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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

Identification of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections at 1 AU Using Multiple Solar Wind Plasma Composition Anomalies

We investigate the use of multiple simultaneous solar wind plasma compositional anomalies, relative to the composition of the ambient solar wind, for identifying interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) plasma. We first summarize the characteristics of several solar wind plasma composition signatures (O(+7)/O(+6), Mg/O, Ne/O, Fe charge states, He/p) observed by the ACE and WIND spacecraft within the ICMEs during 1996 - 2002 identsed by Cane and Richardson. We then develop a set of simple criteria that may be used to identify such compositional anomalies, and hence potential ICMEs. To distinguish these anomalies from the normal variations seen in ambient solar wind composition, which depend on the wind speed, we compare observed compositional signatures with those 'expected' in ambient solar wind with the same solar wind speed. This method identifies anomalies more effectively than the use of fixed thresholds. The occurrence rates of individual composition anomalies within ICMEs range from approx. 70% for enhanced iron and oxygen charge states to approx. 30% for enhanced He/p (> 0.06) and Ne/O, and are generally higher in magnetic clouds than other ICMEs. Intervals of multiple anomalies are usually associated with ICMEs, and provide a basis for the identification of the majority of ICMEs. We estimate that Cane and Richardson, who did not refer to composition data, probably identitied approx. 90% of the ICMEs present. However, around 10% of their ICMEs have weak compositional anomalies, suggesting that the presence of such signatures does not provide a necessary requirement for an ICME. We note a remarkably similar correlation between the Mg/O and O(7)/O(6) ratios in hourly-averaged data both within ICMEs and the ambient solar wind. This 'universal' relationship suggests that a similar process (such as minor ion heating by waves inside coronal magnetic field loops) produces the first-ionization potential bias and ion freezing-in temperatures in the source regions of both ICMEs and the ambient solar wind.

Richardson, I. G.↗
NASA NTRS2019

The Role of Asymmetries in Thermal Nonequilibrium

Thermal nonequilibrium (TNE) is a fascinating situation that occurs in coronal magnetic flux tubes (loops) for which no solution to the steady-state fluid equations exists. The plasma is constantly evolving even though the heating that produces the hot temperatures does not. This is a promising explanation for isolated phenomena such as prominences, coronal rain, and long-period pulsating loops, but it may also have much broader relevance. As known for some time, TNE requires that the heating be both (quasi-)steady and concentrated at low coronal altitudes. Recent studies indicate that asymmetries are also important, with large enough asymmetries in the heating and/or cross-sectional area resulting in steady flow rather than TNE. Using reasonable approximations, we have derived two formulae for quantifying the conditions necessary for TNE. As a rough rule of thumb, the ratio of apex to footpoint heating rates must be less than about 0.1, and asymmetries must be less than about a factor of 3. The precise values are case-dependent. We have tested our formulae with 1D hydrodynamic loop simulations and find a very acceptable agreement. These results are important for developing physical insight about TNE and assessing how widespread it may be on the Sun.

Klimchuk, James A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Structure and Dynamics of Coronal Plasma

Brief summaries of the four published papers produced within the present performance period of NASA Grant NAGW-4081 are presented. The full text of the papers are appended to the report. The first paper titled "Coronal Structures Observed in X-rays and H-alpa Structures" was published in the Kofu Symposium proceedings. The study analyzes cool and hot behavior of two x-ray events, a small flare and a surge. It was found that a large H-alpha surge appears in x-rays as a very weak event, while a weak H-alpha feature corresponds to the brightest x-ray emission on the disk at the time of the observation. Calculations of the heating necessary to produce these signatures, and implications for the driving and heating mechanisms of flares vs. surges are presented. The second paper "Differential Magnetic Field Shear in an Active Region" has been published in The Astrophysical Journal. The study compared the three dimensional extrapolation of magnetic fields with the observed coronal structure in an active region. Based on the fit between observed coronal structure throughout the volume of the region and the calculated magnetic field configurations, the authors propose a differential magnetic field shear model for this active region. The decreasing field shear in the outer portions of the AR may indicate a continual relaxation of the magnetic field with time, corresponding to a net transport of helicity outward. The third paper "Difficulties in Observing Coronal Structure" has been published in the journal Solar Physics. This paper discusses the evidence that the temperature and density structure of the corona are far more complicated than had previously been thought. The discussion is based on five studies carried out by the group on coronal plasma properties, showing that any one x-ray instrument does see all of the plasma present in the corona, that hot and cool material may appear to be co-spatial at a given location in the corona, and that simple magnetic field extrapolations provide only a poor fit to the observed structure. The fourth paper "Analysis and Comparison of Loop Structures Imaged with NIXT and Yohkoh/SXT" has been published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. This paper analyzes and compares a variety of coronal loops, deriving loop pressure and emission measure from loop models. They are able to determine the volume filling factor in the corona, which is found to be in the range 0.001 to 0.01 for compact loops, and of order 1 for large structures. The small values suggest highly filamented structures, especially at lower temperatures.

