Oscillations and waves related to sunspots

In order to study umbral oscillations, running penumbral waves and the relationship between them, we analyzed CCD, high-resolution, sunspot observations obtained at the center and the wings of the Hα line and the Fe I 5576 ˚A line using a UBF filter. We produced “space/time slice images” which show that there is not a clear relationship between umbral oscillations and running penumbral waves as they observed in upper chromospheric layers. We found that the running penumbral waves are observable at least up to the formation height of the Hα±0.5 ˚A line, but not in the Hα±0.75 ˚A or the Fe I±0.12 ˚A. The correlation between umbral oscillations at various atmospheric heights and running penumbral waves strongly indicates that the latter are excited by photospheric umbral oscillations and not the chromospheric ones

Evaluation of a method for the resolution improvement of near limb solar images

We present a methodology, based onthe correctionfor the limb darkening and the use of a directionally sensitive operator the “MadMax”, for the image processing of observations obtained near the solar limb. Our image processing method substantially enhances near-limb observations and permits an insight into the studies of the very fine chromospheric structures, over higher-resolution images. Space/time images produced from filtergrams processed with our method indicate that polar surges and spicules are probably related to different physical mechanisms

The Evershed flow from simultaneous chromospheric and photospheric observations

We study the Evershed flow in the photosphere and the reverse Evershed flow inthe chromosphere giving emphasis to the temporal evolution of the phenomenon. Our results verify that the velocity of the Evershed flow has a maximum above the penumbra in the photosphere and well outside the penumbra in the chromosphere. We found a quasi-periodic behavior of the reverse Evershed flow in the chromosphere with period between10–15 min. We were not able to identify an obvious repetitive behavior in the photosphere, except from the propagation of the slow photospheric waves

Multiwavelength studies of MHD waves in the solar chromosphere: An overview of recent results

The chromosphere is a thin layer of the solar atmosphere that bridges the relatively cool photosphere and the intensely heated transition region and corona. Compressible and incompressible waves propagating through the chromosphere can supply significant amounts of energy to the interface region and corona. In recent years an abundance of high-resolution observations from state-of-the-art facilities have provided new and exciting ways of disentangling the characteristics of oscillatory phenomena propagating through the dynamic chromosphere. Coupled with rapid advancements in magnetohydrodynamic wave theory, we are now in an ideal position to thoroughly investigate the role waves play in supplying energy to sustain chromospheric and coronal heating. Here, we review the recent progress made in characterising, categorising and interpreting oscillations manifesting in the solar chromosphere, with an impetus placed on their intrinsic energetics.Comment: 48 pages, 25 figures, accepted into Space Science Review

Dynamic phenomena in the chromospheric layer of a sunspot

We have studied running penumbral waves, umbral oscillations, umbral flashes and their interrelations from Hα observations of a large isolated sunspot. Using a subtraction image processing technique we removed the sharp intensity gradient between the umbra and the penumbra and enhanced the low contrast, fine features. We observed running penumbral waves which started in umbral elements with a size of a few arcseconds, covered the umbra and subsequently propagated through the penumbra. The period of the waves was 190 s and the mean propagation velocity was about 15 km s-1. We detected intense brightenings, located between umbral elements from where waves started, which had the characteristics of umbral flashes. There are indications that umbral flashes are related to the propagation of the waves through the umbra and their coupling. The subtraction images also show considerable fine structure in the chromospheric umbra, with size between 0.3″ and 0.8″. © 1992 Kluwer Academic Publishers

Mass motions associated with Hα active region arch structures

We have studied mass motions associated with active region arch structures from observations of a developing active region near the center of the solar disk. We present a method for the computation of the line-of-sight velocity from photographs at Hα ± 0.5 under the assumption of Beckers' cloud model and reasonable assumptions about the Doppler width and optical depth of the arches. Some arches show motions typical to arch filaments (the material moves towards the observer near the apex of the arch and away from the observer near the footpoints), while in others the velocity field is more complex. Assuming a symmetric loop, we reconstructed the velocity vector along an arch filament. The results are consistent with the picture where material is draining out of the filament while the whole structure is ascending with a velocity near that of the apex, which does not exceed 10 km s-1. The motion is systematically slower than expected from a free-fall model. © 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers

Dielectric and UV spectrophotometric study of physicochemical effects of ionizing radiation on mammalian macromolecular DNA

The purpose of this work was the comparative investigation of physicochemical effects induced by γ and α radiation on the thermal denaturation dynamics of native macromolecular calf thymus DNA, combining dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) and UV thermal transition spectrophotometry (TTS), while the apparent molecular weight (MW) distribution of the DNA macromolecules was measured by pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). A DNA thermal stability enhancement over the non-irradiated samples was observed at radiation doses <10 Gy for γ rays and 32 Gy for α particles, attributed to the development of intra and/or intermolecular DNA-DNA interactions, whereas at higher irradiation doses, the expected decrease of thermal stability was observed. Moreover, in all studied cases, the recorded conductivity changes were found to precede by 2 to 3°(2 those of UV TTS absorbance changes, a fact indicative of a multi-stage process for DNA thermal transition. Finally, the displacement of the low dose region limit towards higher doses in the case of α particles, confirm earlier results attesting higher yields of DNA strand breaks induced by γ rays compared to α particles