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At least 127 records · Page 7
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NASA NTRS1993

Correlation of He II Lyman alpha with He I 10830 A, and with chromospheric and EUV coronal emission

This paper describes the results of comparing Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS-3) images obtained in the transition region line of He II 304 A with chromospheric He I 10830 A absorption; with strong coronal lines of Mg IX 368 A, Fe XV 284 A and 417 A, and Fe XVI 335 A and 31 A; with H-alpha; with Ca II 8542 A; and with magnetograms in Fe I 8688H-alpha. All of the images are illustrated, and the image reconstruction techniques used are described and evaluated. The high correlation of the He II 304 A and He I 10830 A images, originally found by Harvey and Sheeley (1977), is confirmed and is put on a quantitative basis. We find that the supergranulation network has greater contrast, and that filaments appear darker, in 10830 A than in 304 A. In active regions, the 304 A line follows more closely the behavior of H-alpha and Ca II 8542 A than the 10830 A line.

Thompson, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The rotation of photospheric magnetic fields: A random walk transport model

In an earlier study of solar differential rotation, we showed that the transport of magnetic flux across latitudes acts to establish quasi-stationary patterns, therby accounting for the observed rigid rotation of the large-scale photospheric field. In that paper, the effect of supergranular convection was represented by a continuum diffusion, limiting the applicability of the calculations to large spatial scales. Here we extend the model to scales comparable to that of the supergranulation itself by replacing the diffusive transport with a discrete random walk process. Rotation curves are derived by cross-correlating the simulated photospheric field maps for a variety of time lags and spatial resolutions. When the lag between maps is relatively short less than or approximately = 15 days), the midlatitude correlation functions show two distinct components: a broad feature associated with the large-scale unipolar patterns and a narrow feature originating from small magnetic structures encompossing from one to several supergranular cells. By fitting the broad component we obtain the rigid rotation profile of the patterns, whereas by fitting the narrow component, we recover the differential rate of the photospheric plasma itself. For time lags of 1 month or greater, only the broad feature associated with the long-lived patterns remains clearly identifiable in the simulations.

Wang, Y. -M.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Intensity oscillations in Na(I) D1 and D2 lines

The central intensities of Na(I) D1 and D2 linear profiles at the sites of the chromospheric bright points in the interior of the supergranulation cells were derived from photographic spectra. The observation scheme sampled spectra simultaneously in seven lines at a repetition rate of 12 sec. It is shown that the Na(I) D1 and D2 lines exhibit a four minute periodicity in their intensity oscillations. It is seen that the period of intensity oscillations decreases outwardly from the photosphere to the corona. It is surmised that the spatial and temporal relationships between intensity and/or velocity in the photosphere and chromosphere may explain the physical mechanisms of the underlying oscillations.

Kariyappa, R.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Time-Distance Helioseismology with the MDI Instrument: Initial Results

In time-distance helioseismology, the travel time of acoustic waves is measured between various points on the solar surface. To some approximation, the waves can be considered to follow ray paths that depend only on a mean solar model, with the curvature of the ray paths being caused by the increasing sound speed with depth below the surface. The travel time is effected by various inhomogeneities along the ray path, including flows, temperature inhomogeneities, and magnetic fields. By measuring a large number of times between different locations and using an inversion method, it is possible to construct 3-dimensional maps of the subsurface inhomogeneities. The SOI/MDI experiment on SOHO has several unique capabilities for time-distance helioseismology. The great stability of the images observed without benefit of an intervening atmosphere is quite striking. It his made it possible for us to detect the travel time fo separations of points as small as 2.4 Mm in the high-resolution mode of MDI (0.6 arc sec 1/pixel). This has enabled the detection of the supergranulation flow. Coupled with the inversion technique, we can now study the 3-dimensional evolution of the flows near the solar surface.