Golub, Leon↗
NASA NTRS1981

Discovery of X-ray emission lines from the RS CVn binary sigma CrB

X-ray observations of the RS CVn binary sigma CrB were carried out with a solid state spectrometer on board the Einstein Observatory in 1979. X-ray emission lines due to Mg XI, Si XIII, S XV and a blend of L-transition lines due to Fe XVII and Fe XVIII were detected in the sigma CrB spectrum. The observed X-ray spectrum is described by a two-temperature coronal X-ray emission model: the dominant low temperature component originates in a plasma at a temperature of 5.9 + or 0.5 x 10 to the 6th K; the weaker higher temperature arises from a plasma of not less than 35 x 10 to the 6th K. Intensity variations over a period of a few hours are also recorded and thought to be due to a variation in the number of loops concentrated around active regions on the star surface. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of the constant-pressure coronal loop model (Rosner, Tucker, Vaiana, 1978).

Agrawal, P. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A dynamic model for the solar transition region

A model is developed for the lower transition region that can account for the persistent and ubiquitous redshifts that are observed in the UV emission lines formed at these temperatures. It is shown that these shifts are not likely to be due either to falling spicular material or to steady-state siphon flows. The model consists of two key ingredients. The redshifted radiation originates from a minority of flux tubes which have higher gas pressures than their surroundings, and consequently have their transition regions situated below the transition regions of their surroundings. The coronal heating in these loops is impulsive in nature, and this is responsible for the transient mass flows. The studies, therefore, favor theories for coronal heating which involve flare-like magnetic-energy release. Previously announced in STAR as N83-29163

Antiochos, S. K.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Modeling Solar Flare Hard X-ray Images and Spectra Observed with RHESSI

Observations obtained with the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) of a flare on February 20, 2002 indicate a hard X-ray (HXR) coronal source at or near the top of a flare loop (called a HXR looptop source). The existence of the HXR looptop source suggests that magnetic reconnection, which is believed to power flares, occurs above the loop. In order to explain this HXR looptop source, I created a steady-state particle transport model, in which high-energy electrons are continuously injected at the top of a semicircular flare loop. Based on the simulation results, I find that the model predictions are consistent with the RHESSI observations in many respects, but the spectrum of the looptop source obtained from the model is steeper than that from the RHESSI data. This suggests that, instead of being accelerated above the loop as generally believed, the particles might be accelerated in the looptop itself. RHESSI-observations of three other homologous flares that occurred between April 14 and 16, 2002, provide strong evidence for the presence of a large scale current sheet above a flare loop, which is the basis of standard flare models. The most convincing finding is the presence of the temperature distribution of a separate coronal source above the flare loops: the hotter part of the coronal source was located lower in altitude the cooler part. Together with the fact that the hotter flare loops are higher than the cooler loops, the observations support the existence of a large-scale current sheet between the top of the flare loops and the coronal source above. Blob-Like sources along a line above the loop in the decay phase of the April 15, 2002, flare, which are suggestive of magnetic islands initiated by the tearing-mode instability, and the observation of a cusp structure in microwaves, further support the presence of the current sheet. The observations of the three homologous flares reveal two other features which are beyond the predictions of the standard flare models: the downward motion of flare loops in the early impulsive phase of each flare, and an initially stationary coronal source above the loops. These features me believed to be related to the formation and development of a current sheet. In particular, the downward loop motion seem to be a common phenomenon in flares, suggesting the necessity for modifications to the existing standard flare. models. Finally, thanks to the broad energy coverage of the RHESSI spectra, a low-energy cutoff of 28 (plus or minus 2) keV in the nonthermal electron distribution was determined for the April 15, 2002, flare. As a result, the energy carried by the nonthermal electrons is found to be comparable to the thermal energy of the flare, but one order of magnitude larger than the kinetic energy of the associated coronal mass ejection. The method used to deduce the electron low-energy cutoff will be useful in the analyses of similar events.

