63 research outputs found
Neutrino Signal Variation in KamLAND
Large Mixing Angle (LMA) neutrino oscillation is the main solution for the
long-standing Solar Neutrino Problem (SNP). Whether there is any subdominant
effect accompanying the dominant LMA solution can not be ruled out at the
moment, but will be settled by the forthcoming data from highly skilled real
time experiments targeting essentially the low energy domain of solar
neutrinos. Assuming a subdominant effect converting one of the active neutrinos
into a sterile partner in the varying solar field with changing sunspot
activity, we performed field-profile-independent predictions for
neutrino signal variation, which might be tested in the KamLAND's future solar
neutrino detection program. We found that after a substantial reduction of
background and running of KamLAND solar mode through the sunspot maximum period
(around 2010 - 2012), when the solar field at the resonance may vary from few
to , the subdominant time variation effect might be clearly
visible (more than ) for neutrinos.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, typos corrected. To appear in JHE
New Results on Standard Solar Models
We describe the current status of solar modelling and focus on the problems
originated with the introduction of solar abundance determinations with low CNO
abundance values. We use models computed with solar abundance compilations
obtained during the last decade, including the newest published abundances by
Asplund and collaborators. Results presented here make focus both on
helioseismic properties and the models as well as in the neutrino fluxes
predictions. We also discuss changes in radiative opacities to restore
agreement between helioseismology, solar models, and solar abundances and show
the effect of such modifications on solar neutrino fluxes.Comment: 9 pages. Review talk presented at "Synergies between solar and
stellar modelling", Rome, June 2009. To be published by Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
Seismology of the Sun : Inference of Thermal, Dynamic and Magnetic Field Structures of the Interior
Recent overwhelming evidences show that the sun strongly influences the
Earth's climate and environment. Moreover existence of life on this Earth
mainly depends upon the sun's energy. Hence, understanding of physics of the
sun, especially the thermal, dynamic and magnetic field structures of its
interior, is very important. Recently, from the ground and space based
observations, it is discovered that sun oscillates near 5 min periodicity in
millions of modes. This discovery heralded a new era in solar physics and a
separate branch called helioseismology or seismology of the sun has started.
Before the advent of helioseismology, sun's thermal structure of the interior
was understood from the evolutionary solution of stellar structure equations
that mimicked the present age, mass and radius of the sun. Whereas solution of
MHD equations yielded internal dynamics and magnetic field structure of the
sun's interior. In this presentation, I review the thermal, dynamic and
magnetic field structures of the sun's interior as inferred by the
helioseismology.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of the meeting "3rd International
Conference on Current Developments in Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Nano
Physics with Applications", December 14-16, 2011, New Delhi, Indi
Low Energy Solar Neutrinos and Spin Flavour Precession
The possibility that the Gallium data effectively indicates a time modulation
of the solar active neutrino flux in possible connection to solar activity is
examined on the light of spin flavour precession to sterile neutrinos as a
subdominant process in addition to oscillations. We distinguish two sets of
Gallium data, relating them to high and low solar activity. Such modulation
affects principally the low energy neutrinos ( and ) so that the
effect, if it exists, will become most clear in the forthcoming Borexino and
LENS experiments and will provide evidence for a neutrino magnetic moment.
Using a model previously developed, we perform two separate fits in relation to
low and high activity periods to all solar neutrino data. These fits include
the very recent charged current spectrum from the SNO experiment. We also
derive the model predictions for Borexino and LENS experiments.Comment: 20 pages, 5 ps figures, 1 eps figure, final version to be published
in JHE
A Comparison of Solar Cycle Variations in the Equatorial Rotation Rates of the Sun's Subsurface, Surface, Corona, and Sunspot Groups
Using the Solar Optical Observing Network (SOON) sunspot-group data for the
period 1985-2010, the variations in the annual mean equatorial-rotation rates
of the sunspot groups are determined and compared with the known variations in
the solar equatorial-rotation rates determined from the following data: i) the
plasma rotation rates at 0.94Rsun, 0.95Rsun,...,1.0Rsun measured by Global
Oscillation Network Group (GONG) during the period 1995-2010, ii) the data on
the soft X-ray corona determined from Yohkoh/SXT full disk images for the years
1992-2001, iii) the data on small bright coronal structures (SBCS) which were
traced in Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/EIT images during the
period 1998-2006, and iv) the Mount Wilson Doppler-velocity measurements during
the period 1986-2007. A large portion (up to approximate 30 deg latitude) of
the mean differential-rotation profile of the sunspot groups lies between those
of the internal differential-rotation rates at 0.94Rsun and 0.98Rsun.The
variation in the yearly mean equatorial-rotation rate of the sunspot groups
seems to be lagging that of the equatorial-rotation rate determined from the
GONG measurements by one to two years.The amplitude of the latter is very
small.The solar-cycle variation in the equatorial-rotation rate of the solar
corona closely matches that determined from the sunspot-group data.The
variation in the equatorial-rotation rate determined from the Mount Wilson
Doppler-velocity data closely resembles the corresponding variation in the
equatorial-rotation rate determined from the sunspot-group data that included
the values of the abnormal angular motions (> 3 deg per day) of the sunspot
groups. Implications of these results are pointed out.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, accepted by Solar Physic
Constructing and Characterising Solar Structure Models for Computational Helioseismology
In this paper, we construct background solar models that are stable against
convection, by modifying the vertical pressure gradient of Model S
(Christensen-Dalsgaard et al., 1996, Science, 272, 1286) relinquishing
hydrostatic equilibrium. However, the stabilisation affects the eigenmodes that
we wish to remain as close to Model S as possible. In a bid to recover the
Model S eigenmodes, we choose to make additional corrections to the sound speed
of Model S before stabilisation. No stabilised model can be perfectly
solar-like, so we present three stabilised models with slightly different
eigenmodes. The models are appropriate to study the f and p1 to p4 modes with
spherical harmonic degrees in the range from 400 to 900. Background model CSM
has a modified pressure gradient for stabilisation and has eigenfrequencies
within 2% of Model S. Model CSM_A has an additional 10% increase in sound speed
in the top 1 Mm resulting in eigenfrequencies within 2% of Model S and
eigenfunctions that are, in comparison with CSM, closest to those of Model S.
