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Geochronology: More than just rock ages. What are the constraints on the time evolution ofthe dynamic solar system? When did the outerplanets migrate and the asteroid belt lose mass? How did it affect other bodies at that time?
Outline: Overview of FOXSI-2 (Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager) coordinated microflare observations with Hinode/XRT (X-Ray Telescope) and SDO/AIA (Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly); Temperature response functions for FOXSI-2, XRT and AIA; Combined Differential Emission Measure (DEM) analysis - to determine the amount of plasma in the line of sight that emits the radiation as a function of temperature; Thermal energy released during the microflares; Summary.
Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) have been observed above flare loops during the decay phase of flare. They appear as tadpole-like dark plasma voids traveling towards the Sun. In areas surrounding where they appear, temperatures are often high. We aim to investigate temperature and heating mechanism of SADs. We apply our analysis to the M1.7 flare that occurred on 2012 July 12 and was observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. There are many obvious SADs above the arcade during this event in the AIA 131 Å channel. We calculate the differential emission measure and emission measure weighted temperature with AIA data in the region where SADs are concentrated. We find that the temperature in SADs region tends to be lower than the surrounding plasma. We also calculate velocities of SADs using the Fourier Local Correlation Tracking (FLCT, Fisher & Welsch, 2008) method to derive velocities in the supra-arcade region. Using corks to track the calculated velocities, we find our velocity results are consistent with the SAD motions in the AIA 131 Å intensity movie. We use the velocities to derive the adiabatic heating caused by the compression of plasma. Preliminary results indicate that there is adiabatic heating in front of the SADs.
A comprehensive understanding of the structure of Doppler motions in the transition region including the center-to-limb variation and its relationship with the magnetic field structure is vital for the understanding of mass and energy transfer in the solar atmosphere. In this paper, we have performed such a study in an active region using the Si IV 1394 Å emission line recorded by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph and the line-of-sight photospheric magnetic field obtained by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The active region has two opposite polarity strong field regions separated by a weak field corridor, which widened as the active region evolved. On average, the strong field regions (corridor) show(s) redshifts of 5–10 (3–9) km s(exp -1) (depending on the date of observation). There is, however, a narrow lane in the middle of the corridor with near-zero Doppler shifts at all disk positions, suggesting that any flows there are very slow. The Doppler velocity distributions in the corridor seem to have two components—a low velocity component centered near 0 km s(exp -1) and a high-velocity component centered near 10 km s(exp -1). The high-velocity component is similar to the velocity distributions in the strong field regions, which have just one component. Both exhibit a small center-to-limb variation and seem to come from the same population of flows. To explain these results, we suggest that the emission from the lower transition region comes primarily from warm type II spicules, and we introduce the idea of a “chromospheric wall”—associated with classical cold spicules—to account for a diminished center-to-limb variation.
This paper describes Trident, a proposed Discovery mission to Neptune’s moon Triton, 30 AU from the Sun. Triton formed in the Kuiper Belt but was captured by Neptune into a highly-inclined retrograde orbit, where tidal forces thawed its interior, forming an ocean that likely persists to the present day. Recent outer solar system missions like Cassini and New Horizons have yielded completely new models for processes on ocean worlds, active worlds, and KBOs. Triton isn’t just a key to solar system science, it’s a whole keyring: a singular captured KBO and evolved ocean world, with active plumes, an energetic ionosphere, and a young unique surface. The NASA OPAG Roadmap to Ocean Worlds identifies Triton as the highest priority candidate ocean world [1], ripe for investigation. The Trident mission concept is an excellent case study in “design to cost”: we show how exploration of Triton under Discovery is made possible by radioisotope power combined with a rare, extremely efficient Jupiter gravity assist, enabling a simple, lowmass spacecraft design on a ballistic trajectory. The Triton encounter sequence probes for an ocean, measures the ionosphere, and views nearly the whole of Triton as it traverses a single orbit around Neptune, mapping the >60% of the surface that is as yet unseen. The Triton encounter concludes with fullframe imaging illuminated by “Neptune-shine” when Trident is in Neptune eclipse, for direct comparison with Voyager 2’s observations nearly 50 years prior. Trident carries a mature complement of instruments: a Magnetometer, IR Spectrometer & Narrow Angle Camera, Wide-Angle Camera, Plasma Spectrometer, and telecom hardware-enabled Radio Science. The flight system design integrates heritage components from Ball with JPL leadership and expertise in key specialty areas to provide a Voyager-like, robust spacecraft commensurate with a Discovery cost and risk tolerance. Cost avoidance features include: use of existing instrument designs, small blowdown monopropellant propulsion system, a contributed X-band telecommunications system that also performs radio science, and a simple power system. Additionally, the passive thermal design accommodates the large solar dynamic range from Venus to Neptune by using the HGA for shade when close to the sun, and MMRTG excess heat, modulated by louvers.