Sui, Linhui↗
NASA NTRS1989

Relativistic electron transport and bremsstrahlung production in solar flares

A Monte Carlo simulation of ultrarelativistic electron transport in solar flare magnetic loops has been developed. It includes Coulomb, synchrotron, and bremsstrahlung energy losses; pitch-angle scattering by Alfven and whistler turbulence in the coronal region of the loop; and magnetic mirroring in the converging magnetic flux tubes beneath the transition region. Depth distributions, time profiles, energy spectra, and angular distributions of the resulting bremsstrahlung emission are calculated. It is found that both the preferential detection of solar flares with greater than 10 MeV emission near the limb of the sun and the observation of ultrarelativistic electron bremsstrahlung from flares on the disk are consequences of the loop transport model. The declining portions of the observed time profiles of greater than 10 MeV emission from solar flares can also be accounted for, and it is proposed that these portions are determined by transport and not acceleration.

Miller, James A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The formation flare loops by magnetic reconnection and chromospheric ablation

Noncoplanar compressible reconnection theory is combined here with simple scaling arguments for ablation and radiative cooling to predict average properties of hot and cool flare loops as a function of the coronal vector magnetic field. For a coronal field strength of 100 G, the temperature of the hot flare loops decreases from 1.2 x 10 to the 7th K to 4.0 x 10 to the 6th K as the component of the coronal magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the loops increases from 0 percent to 86 percent of the total field. When the perpendicular component exceeds 86 percent of the total field or when the altitude of the reconnection site exceeds 10 to the 6th km, flare loops no longer occur. Shock-enhanced radiative cooling triggers the formation of cool H-alpha flare loops with predicted densities of roughly 10 to the 13th/cu cm, and a small gap of roughly 1000 km is predicted to exist between the footpoints of the cool flare loops and the inner edges of the flare ribbons.

Forbes, T. G.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Quantitative Examination of a Large Sample of Supra-Arcade Downflows in Eruptive Solar Flares

Sunward-flowing voids above post-coronal mass ejection flare arcades were first discovered using the soft X-ray telescope aboard Yohkoh and have since been observed with TRACE (extreme ultraviolet (EUV)), SOHO/LASCO (white light), SOHO/SUMER (EUV spectra), and Hinode/XRT (soft X-rays). Supra-arcade downflow (SAD) observations suggest that they are the cross-sections of thin flux tubes retracting from a reconnection site high in the corona. Supra-arcade downflowing loops (SADLs) have also been observed under similar circumstances and are theorized to be SADs viewed from a perpendicular angle. Although previous studies have focused on dark flows because they are easier to detect and complementary spectral data analysis reveals their magnetic nature, the signal intensity of the flows actually ranges from dark to bright. This implies that newly reconnected coronal loops can contain a range of hot plasma density. Previous studies have presented detailed SAD observations for a small number of flares. In this paper, we present a substantial SADs and SADLs flare catalog. We have applied semiautomatic detection software to several of these events to detect and track individual downflows thereby providing statistically significant samples of parameters such as velocity, acceleration, area, magnetic flux, shrinkage energy, and reconnection rate. We discuss these measurements (particularly the unexpected result of the speeds being an order of magnitude slower than the assumed Alfven speed), how they were obtained, and potential impact on reconnection models.

