454 research outputs found
A Model for the Stray Light Contamination of the UVCS Instrument on SOHO
We present a detailed model of stray-light suppression in the spectrometer
channels of the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) on the SOHO
spacecraft. The control of diffracted and scattered stray light from the bright
solar disk is one of the most important tasks of a coronagraph. We compute the
fractions of light that diffract past the UVCS external occulter and
non-specularly pass into the spectrometer slit. The diffracted component of the
stray light depends on the finite aperture of the primary mirror and on its
figure. The amount of non-specular scattering depends mainly on the
micro-roughness of the mirror. For reasonable choices of these quantities, the
modeled stray-light fraction agrees well with measurements of stray light made
both in the laboratory and during the UVCS mission. The models were constructed
for the bright H I Lyman alpha emission line, but they are applicable to other
spectral lines as well.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, Solar Physics, in pres
Quasi-Periodic Releases of Streamer Blobs and Velocity Variability of the Slow Solar Wind near the Sun
We search for persistent and quasi-periodic release events of streamer blobs
during 2007 with the Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph on the \textit{Solar
and Heliospheric Observatory} and assess the velocity of the slow solar wind
along the plasma sheet above the corresponding streamer by measuring the
dynamic parameters of blobs. We find 10 quasi-periodic release events of
streamer blobs lasting for three to four days. In each day of these events, we
observe three-five blobs. The results are in line with previous studies using
data observed near the last solar minimum. Using the measured blob velocity as
a proxy for that of the mean flow, we suggest that the velocity of the
background slow solar wind near the Sun can vary significantly within a few
hours. This provides an observational manifestation of the large velocity
variability of the slow solar wind near the Sun.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted by Soalr Physic
Roles of Fast-Cyclotron and Alfven-Cyclotron Waves for the Multi-Ion Solar Wind
Using linear Vlasov theory of plasma waves and quasi-linear theory of
resonant wave-particle interaction, the dispersion relations and the
electromagnetic field fluctuations of fast and Alfven waves are studied for a
low-beta multi-ion plasma in the inner corona. Their probable roles in heating
and accelerating the solar wind via Landau and cyclotron resonances are
quantified. We assume that (1) low-frequency Alfven and fast waves have the
same spectral shape and the same amplitude of power spectral density; (2) these
waves eventually reach ion cyclotron frequencies due to a turbulence cascade;
(3) kinetic wave-particle interaction powers the solar wind. The existence of
alpha particles in a dominant proton/electron plasma can trigger linear mode
conversion between oblique fast-whistler and hybrid alpha-proton cyclotron
waves. The fast-cyclotron waves undergo both alpha and proton cyclotron
resonances. The alpha cyclotron resonance in fast-cyclotron waves is much
stronger than that in Alfven-cyclotron waves. For alpha cyclotron resonance, an
oblique fast-cyclotron wave has a larger left-handed electric field
fluctuation, a smaller wave number, a larger local wave amplitude, and a
greater energization capability than a corresponding Alfven-cyclotron wave at
the same wave propagation angle \theta, particularly at < \theta <
. When Alfven-cyclotron or fast-cyclotron waves are present, alpha
particles are the chief energy recipient. The transition of preferential
energization from alpha particles to protons may be self-modulated by
differential speed and temperature anisotropy of alpha particles via the
self-consistently evolving wave-particle interaction. Therefore, fast-cyclotron
waves as a result of linear mode coupling is a potentially important mechanism
for preferential energization of minor ions in the main acceleration region of
the solar wind.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Solar
Physic
Origins of the Ambient Solar Wind: Implications for Space Weather
The Sun's outer atmosphere is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees,
and solar plasma flows out into interplanetary space at supersonic speeds. This
paper reviews our current understanding of these interrelated problems: coronal
heating and the acceleration of the ambient solar wind. We also discuss where
the community stands in its ability to forecast how variations in the solar
wind (i.e., fast and slow wind streams) impact the Earth. Although the last few
decades have seen significant progress in observations and modeling, we still
do not have a complete understanding of the relevant physical processes, nor do
we have a quantitatively precise census of which coronal structures contribute
to specific types of solar wind. Fast streams are known to be connected to the
central regions of large coronal holes. Slow streams, however, appear to come
from a wide range of sources, including streamers, pseudostreamers, coronal
loops, active regions, and coronal hole boundaries. Complicating our
understanding even more is the fact that processes such as turbulence,
stream-stream interactions, and Coulomb collisions can make it difficult to
unambiguously map a parcel measured at 1 AU back down to its coronal source. We
also review recent progress -- in theoretical modeling, observational data
analysis, and forecasting techniques that sit at the interface between data and
theory -- that gives us hope that the above problems are indeed solvable.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Special issue
connected with a 2016 ISSI workshop on "The Scientific Foundations of Space
Weather." 44 pages, 9 figure
Be Stars: Rapidly Rotating Pulsators
I will show that Be stars are, without exception, a class of rapidly rotating
stars, which are in the majority of cases pulsating stars as well, while none
of them does possess a large scale (i.e. with significant dipolar contribution)
magnetic field.Comment: Review talk given at "XX Stellar Pulsation Conference Series: Impact
of new instrumentation and new insights in stellar pulsations", Granada, 5-9
September 2011, in press in AIP Conf. Se
Atmospheric Heating and Wind Acceleration: Results for Cool Evolved Stars based on Proposed Processes
A chromosphere is a universal attribute of stars of spectral type later than
~F5. Evolved (K and M) giants and supergiants (including the zeta Aurigae
binaries) show extended and highly turbulent chromospheres, which develop into
slow massive winds. The associated continuous mass loss has a significant
impact on stellar evolution, and thence on the chemical evolution of galaxies.