We examine 21 solar polar coronal jets that we identify in soft X-ray images obtained from the Hinode/X-ray telescope (XRT). We identify 11 of these jets as blowout jets and four as standard jets (with six uncertain), based on their X-ray-spire widths being respectively wide or narrow (compared to the jet’s base) in the XRT images. From corresponding Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory’s (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), essentially all (at least 20 of 21) of the jets are made by minifilament eruptions,consistent with other recent studies. Here, we examine the detailed nature of the erupting minifilaments (EMFs) in the jet bases. Wide-spire (“blowout”) jets often have ejective EMFs, but sometimes they instead have an EMF that is mostly confined to the jet’s base rather than ejected. We also demonstrate that narrow-spire (“standard”) jets can have either a confined EMF, or a partially confined EMF where some of the cool minifilament leaks into the jet’s spire. Regarding EMF visibility: we find that in some cases the minifilament is apparent in as few as one of the four EUV channels we examined, being essentially invisible in the other channels; thus it is necessary to examine images from multiple EUV channels before concluding that a jet does not have an EMF at its base. The size of the EMFs, measured projected against the sky and early in their eruption, is 14′′ ± 7′′, which is within a factor of two of other measured sizes of coronal-jet EMFs. A full report on these results will be published in the Astrophysical Journal. This work was supported by NASA's HGI, HSR, and HSOC programs, and by the NASA/MSFC Hinode Project.
We examine 21 solar polar coronal jets that we identify in soft X-ray images obtained fromthe Hinode/X-ray telescope (XRT). We identify 11 of these jets as blowout jets and four asstandard jets (with six uncertain), based on their X-ray-spire widths being respectively wide or narrow (compared to the jet’s base) in the XRT images. From corresponding Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory’s (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), essentially all (at least 20 of 21) of the jets are made by minifilament eruptions, consistent with other recent studies. Here, we examine the detailed nature of the erupting minifilaments (EMFs) in the jet bases. Wide-spire (“blowout”) jets often have ejective EMFs, but sometimes they instead have an EMF that is mostly confined to the jet’s base rather than ejected. We also demonstrate that narrow-spire (“standard”) jets can have either a confined EMF, or a partially confined EMF where some of the cool minifilament leaks into the jet’s spire. Regarding EMF visibility: we find that in some cases the minifilament is apparent in as few as one of the four EUV channels we examined, being essentially invisible in the other channels; thus it is necessary to examine images from multiple EUV channels before concluding that a jet does not have an EMF at its base. The size of the EMFs, measured projected against the sky and early in their eruption, is 14′′ ± 7′′, which is within a factor of two of other measured sizes of coronal-jet EMFs. A full report on these results are available in Sterling et al. (2022, ApJ, 927, 127).This work was supported by NASA’s HGI and HSR programs, and by the MSFC HinodeProject.