Duvall, T. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Structure and Dynamics of the Solar Chromosphere

The problem of chromospheric dynamics and heating consists of two problems: one, concerning the magnetic network on the boundary of supergranulation cells (CB), where the oscillation period is seven minutes, and the other, concerning the cell interior (CI), where the oscillation period is three minutes. The observational data on the oscillations and the emission of radiation can be used to determine the structure and dynamics of the atmosphere provided answers are known to three critical questions, concerning: the nature of the waves powering the bright points, the origin of the observed oscillation periods and the mechanism of chromospheric heating. The recent modeling of the dynamics of the CI, which combines a sophisticated treatment of gas dynamics and radiative transfer in a one-dimensional model with empirical velocity input from the observations, answered the first of these questions: the waves powering K(sub 2upsilon), bright points are propagating acoustic waves. This firm conclusion declares invalid the model of Leibacher & Stein, which explains the observed period with standing acoustic waves in a chromospheric cavity. On the third question, the heating of the chromosphere in the CI, their model predicts that the temperature in the chromosphere is declining in the outward direction up to a height of at least I Mm most of the time, so even the time-average temperature is dropping monotonically in the outward direction, implying that lines formed in the chromosphere up to a height of at least 1 Mm appear in absorption most of the time and everywhere in the CI. The problem of the CI can be resolved with a two-component model, which combines a model for K(sub 2upsilon), bright points with a model for the background. The bright point model has the same aims as the CS94 model, except that the empirical driving from the LRK93 observations is replaced by impulsive excitation, as suggested by the properties of the Klein-Gordon equation.

Kalkofen, Wolfgang↗
NASA NTRS1998

Large-Scale Coronal Heating, Clustering of Coronal Bright Points, and Concentration of Magnetic Flux

By combining quiet-region Fe XII coronal images from SOHO/EIT with magnetograms from NSO/Kitt Peak and from SOHO/MDI, we show that on scales larger than a supergranule the population of network coronal bright points and the magnetic flux content of the network are both markedly greater under the bright half of the quiet corona than under the dim half. These results (1) support the view that the heating of the entire corona in quiet regions and coronal holes is driven by fine-scale magnetic activity (microflares, explosive events, spicules) seated low in the magnetic network, and (2) suggest that this large-scale modulation of the magnetic flux and coronal heating is a signature of giant convection cells.

Falconer, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Large-Scale Coronal Heating from "Cool" Activity in the Solar Magnetic Network

In Fe XII images from SOHO/EIT, the quiet solar corona shows structure on scales ranging from sub-supergranular (i.e., bright points and coronal network) to multi-supergranular (large-scale corona). In Falconer et al 1998 (Ap.J., 501, 386) we suppressed the large-scale background and found that the network-scale features are predominantly rooted in the magnetic network lanes at the boundaries of the supergranules. Taken together, the coronal network emission and bright point emission are only about 5% of the entire quiet solar coronal Fe XII emission. Here we investigate the relationship between the large-scale corona and the network as seen in three different EIT filters (He II, Fe IX-X, and Fe XII). Using the median-brightness contour, we divide the large-scale Fe XII corona into dim and bright halves, and find that the bright-half/dim half brightness ratio is about 1.5. We also find that the bright half relative to the dim half has 10 times greater total bright point Fe XII emission, 3 times greater Fe XII network emission, 2 times greater Fe IX-X network emission, 1.3 times greater He II network emission, and has 1.5 times more magnetic flux. Also, the cooler network (He II) radiates an order of magnitude more energy than the hotter coronal network (Fe IX-X, and Fe XII). From these results we infer that: 1) The heating of the network and the heating of the large-scale corona each increase roughly linearly with the underlying magnetic flux. 2) The production of network coronal bright points and heating of the coronal network each increase nonlinearly with the magnetic flux. 3) The heating of the large-scale corona is driven by widespread cooler network activity rather than by the exceptional network activity that produces the network coronal bright points and the coronal network. 4) The large-scale corona is heated by a nonthermal process since the driver of its heating is cooler than it is. This work was funded by the Solar Physics Branch of NASA's office of Space Science through the SR&T Program and the SEC Guest Investigator Program.

