a flux rope above a flare arcade. When the rising filament-carrying flux rope reaches the stressed null, it triggers a jet via explosive interchange (breakout) reconnection. During the flux-rope interaction with the external magnetic field, we observed brightening above the filament and within the dome, along with a growing flare arcade. EUV images reveal quasi-periodic ejections throughout the jet duration with a dominant period of 4 minutes, similar to coronal jetlets and larger jets. We conclude that these observations are consistent with the magnetic breakout model for coronal jets.

Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) interact with the Earth’s atmosphere to produce energetic neutrons and cosmogenic radionuclides, such as ¹⁴C. The atmosphere is partially shielded from the interstellar GCR spectrum by both the geomagnetic and solar magnetic fields. Solar shielding is often expressed as the heliospheric modulation potential (phi ), which consolidates information about the strength and structure of the solar magnetic field into a single parameter. For the period 1951 to today, (phi ) can be estimated from ground-based neutron monitor data. Prior to 1950, ¹⁴C in tree rings can be used to estimate (phi ) and hence the solar magnetic field, back centuries or millennia. Bridging the gap in the (phi ) record is therefore of vital importance for long-term solar reconstructions. One method is to model (phi ) using the sunspot number (SN) record. However, the SN record is only an indirect measure of the Sun’s magnetic field, introducing uncertainty, and the record suffers from calibration issues. Here we present a new reconstruction of (phi ) based on geomagnetic data, which spans both the entire duration of the neutron monitor record and stretches back to 1845, providing a significant overlap with the ¹⁴C data. We first modify and test the existing model of (phi ) based on a number of heliospheric parameters, namely the open solar flux (F_{S}), the heliospheric current sheet tilt angle (alpha ), and the global heliospheric magnetic polarity (p). This modified model is applied to recently updated geomagnetic estimates of (F_{S}) and cyclic variations of (alpha ) and (p). This approach is shown to produce an annual estimate of (phi ) in excellent agreement with that obtained from neutron monitors over 1951 – 2023. It also suggests that ionisation chamber estimates of (phi ) – which have previously been used to extend the instrumental estimate back from 1951 to 1933 – are not well calibrated. Comparison of the new geomagnetic (phi ) with ¹⁴C estimates of (phi ) suggests that the long-term trend is overestimated in the most recent ¹⁴C data, possibly due to hemispheric differences in the Suess effect, related to the release of carbon by the burning of fossil fuels. We suggest that the new geomagnetic estimate of (phi ) will provide an improved basis for future calibration of long-term solar activity reconstructions.