We investigate the ratio of coronal and transition region intensity in coronal loops observed by the AtmosphericImaging Assembly(AIA)on the Solar Dynamics Observatory(SDO). Using Enthalpy-based Thermal Evolution ofLoops(EBTEL)hydrodynamic simulations, we model loops with multiple lengths and energyfluxes heatedrandomly by events drawn from power-law distributions with different slopes and minimum delays between eventsto investigate how each of these parameters influences observable loop properties. We generate AIA intensitiesfrom the corona and transition region for each realization. The variations within and between models generatedwith these different parameters illustrate the sensitivity of narrowband imaging to the details of coronal heating.We then analyze the transition region and coronal emission from a number of observed active regions andfindbroad agreement with the trends in the models. In both models and observations, the transition region brightness issignificant, often greater than the coronal brightness in all six“coronal”AIA channels. We also identify an inverserelationship, consistent with heating theories, between the slope of the differential emission measure(DEM)coolward of the peak temperature and the observed ratio of coronal to transition region intensity. These resultshighlight the use of narrowband observations and the importance of properly considering the transition region ininvestigations of coronal heating
We report a detailed analysis of a failed eruption and flare in active region 12018 on 2014 April 3 using multiwavelength observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, IRIS, STEREO, and Hinode/Solar Optical Telescope. At least four jets were observed to emanate from the cusp of this small active region (large bright point) with a null-point topology during the 2 hr prior to the slow rise of a filament. During the filament slow rise multiple plasma blobs were seen, most likely formed in a null-point current sheet near the cusp. The subsequent filament eruption, which was outside the IRIS field of view, was accompanied by a flare but remained confined. During the explosive flare reconnection phase, additional blobs appeared repetitively and moved bidirectionally within the flaring region below the erupting filament. The filament kinked, rotated, and underwent leg–leg reconnection as it rose, yet it failed to produce a coronal mass ejection. Tiny jet-like features in the fan loops were detected during the filament slow rise/preflare phase. We interpret them as signatures of reconnection between the ambient magnetic field and the plasmoids leaving the null-point sheet and streaming along the fan loops. We contrast our interpretation of these tiny jets, which occur within the large-scale context of a failed filament eruption, with the local nanoflare-heating scenario proposed by Antolin et al.
We present results of a quantitative analysis of structured plasma outflows above a polar coronal hole observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft. In a 6 hr interval of continuous high-cadence SDO/AIA images, we identified more than 2300 episodes of small-scale plasma flows in the polar corona. The mean upward flow speed measured by the surfing transform technique is estimated to be 122 ± 34 km s−1, which is comparable to the local sound speed. The typical recurrence period of the flow episodes is 10–30 minutes, and the mean duration and transverse size of each episode are about 3–5 minutes and 3–4 Mm, respectively. The largest identifiable episodes last for tens of minutes and reach widths up to 40 Mm. For the first time, we demonstrate that the polar coronal-hole outflows obey a family of power-law probability distributions characteristic of impulsive interchange magnetic reconnection. Turbulent photospheric driving may play a crucial role in releasing magnetically confined plasma onto open field. The estimated occurrence rate of the detected self-similar coronal outflows is sufficient for them to make a dominant contribution to the fast-wind mass and energy fluxes and to account for the wind's small-scale structure.
The X-ray bright points (XBPs) are consistently present on the solar disk throughout time and space. Studying their contribution to overall coronal emissions and heating is intriguing. XBPs are prominently visible during the solar minimum, especially in the absence of bright active regions (ARs). In this discussion, we'll talk about the contribution of XBPs to coronal X-ray emissions during the cycle minimum. This analysis is based on spectroscopic observations by Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) onboard Chandrayaan 2, alongside concurrent observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) on the Hinode observatory. Similar to ARs, XBPs consist of coronal loops visible in EUV/X-ray images. We investigated the possibility of nanoflares sustaining the heating of these XBP loops by comparing observed emissions with field-aligned hydrodynamic simulations. Our results suggest that nanoflares could indeed maintain the heating of the XBPs. Furthermore, we conducted a detailed study of a single XBP observed during the successful flight of the Marshall Grazing Incidence Spectrometer (MaGIXS). The unique observations made by MaGIXS, combined with 1D hydrodynamic simulations, enabled us to determine the nanoflare heating frequency for this particular XBP.