Falconer, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Photospheric Convection Spectrum

Spectra of the photospheric cellular flows are determined from Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Michelson Doppler Imager (SOHO/MDI) observations. Spherical harmonic decompositions are obtained from the full-disc observations. Fourier decompositions are obtained from the high-resolution observations. The p-mode oscillation signals and instrumental artifacts are reduced by temporal filtering of the Doppler data. The resulting spectra give power (kinetic energy) per wavenumber for effective spherical harmonic degrees from 1 to about 3000. The spectra show distinct peaks representing granules and supergranules but no distinct features at wavenumbers representative of mesogranules or giant cells.

Hathaway, David H.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Time-Distance Helioseismology with f Modes as a Method for Measurement of Near-Surface Flows

Travel times measured for the f mode have been used to study flows near the solar surface in conjunction with simultaneous measurements of the magnetic field. Previous flow measurements of doppler surface rotation, small magnetic feature rotation, supergranular pattern rotation, and surface meridional circulation have been confirmed. In addition, the flow in supergranules due to Coriolis forces has been measured. The spatial and temporal power spectra for a six-day observing sequence has been measured.

Duvall, Thomas L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Solar Convection Spectrum

I helped to complete a research project with NASA scientists Dr. David Hathaway (my mentor), Rick Bogart, and John Beck from the SOHO/SOI collaboration. Our published paper in 'Solar Physics' was titled 'The Solar Convection Spectrum' (April 2000). Two of my undergraduate students were named on the paper--Gavrav Khutri and Josh Petitto. Gavrav also wrote a short paper for the National Conference of Undergraduate Research Proceedings in 1998 using a preliminary result. Our main result was that we show no evidence of a scale of convection named 'mesogranulation'. Instead, we see only direct evidence for the well-known scales of convection known as graduation and supergranulation. We are also completing work on vertical versus horizontal flow fluxes at the solar surface. I continue to work on phase relationships of solar activity indicators, but I have not yet written a paper with my students on this topic. Along with my research results, I have developed and augmented undergraduate courses at Birmingham-Southern College by myself and with other faculty. We have included new labs and observations, speakers from NASA and elsewhere, new subject material related to NASA and space science. I have done a great deal of work in outreach, mostly as President and other offices in the Birmingham Astronomical Society. My work includes speaking, attracting speakers, giving workshops, and governing.

Bachmann, Kurt T.↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Flare Genesis Experiment

Using the Flare Genesis Experiment (FGE), a balloon-borne observatory with an 80-cm solar telescope we observed the active region NOAA 8844 on January 25, 2000 for several hours. FGE was equipped with a vector polarimeter and a tunable Fabry-Perot narrow-band filter. It recorded time series of filtergrams, vector magnetograms, and Dopplergrams at the Ca(I) 6122.2 angstrom line, and H-alpha filtergrams with a cadence between 2.5 and 7.5 minutes. At the time of the observations, NOAA 8844 was located at approximately 5 N 30 W. The region was rapidly growing during the observations; new magnetic flux was constantly emerging in three supergranules near its center. We describe in detail how the FGE data were analyzed and report on the structure and behavior of peculiar moving dipolar features (MDFs) observed in the active region. In longitudinal magnetograms, the MDFs appeared to be small dipoles in the emerging fields. The east-west orientation of their polarities was opposite that of the sunspots. The dipoles were oriented parallel to their direction of motion, which was in most cases towards the sunspots. Previously, dipolar moving magnetic features have only been observed flowing out from sunspots. Vector magnetograms show that the magnetic field of each MDF negative part was less inclined to the local horizontal than the ones of the positive part. We identify the MDFs as undulations, or stitches, where the emerging flux ropes are still tied to the photosphere. We present a U-loop model that can account for their unusual structure and behavior, and it shows how emerging flux can shed its entrained mass.