Savage, Sabrina L.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Rendering Three-Dimensional Solar Coronal Structures

An X-ray or EUV image of the corona or chromosphere is a 2D representation of an extended 3D complex for which a general inversion process is impossible. A specific model must be incorporated in order to understand the full 3D structure. We approach this problem by modeling a set of optically-thin 3D plasma flux tubes which we render these as synthetic images. The resulting images allow the interpretation of the X-ray/EUV observations to obtain information on (1) the 3D structure of X-ray images, i.e., the geometric structure of the flux tubes, and on (2) the internal structure using specific plasma characteristics, i.e., the physical structure of the flux tubes. The data-analysis technique uses magnetograms to characterize photospheric magnetic fields and extrapolation techniques to form the field lines. Using a new set of software tools, we have generated 3D flux tube structures around these field lines and integrated the plasma emission along the line of sight to obtain a rendered image. A set of individual flux-tube images is selected by a non-negative least-squares technique to Provide a match with an observed X-ray image. The scheme minimizes the squares of the differences between the synthesized image and the observed image with a non-negative constraint on the coefficients of the brightness of the individual flux-tube loops. The derived images are used to determine the specific photospheric foot points and physical data, i.e., scaling laws for densities and loop lengths. The development has led to Computer efficient integration and display software that is compatible for comparison with observations (e.g., Yohkoh SXT data, NIXT, or EIT). This analysis is important in determining directly the magnetic field configuration, which provides the structure of coronal loops, and indirectly the electric currents or waves, which provide the energy for the heating of the plasma. We have used very simple assumptions (i.e., potential magnetic fields and isothermal corona) to provide an initial test of the techniques before complex models are introduced. We have separated the physical and geometric contributions of the emission for a set of flux tubes and concentrated, in this initial study, on the geometric contributions by making approximations to the physical contributions. The initial results are consistent with the scaling laws derived from Yohkoh SXT data.

Gary, G. Allen↗
NASA NTRS1995

Coronal heating in flare stars: Resonant MHD absorption?

We report on the occurrence of periodicity in X-rays from certain flare stars. Statistically significant periods in the range 70-200 s are present in Einstein data for EQ Vir, Proxima Cen, and AD Leo. Periodicities are also present (although with lower statistical significance) in ROSAT data for AD Leo, and in EXOSAT data for EQ Vir and AD Leo. In UV Cet, we also find periodicity in Einstein data, but with lower statistical significance than for the above three stars: however, the UV Cet X-ray period is close to a period discovered by Gary et al. (1982) in microwaves in the close companion L726-8A. We argue that the properties of magnetic loops in flare stars are such that the variations in a single magnetic loop may be detectable in integrated flux. The period which we find in the X-ray flux from Proxima Cen is consistent with a global Alfven wave resonance in a large loop whose properties were derived some years ago by Haisch (1983) using an entirely different line of reasoning from what we use here. The periods, amplitudes, and durations of the variations which we have found in X-ray emission are consistent with the hypothesis that resonant absorption of MHD waves is occurring at certain times in coronal loops in the above four stars.

Mullan, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The structure of high-temperature solar flare plasma in non-thermal flare models

Analytic differential emission measure distributions have been derived for coronal plasma in flare loops heated both by collisions of high-energy suprathermal electrons with background plasma, and by ohmic heating by the beam-normalizing return current. For low densities, reverse current heating predominates, while for higher densities collisional heating predominates. There is thus a minimum peak temperature in an electron-heated loop. In contrast to previous approximate analyses, it is found that a stable reverse current can dominate the heating rate in a flare loop, especially in the low corona. Two 'scaling laws' are found which relate the peak temperature in the loop to the suprathermal electron flux. These laws are testable observationally and constitute a new diagnostic procedure for examining modes of energy transport in flaring loops.