Nanoflares are thought to be one of the prime candidates that can heat the solar corona to its multimillion kelvin temperature. Individual nanoflares are difficult to detect with the present generation instruments, however their presence can be inferred by comparing simulated nanoflare-heated plasma emissions with the observed emission. Using HYDRAD coronal loop simulations, we model the emission from an X-ray bright point observed by the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS), along with concurrent observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and X-Ray Telescope (XRT) onboard Hinode observatory. The length and magnetic field strength of the coronal loops are derived from the potential field extrapolation of the observed photospheric magnetogram by Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard SDO. Each loop is assumed to be heated by random nanoflares, whose magnitude and frequency are determined by the loop length and magnetic field strength. The simulation results are then compared and matched against the measured intensity from AIA, XRT, and MaGIXS. Our model results indicate the loop morphology and emissions from the XBP under study could be well matched by a distribution of nanoflares with average delay times 400 s to 800 s, which strongly suggest that the heating is dominated by high-frequency events. Further, we demonstrate the high sensitivity of MaGIXS and XRT to diagnose the heating frequency using this method, while AIA passbands are found to be the least sensitive.
Nanoflares are thought to be one of the prime candidates that can heat the solar corona to its multi-million kelvin temperature. Individual nanoflares are difficult to detect with the present generation instruments, however their presence can be inferred by comparing simulated nanoflare-heated plasma emissions with the observed emission. Using HYDRAD coronal loop simulations, we model the emission from an X-ray bright point (XBP) observed by the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS), along with nearest-available observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and X-Ray Telescope (XRT) onboard Hinode observatory. The length and magnetic field strength of the coronal loops are derived from the linear-force-free extrapolation of the observed photospheric magnetogram by Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard SDO. Each loop is assumed to be heated by random nanoflares, whose magnitude and frequency are determined by the loop length and magnetic field strength. The simulation results are then compared and matched against the measured intensity from AIA, XRT, and MaGIXS. Our model results indicate the observed emissions from the XBP under study could be well matched by a distribution of nanoflares with average delay times 1500 s to 3000 s, which suggest that the heating is dominated by high-frequency events. Further, we demonstrate the high sensitivity of MaGIXS and XRT to diagnose the heating frequency using this method, while AIA passbands are found to be the least sensitive.
Solar quiet- and coronal-hole region coronal jets frequently clearly originate from erupting minifilaments, but active-region jets often lack an obvious erupting-minifilament source. We observe a coronal-jet-productive active region (AR), AR12824, over 2021 May 22 0–8 UT, primarily using Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Array (AIA) EUV images and SDO/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager magnetograms. Jets were concentrated in two locations in the AR: on the south side and on the northwest side of the AR’s lone large sunspot. The south-location jets are oriented so that we have a clear view of the jets’ origin low in the atmosphere: their source is clearly minifilaments erupting from locations showing magnetic flux changes/cancelations. After erupting a projected distance ~5ʹʹ away from their origin site, the minifilaments erupt outward onto far-reaching field as part of the jet’s spire, quickly losing their minifilament character. In contrast, the northwest-location jets show no clear erupting minifilament, but the source site of those jets are obscured along our line of sight by absorbing chromospheric material. EUV and magnetic data indicate that the likely source sites were ~15ʹʹ from where the we first see the jet spire; thus, an erupting minifilament would likely lose its minifilament character before we first see the spire. We conclude that such AR jets could work like non-AR jets, but the erupting-minifilament jet source is often hidden by obscuring material. Another factor is that magnetic eruptions making some AR jets carry only a harder-to-detect comparatively thin (∼1ʹʹ–2ʹʹ) minifilament “strand.” A full report appears in Sterling, Moore, & Panesar (2024, ApJ, 960, 109).