Model CSM_B has a 3% decrease in sound speed in the top 5 Mm resulting in
eigenfrequencies within 1% of Model S and eigenfunctions that are only
marginally adversely affected. These models are useful to study the interaction
of solar waves with embedded three-dimensional heterogeneities, such as
convective flows and model sunspots. We have also calculated the response of
the stabilised models to excitation by random near-surface sources, using
simulations of the propagation of linear waves. We find that the simulated
power spectra of wave motion are in good agreement with an observed SOHO/MDI
power spectrum. Overall, our convectively stabilised background models provide
a good basis for quantitative numerical local helioseismology. The models are
available for download from http://www.mps.mpg.de/projects/seismo/NA4/.Comment: 35 pages, 23 figures Changed title Updated Figure 1
Interpreting Helioseismic Structure Inversion Results of Solar Active Regions
Helioseismic techniques such as ring-diagram analysis have often been used to
determine the subsurface structural differences between solar active and quiet
regions. Results obtained by inverting the frequency differences between the
regions are usually interpreted as the sound-speed differences between them.
These in turn are used as a measure of temperature and magnetic-field strength
differences between the two regions. In this paper we first show that the
"sound-speed" difference obtained from inversions is actually a combination of
sound-speed difference and a magnetic component. Hence, the inversion result is
not directly related to the thermal structure. Next, using solar models that
include magnetic fields, we develop a formulation to use the inversion results
to infer the differences in the magnetic and thermal structures between active
and quiet regions. We then apply our technique to existing structure inversion
results for different pairs of active and quiet regions. We find that the
effect of magnetic fields is strongest in a shallow region above 0.985R_sun and
that the strengths of magnetic-field effects at the surface and in the deeper
(r < 0.98R_sun) layers are inversely related, i.e., the stronger the surface
magnetic field the smaller the magnetic effects in the deeper layers, and vice
versa. We also find that the magnetic effects in the deeper layers are the
strongest in the quiet regions, consistent with the fact that these are
basically regions with weakest magnetic fields at the surface. Because the
quiet regions were selected to precede or follow their companion active
regions, the results could have implications about the evolution of magnetic
fields under active regions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
Subsurface Flows in and Around Active Regions with Rotating and Non-rotating Sunspots
The temporal variation of the horizontal velocity in subsurface layers
beneath three different types of active regions is studied using the technique
of ring diagrams. In this study, we select active regions (ARs) 10923, 10930,
10935 from three consecutive Carrington rotations: AR 10930 contains a
fast-rotating sunspot in a strong emerging active region while other two have
non-rotating sunspots with emerging flux in AR 10923 and decaying flux in AR
10935. The depth range covered is from the surface to about 12 Mm. In order to
minimize the influence of systematic effects, the selection of active and quiet
regions is made so that these were observed at the same heliographic locations
on the solar disk. We find a significant variation in both components of the
horizontal velocity in active regions as compared to quiet regions. The
magnitude is higher in emerging-flux regions than in the decaying-flux region,
in agreement with earlier findings. Further, we clearly see a significant
temporal variation in depth profiles of both zonal and meridional flow
components in AR 10930, with the variation in the zonal component being more
pronounced. We also notice a significant influence of the plasma motion in
areas closest to the rotating sunspot in AR 10930 while areas surrounding the
non-rotating sunspots in all three cases are least affected by the presence of
the active region in their neighborhood.Comment: Solar Physics (in press), includes 11 figure
On the compatibility of a flux transport dynamo with a fast tachocline scenario
The compatibility of the fast tachocline scenario with a flux transport
dynamo model is explored. We employ a flux transport dynamo model coupled with
simple feedback formulae relating the thickness of the tachocline to the
amplitude of the magnetic field or to the Maxwell stress. The dynamo model is
found to be robust against the nonlinearity introduced by this simplified fast
tachocline mechanism. Solar-like butterfly diagrams are found to persist and,
even without any parameter fitting, the overall thickness of the tachocline is
well within the range admitted by helioseismic constraints. In the most
realistic case of a time and latitude dependent tachocline thickness linked to
the value of the Maxwell stress, both the thickness and its latitude dependence
are in excellent agreement with seismic results. In the nonparametric models,
cycle related temporal variations in tachocline thickness are somewhat larger
than admitted by helioseismic constraints; we find, however, that introducing a
further parameter into our feedback formula readily allows further fine tuning
of the thickness variations.Comment: Accepted in Solar Physic
- …