Emslie, A. G.↗
NASA NTRS2000

X-ray Emission from Pre-Main-Sequence Stars - Testing the Solar Analogy

This LTSA award funded my research on the origin of stellar X-ray emission and the validity of the solar-stellar analogy. This research broadly addresses the relevance of our current understanding of solar X-ray physics to the interpretation of X-ray emission from stars in general. During the past five years the emphasis has been on space-based X-ray observations of very young stars in star-forming regions (T Tauri stars and protostars), cool solar-like G stars, and evolved high-mass Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. These observations were carried out primarily with the ASCA and ROSAT space-based observatories (and most recently with Chandra), supplemented by ground-based observations. This research has focused on the identification of physical processes that are responsible for the high levels of X-ray emission seen in pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars, active cool stars, and WR stars. A related issue is how the X-ray emission of such stars changes over time, both on short timescales of days to years and on evolutionary timescales of millions of years. In the case of the Sun it is known that magnetic fields play a key role in the production of X-rays by confining the coronal plasma in loop-like structures where it is heated to temperatures of several million K. The extent to which the magnetically-confined corona interpretation can be applied to other X-ray emitting stars is the key issue that drives the research summarized here.

Skinner, Stephen L.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Solar and Interplanetary Sources of Major Geomagnetic Storms (Dst less than or equal to -100 nT) During 1996 - 2005

We present the results of an investigation of the sequence of events from the Sun to the Earth that ultimately led to the 88 major geomagnetic storms (defined by minimum Dst less than or equal to -100 nT) that occurred during 1996 - 2005. The results are achieved through cooperative efforts that originated at the Living with a Star (LWS) Coordinated Data- Analysis Workshop (CDAW) held at George Mason University in March 2005. Based on careful examination of the complete array of solar and in-situ solar wind observations, we have identified and characterized, for each major geomagnetic storm, the overall solar-interplanetary (solar-IP) source type, the time, velocity and angular width of the source coronal mass ejection (CME), the type and heliographic location of the solar source region, the structure of the transient solar wind flow with the storm-driving component specified, the arrival time of shock/disturbance, and the start and ending times of the corresponding IP CME (ICME). The storm-driving component, which possesses a prolonged and enhanced southward magnetic field (B(sub s)) may be an ICME, the sheath of shocked plasma (SH) upstream of an ICME, a corotating interaction region (CIR), or a combination of these structures. We classify the Solar-IP sources into three broad types: (1) S-type, in which the storm is associated with a single ICME and a single CME at the Sun; (2) M-type, in which the storm is associated with a complex solar wind flow produced by multiple interacting ICMEs arising from multiple halo CMEs launched from the Sun in a short period; (3) C-type, in which the storm is associated with a CIR formed at the leading edge of a high speed stream originating from a solar coronal hole (CH). For the 88 major storms, the S-type, M-type and C-type events number 53 (60%): 24 (27%) and 11 (13%), respectively. For the 85 events for which the surface source regions could be investigated, 54 (63%) of the storms originated in solar active regions, 10 (12%) in quiet Sun regions associated with quiescent filaments or filament channels, and 11 (13%) were associated with coronal holes. Remarkably, 10 (12%) CME-driven events showed no sign of eruptive features on the surface (e.g., no flare, no coronal dimming, and no loop arcade, etc), even though all the available solar observation in a suitable time period were carefully examined. Thus, while it is generally true that a major geomagnetic storm is more likely to be driven by a front-side fast halo CME associated with a major flare, our study indicates a broad distribution of source properties. The implications of the results for space weather forecasting are briefly discussed.

Zhang, J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Observational evidence for hotter transition region loops within the supergranular network

We correlate EUV spectroheliograms of the quiet sun taken by the Harvard EUV Spectroheliometer on Skylab with a magnetogram taken within 15-20 minutes by the 40 channel magnetograph at Kitt Peak. Focus is on the O VI and Ne VII ions which are formed in the hotter transition region and the Mg x ion which is formed in the corona. Since no imaged observations in lines from T = 2 x 10 exp 5 - 10 exp 6 K temperature region have been made since Skylab, these data are unique in providing opportunities to investigate the hotter transition region and its relationship to the corona. The signature of an EUV intranetwork loop is a small EUV brightening located on the neutral line of a small magnetic bipole within the supergranular network. The data clearly show such features. Some of these features are visible at coronal temperatures, indicating that network loops can reach 10 exp 6 K. Others are bright in the lines formed below 10 exp 6 K but occur in regions of depleted coronal emission, which cannot be explained by models based on back-heating from a large-scale corona. We conclude that some fraction of the quiet solar EUV output is generated within network loops that are effectively insulated from the corona.