The X-ray bright points (XBPs) are consistently present on the solar disk throughout time and space. Studying their contribution to overall coronal emissions and heating is intriguing. XBPs are prominently visible during the solar minimum, especially in the absence of bright active regions (ARs). In this discussion, we'll talk about the contribution of XBPs to coronal X-ray emissions during the cycle minimum. This analysis is based on spectroscopic observations by Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) onboard Chandrayaan 2, alongside concurrent observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) on the Hinode observatory. Similar to ARs, XBPs consist of coronal loops visible in EUV/X-ray images. We investigated the possibility of nanoflares sustaining the heating of these XBP loops by comparing observed emissions with field-aligned hydrodynamic simulations. Our results suggest that nanoflares could indeed maintain the heating of the XBPs. Furthermore, we conducted a detailed study of a single XBP observed during the successful flight of the Marshall Grazing Incidence Spectrometer (MaGIXS). The unique observations made by MaGIXS, combined with 1D hydrodynamic simulations, enabled us to determine the nanoflare heating frequency for this particular XBP.
Deep learning-based methods have been widely researched in the areas of language and vision, demonstrating their capacity to understand long sequences of data and their usefulness in numerous helio-physics applications. Foundation models (FMs), which are pre-trained on a large-scale datasets, form the basis fora variety of downstream tasks. These models, especially those based on trans-formers in vision and language, show exceptional potential for adapting to a wide range of downstream applications. In this paper, we provide our perspective on the criteria for designing a FM for heliophysic and associated challenges and applications using the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) dataset. We believe that this is the first study to design a foundation model in the domain of heliophysics.
Solar photovoltaics (PV) are the fastest growing renewable energy technology for clean, inexpensive, and sustainable electricity generation. Along with numerous technical roadmaps to improve system cost, performance and reliability, the PV industry should also plan to handle large volumes of silicon panel waste, which is initially estimated to be ~13 million metric tons (MT) by 2050 in the U.S. alone. Understanding the magnitude of material needs and how material flows throughout the PV panel life cycle could respond to design, operational and different end-of-life (EOL) circular pathways will help transition into a circular, resource-conserving economy. Herein, we introduce a dynamic material flow analysis (DMFA) framework based on electricity generation to quantify time-series stocks and flows of bulk PV materials (e.g., solar glass and aluminum frames) throughout the life cycles of utility-scale silicon PV systems in the U.S. in the period 2000-2100. We apply the model to a range of scenarios to understand how material demands depend on selected PV-related parameters, different material circularity strategies, and recent module design trends (e.g., bifacial, frameless). We found that float glass and aluminum in PV installations would likely reach 100 million MT and 12 million MT by 2100, respectively, in the baseline scenario. The most influential parameters for PV installation and subsequent waste reduction are found to be module lifetime, module efficiency, annual degradation, and material reduction. Module recycling and component remanufacturing were found to be the most effective material circularity strategies for waste minimization. Panel reuse has negligible savings on waste under current module efficiencies compared to replacements with newer generations with higher efficiency. Ongoing trends to produce larger power frameless modules could save 10 million MT of glass and ~9 million MT of aluminum. Our results enable advanced planning for future materials needs and provide insight into potential opportunities to minimize waste.
A distributed-parameter model of the structural dynamics of the space-shuttle-deployed Solar Array Flight Experiment is developed and used to produce estimates of the modal frequencies and mode shapes. A lumped parameter version of the distributed model is used to estimate model characteristics by analyzing the measured responses of 32 targets. To make the modeling more tenable, a distributed parameter system is used to reduce the number of unknown parameters, a modified Newton-Raphson technique is used for rapid convergence, and a parallel processing supercomputer is used for more efficient computation. The performances of computers with a high-speed serial processor and with a high-speed parallel processor are compared. The best results are obtained with the modeling approach in which maximum likelihood estimation is applied to distributed parameter models.