Rust, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Solar Coronal Heating and the Magnetic Flux Content of the Network

We investigate the heating of the quiet corona by measuring the increase of coronal luminosity with the amount of magnetic flux in the underlying network at solar minimum when there were no active regions on the face of the Sun. The coronal luminosity is measured from Fe IX/X-Fe XII pairs of coronal images from SOHO/EIT. The network magnetic flux content is measured from SOHO/MDI magnetograms. We find that the luminosity of the corona in our quiet regions increases roughly in proportion to the square root of the magnetic flux content of the network and roughly in proportion to the length of the perimeter of the network magnetic flux clumps. From (1) this result, (2) other observations of many fine-scale explosive events at the edges of network flux clumps, and (3) a demonstration that it is energetically feasible for the heating of the corona in quiet regions to be driven by explosions of granule-sized sheared-core magnetic bipoles embedded in the edges of network flux clumps, we infer that in quiet regions that are not influenced by active regions the corona is mainly heated by such magnetic activity in the edges of the network flux clumps. Our observational results together with our feasibility analysis allow us to predict that (1) at the edges of the network flux clumps there are many transient sheared-core bipoles of the size and lifetime of granules and having transverse field strengths greater than approximately - 100 G, (2) approximately 30 of these bipoles are present per supergranule, and (3) most spicules are produced by explosions of these bipoles.

Moore, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Solar Coronal Heating and the Magnetic Flux Content of the Network

We investigate the heating of the quiet corona by measuring the increase of coronal luminosity with the amount of magnetic flux in the underlying network at solar minimum when there were no active regions on the face of the Sun. The coronal luminosity is measured from Fe IX/X-Fe XII pairs of coronal images from SOHO/EIT. The network magnetic flux content is measured from SOHO/MDI magnetograms. We find that the luminosity of the corona in our quiet regions increases roughly in proportion to the square root of the magnetic flux content of the network and roughly in proportion to the length of the perimeter of the network magnetic flux clumps. From (1) this result, (2) other observations of many fine-scale explosive events at the edges of network flux clumps, and (3) a demonstration that it is energetically feasible for the heating of the corona in quiet regions to be driven by explosions of granule-sized sheared-core magnetic bipoles embedded in the edges of network flux clumps, we infer that in quiet regions that are not influenced by active regions the corona is mainly heated by such magnetic activity in the edges of the network flux clumps. Our observational results together with our feasibility analysis allow us to predict that (1) at the edges of the network flux clumps there are many transient sheared-core bipoles of the size and lifetime of granules and having transverse field strengths > approx. 100 G, (2) approx. 30 of these bipoles are present per supergranule, and (3) most spicules are produced by explosions of these bipoles.

Falconer, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Coronal Heating, Spicules, and Solar-B

Falconer et al. investigated the heating of the quiet corona by measuring the increase of coronal luminosity with the amount of the magnetic flux in the underlying network at solar minimum when there were no active regions on the face of the Sun. The coronal luminosity was measured from Fe IX/X - Fe XII pairs of coronal images from SOHO/EIT, under the assumption that practically all of the coronal luminosity in these very quiet regions came from plasma in the temperature range 0.9 x 10(exp 6) K is less than or equal to T is less than or equal to 1.3 x 10(exp 6) K. The network magnetic flux content was measured from SOHO/MDI magnetograms. It was found that luminosity of the corona in these quiet regions increased roughly in proportion to the square root of the magnetic flux content of the network and roughly in proportion to the length of the perimeter of the network flux clumps. From 1) this result; 2) the observed occurrence of many fine-scale explosive events (e.g., spicules) at the edges of network flux clumps; and 3) a demonstration that it is energetically feasible for the heating of the corona in quiet regions to be driven by explosions of granule-sized sheared-core magnetic bipoles embedded in the edges of the network flux clumps, Falconer et al. infer that in quiet regions that are not influenced by active regions the corona is mainly heated by such magnetic activity in the edges of the network flux clumps. From their observational results together with their feasibility analysis, Falconer et al. predict that 1) At the edges of the network flux clumps there are many transient sheared core bipoles of the size and lifetime of granules and having transverse field strengths greater than approx. 100 G; 2) Approx. 30 of these bipoles are present per supergranule; and 3) Most spicules are produced by explosions of these bipoles. The photospheric vector magnetograms, chromospheric filtergrams, and EUV spectra from Solar-B are expected to have sufficient sensitivity, spatial resolution, and cadence to test these predictions. The Falconer et al. (2003) inferred mixed-polarity magnetic flux at the base of spicules is compatible with the observed magnetic structure of Ha macrospicules recently found by Yamuchi et al. (2003).