Dowdy, James F., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Effects of Coulomb collisions on cyclotron maser and plasma wave growth in magnetic loops

The evolution of nonthermal electrons accelerated in magnetic loops is determined by solving the kinetic equation, including magnetic field convergence and Coulomb collisions in order to determine the effects of these interactions on the induced cyclotron maser and plasma wave growth. It is found that the growth rates are larger and the possibility of cyclotron maser action is stronger for smaller loop column density, for larger magnetic field convergence, for a more isotropic injected electron pitch angle distribution, and for more impulsive acceleration. For modest values of the column density in the coronal portion of a flaring loop, the growth rates of instabilities are significantly reduced, and the reduction is much larger for the cyclotron modes than for the plasma wave modes. The rapid decrease in the growth rates with increasing loop column density suggests that, in flare loops when such phenomena occur, the densities are lower than commonly accepted.

Hamilton, Russell J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Interpretation of broad-band polarimetry of solar coronal transients - Importance of H-alpha emission

An eruptive prominence and coronal transient was observed in H-alpha, He II 304-A, and coronal white light (3700-7000 A). This event was generically similar to many other coronal transients associated with eruptive prominences in that loops of material propagated outward through the corona. It differed in that some of the prominence material was observed above 1.75 solar radii in both coronal white light and He II. Polarization analysis of the white-light data shows that the observed radiance from the loop-like transient was entirely due to free electron or Thomson scattering, whereas the white-light radiance from the prominence material was dominated by H-alpha emission. By comparing the white-light observations with model calculations, the densities along the loop and limits on the temperature and density of the prominence are obtained. Material observed in both white light and He II is shown to be cool prominence material, whereas analysis indicates that the transient-loop material is hot and coronal in origin. The time sequence of observations leads to the hypothesis that the prominence material is heated as it is ejected from the sun.

Poland, A. I.↗
NASA NTRS1999

3D-Stereoscopic Analysis of Solar Active Region Loops: SoHo/EIT Observations at Temperatures of 1.5-2.5 MK - 2

In this paper we study the three-dimensional (3D) structure of hot (T(sub e) approximately equals 1.5 - 2.5 MK) loops in solar active region NOAA 7986, observed on 1996 August 30 with the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SoHO). This complements a first study on cooler (T(sub e) approximately equals 1.0 - 1.5 MK) loops of the same active region, using the same method of Dynamic Stereoscopy to reconstruct the 3D geometry. We reconstruct the 3D-coordinates x(s), y(s), z(s), the density n(sub e)(s), and temperature profile T(sub e)(s) of 35 individual loop segments (as function of the loop coordinate s) using EIT 195 A and 284 A images. The major findings are: (1) All loops are found to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, in the entire temperature regime of T(sub e) = 1.0 - 2.5 MK; (2) The analyzed loops have a height of 2-3 scale heights, and thus only segments extending over about one vertical scale height have sufficient emission measure contrast for detection; (3) The temperature gradient over the lowest scale height is of order dT/ds is approximately 1 - 4 K/km; (4) The radiative loss rate is found to exceed the conductive loss rate by about two orders or magnitude, making thermal conduction negligible to explain the temperature structure of the loops; (5) A steady-state can only be achieved when the heating rate E(sub H) matches the radiative loss rate in hydrostatic equilibrium, requiring a heat deposition length lambda(sub H) of the half density scale height lambda, predicting a scaling law with the loop base pressure, EH varies as p(sub 0 exp 2). This favors coronal heating mechanisms that operate near the loop footpoints; (6) We find a reciprocal correlation between the loop pressure p(sub 0) and loop length L, i.e. p(sub 0) varies as 1/L, implying a scaling law of the steady-state requirement with loop length, i.e. E(sub H ) varies as 1/L(exp 2). The heating rate shows no correlation with the loop-aligned magnetic field component B(sub z) at the footpoints, but is correlated with the azimuthal field B(sub phi) = Bz(RDelta Phi/L) of a twisted loop, and is thus consistent with heating mechanisms based on field-aligned currents.

Aschwanden, Markus J.↗