Amplification of compressional MHD waves in systems with forced entropy oscillations

The propagation of compressional MHD waves is studied for an externally driven system. It is assumed that the combined action of the external sources and sinks of the entropy results in the harmonic oscillation of the entropy (and temperature) in the system. It is found that with the appropriate resonant conditions fast and slow waves get amplified due to the phenomenon of parametric resonance. Besides, it is shown that the considered waves are mutually coupled as a consequence of the nonequilibrium state of the background medium. The coupling is strongest when the plasma $\beta \approx 1$. The proposed formalism is sufficiently general and can be applied for many dynamical systems, both under terrestrial and astrophysical conditions.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Accepted to Physical Review

Long-period oscillations of active region patterns: least-squares mapping on second-order curves

Active regions (ARs) are the main sources of variety in solar dynamic events. Automated detection and identification tools need to be developed for solar features for a deeper understanding of the solar cycle. Of particular interest here are the dynamical properties of the ARs, regardless of their internal structure and sunspot distribution. We studied the oscillatory dynamics of two ARs: NOAA 11327 and NOAA 11726 using two different methods of pattern recognition. We developed a novel method of automated AR border detection and compared it to an existing method for the proof-of-concept. The first method uses least-squares fitting on the smallest ellipse enclosing the AR, while the second method applies regression on the convex hull.} After processing the data, we found that the axes and the inclination angle of the ellipse and the convex hull oscillate in time. These oscillations are interpreted as the second harmonic of the standing long-period kink oscillations (with the node at the apex) of the magnetic flux tube connecting the two main sunspots of the ARs. In both ARs we have estimated the distribution of the phase speed magnitude along the magnetic tubes (along the two main spots) by interpreting the obtained oscillation of the inclination angle as the standing second harmonic kink mode. After comparing the obtained results for fast and slow kink modes, we conclude that both of these modes are good candidates to explain the observed oscillations of the AR inclination angles, as in the high plasma $\beta$ regime the phase speeds of these modes are comparable and on the order of the Alfv\'{e}n speed. Based on the properties of the observed oscillations, we detected the appropriate depth of the sunspot patterns, which coincides with estimations made by helioseismic methods. The latter analysis can be used as a basis for developing a magneto-seismological tool for ARs.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Quasi-oscillatory dynamics observed in ascending phase of the flare on March 6, 2012

Context. The dynamics of the flaring loops in active region (AR) 11429 are studied. The observed dynamics consist of several evolution stages of the flaring loop system during both the ascending and descending phases of the registered M-class flare. The dynamical properties can also be classified by different types of magnetic reconnection, related plasma ejection and aperiodic flows, quasi-periodic oscillatory motions, and rapid temperature and density changes, among others. The focus of the present paper is on a specific time interval during the ascending (pre-flare) phase. Aims. The goal is to understand the quasi-periodic behavior in both space and time of the magnetic loop structures during the considered time interval. Methods.We have studied the characteristic location, motion, and periodicity properties of the flaring loops by examining space-time diagrams and intensity variation analysis along the coronal magnetic loops using AIA intensity and HMI magnetogram images (from the Solar Dynamics Observatory(SDO)). Results. We detected bright plasma blobs along the coronal loop during the ascending phase of the solar flare, the intensity variations of which clearly show quasi-periodic behavior. We also determined the periods of these oscillations. Conclusions. Two different interpretations are presented for the observed dynamics. Firstly, the oscillations are interpreted as the manifestation of non-fundamental harmonics of longitudinal standing acoustic oscillations driven by the thermodynamically nonequilibrium background (with time variable density and temperature). The second possible interpretation we provide is that the observed bright blobs could be a signature of a strongly twisted coronal loop that is kink unstable.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, A&A, in pres

Case study on the identification and classification of small-scale flow patterns in flaring active region

We propose a novel methodology to identity flows in the solar atmosphere and classify their velocities as either supersonic, subsonic, or sonic. The proposed methodology consists of three parts. First, an algorithm is applied to the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) image data to locate and track flows, resulting in the trajectory of each flow over time. Thereafter, the differential emission measure inversion method is applied to six AIA channels along the trajectory of each flow in order to estimate its background temperature and sound speed. Finally, we classify each flow as supersonic, subsonic, or sonic by performing simultaneous hypothesis tests on whether the velocity bounds of the flow are larger, smaller, or equal to the background sound speed. The proposed methodology was applied to the SDO image data from the 171 {\AA} spectral line for the date 6 March 2012 from 12:22:00 to 12:35:00 and again for the date 9 March 2012 from 03:00:00 to 03:24:00. Eighteen plasma flows were detected, 11 of which were classified as supersonic, 3 as subsonic, and 3 as sonic at a $70\%$ level of significance. Out of all these cases, 2 flows cannot be strictly ascribed to one of the respective categories as they change from the subsonic state to supersonic and vice versa. We labelled them as a subclass of transonic flows. The proposed methodology provides an automatic and scalable solution to identify small-scale flows and to classify their velocities as either supersonic, subsonic, or sonic. We identified and classified small-scale flow patterns in flaring loops. The results show that the flows can be classified into four classes: sub-, super-, trans-sonic, and sonic. The detected flows from AIA images can be analyzed in combination with the other high-resolution observational data, such as Hi-C 2.1 data, and be used for the development of theories of the formation of flow patterns.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Association between Tornadoes and Instability of Hosting Prominences

We studied the dynamics of all prominence tornadoes detected by the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly from 2011 January 01 to December 31. In total, 361 events were identified during the whole year, but only 166 tornadoes were traced until the end of their lifetime. Out of 166 tornadoes, 80 (48%) triggered CMEs in hosting prominences, 83 (50%) caused failed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) or strong internal motion in the prominences, and only 3 (2%) finished their lifetimes without any observed activity. Therefore, almost all prominence tornadoes lead to the destabilization of their hosting prominences and half of them trigger CMEs. Consequently, prominence tornadoes may be used as precursors for CMEs and hence for space weather predictions.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, Accepted in Ap

Statistical properties of coronal hole rotation rates: Are they linked to the solar interior?

The present paper discusses results of a statistical study of the characteristics of coronal hole (CH) rotation in order to find connections to the internal rotation of the Sun. The goal is to measure CH rotation rates and study their distribution over latitude and their area sizes. In addition, the CH rotation rates are compared with the solar photospheric and inner layer rotational profiles. We study coronal holes observed within $\pm 60$ latitude and longitude degrees from the solar disc centre during the time span from the 1 January 2013 to 20 April 2015, which includes the extended peak of solar cycle 24.We used data created by the Spatial Possibilistic Clustering Algorithm (SPoCA), which provides the exact location and characterisation of solar coronal holes using SDO=AIA 193 {\AA} channel images. The CH rotation rates are measured with four-hour cadence data to track variable positions of the CH geometric centre. North-south asymmetry was found in the distribution of coronal holes: about 60 percent were observed in the northern hemisphere and 40 percent were observed in the southern hemisphere. The smallest and largest CHs were present only at high latitudes. The average sidereal rotation rate for 540 examined CHs is $13:86 (\pm 0:05)$ degrees/d. Conclusions. The latitudinal characteristics of CH rotation do not match any known photospheric rotation profile. The CH angular velocities exceed the photospheric angular velocities at latitudes higher than 35-40 degrees. According to our results, the CH rotation profile perfectly coincides with tachocline and the lower layers of convection zone at around 0.71 $R_{\odot}$; this indicates that CHs may be linked to the solar global magnetic field, which originates in the tachocline region.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in A&