Moore, Ron↗
NASA NTRS2004

Solar Simulation

Simulation of the surface region and interior of the Sun's convection zone. The objective is to provide understanding of the tachocline at the base of the convection zone. of the differential rotation generated by global convective motions, and of supergranules that are observed on the solar surface. Two large-scale simulation codes are used, one for the global dynamics in spherical coordinates and another for the local surface events in Cartesian geometry. We work in close collaboration with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument developers for the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite. NASA Program: Living with a Star - Sun-Earth Connection.

Wray, Alan↗
NASA NTRS2005

Acoustic Holography of the Solar Convection Zone with SOHO-MDI Observations

The original grant with the title stated above was NAG5-10984, awarded to the Solar Physics Research Corporation (SPRC) in July, 2001, and was to be a three-year project. The basic theme of the project was the development and application of computational seismic holography for imaging, diagnostics, and monitoring of magnetic anomalies beneath active regions, in the deep solar interior, and on the Sun's far surface. The project was roughly separated into the following five tasks: (1) A holographic survey of active regions. (2) p-Mode absorption diagnostics of magnetic regions. (3) Acoustic modeling of the shallow subphotospheres of active regions and the quiet-Sun supergranulation based on phase-correlation seismic holography. (4) Seismic holography of the deep convection zone. (5) Improvements in holographic imaging of the far surface of the Sun. Following the death of Karen Harvey, President of SPRC, during the first year, the grant was transferred to Northwest Research Associates as NAG5-12901. Substantial but progress had been made on most of the above tasks in the first year under NAG5-10984, but none were completed. This work was continued under NAG5-12901.

Lindsey, Charles↗
NASA NTRS2005

Decay of Solar Active Regions

We examine the record of sunspot group areas observed over a period of 100 years to determine the rate of decay of solar active regions. We exclude observations of groups when they are more than 60deg in longitude from the central meridian and only include data when at least three days of observations are available following the date of maximum area for a spot group's disk passage. This leaves data for some 24,000 observations of active region decay. We find that the decay rate is a constant 20 microHem/day for spots smaller than about 200 microHem (about the size of a supergranule). This decay rate increases linearly to about 90 microHem/day for spots with areas of 1000 microHem. We find no evidence for significant variations in active region decay from one solar cycle to another. However, we do find that the decay rate is slower at lower latitudes. This gives a slower decay rate during the declining phase of sunspot cycles.

Hathaway, David H.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Time-Distance Helioseismology with the HMI Instrument

We expect considerable improvement of time-distance results from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument as opposed to the earlier MDI and GONG data. The higher data rate makes possible several improvements, including faster temporal sampling (45 sec), smaller spatial pixels (0.5 arc sec), better wavelength coverage (6 samples across the line all transmitted to the ground), and year-round coverage of the full disk. The higher spatial resolution makes possible better longitude coverage of active regions and supergranulation and also better latitude coverage. Doppler, continuum, and line depth images have a strong granulation signal. Line core images show little granulation. Analyses to test the limits of these new capabilities will be presented.

Duvall, Thomas L., Jr.↗