Yet despite the fundamental importance of those winds in astrophysics, the
question of their origin(s) remains unsolved. What sources heat a chromosphere?
What is the role of the chromosphere in the formation of stellar winds? This
chapter provides a review of the observational requirements and theoretical
approaches for modeling chromospheric heating and the acceleration of winds in
single cool, evolved stars and in eclipsing binary stars, including physical
models that have recently been proposed. It describes the successes that have
been achieved so far by invoking acoustic and MHD waves to provide a physical
description of plasma heating and wind acceleration, and discusses the
challenges that still remain.Comment: 46 pages, 9 figures, 1 table; modified and unedited manuscript;
accepted version to appear in: Giants of Eclipse, eds. E. Griffin and T. Ake
(Berlin: Springer
The Impact of New EUV Diagnostics on CME-Related Kinematics
We present the application of novel diagnostics to the spectroscopic
observation of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on disk by the Extreme Ultraviolet
Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on the Hinode spacecraft. We apply a recently
developed line profile asymmetry analysis to the spectroscopic observation of
NOAA AR 10930 on 14-15 December 2006 to three raster observations before and
during the eruption of a 1000km/s CME. We see the impact that the observer's
line-of-sight and magnetic field geometry have on the diagnostics used.
Further, and more importantly, we identify the on-disk signature of a
high-speed outflow behind the CME in the dimming region arising as a result of
the eruption. Supported by recent coronal observations of the STEREO
spacecraft, we speculate about the momentum flux resulting from this outflow as
a secondary momentum source to the CME. The results presented highlight the
importance of spectroscopic measurements in relation to CME kinematics, and the
need for full-disk synoptic spectroscopic observations of the coronal and
chromospheric plasmas to capture the signature of such explosive energy release
as a way of providing better constraints of CME propagation times to L1, or any
other point of interest in the heliosphere.Comment: Accepted to appear in Solar Physics Topical Issue titled "Remote
Sensing of the Inner Heliosphere". Manuscript has 14 pages, 5 color figures.
Movies supporting the figures can be found in
http://download.hao.ucar.edu/pub/mscott/papers/Weathe
Alfv\'en Reflection and Reverberation in the Solar Atmosphere
Magneto-atmospheres with Alfv\'en speed [a] that increases monotonically with
height are often used to model the solar atmosphere, at least out to several
solar radii. A common example involves uniform vertical or inclined magnetic
field in an isothermal atmosphere, for which the Alfv\'en speed is exponential.
We address the issue of internal reflection in such atmospheres, both for
time-harmonic and for transient waves. It is found that a mathematical boundary
condition may be devised that corresponds to perfect absorption at infinity,
and, using this, that many atmospheres where a(x) is analytic and unbounded
present no internal reflection of harmonic Alfv\'en waves. However, except for
certain special cases, such solutions are accompanied by a wake, which may be
thought of as a kind of reflection. For the initial-value problem where a
harmonic source is suddenly switched on (and optionally off), there is also an
associated transient that normally decays with time as O(t-1) or O(t-1 ln t),
depending on the phase of the driver. Unlike the steady-state harmonic
solutions, the transient does reflect weakly. Alfv\'en waves in the solar
corona driven by a finite-duration train of p-modes are expected to leave such
transients.Comment: Accepted by Solar Physic
Solar Magnetic Carpet I: Simulation of Synthetic Magnetograms
This paper describes a new 2D model for the photospheric evolution of the
magnetic carpet. It is the first in a series of papers working towards
constructing a realistic 3D non-potential model for the interaction of
small-scale solar magnetic fields. In the model, the basic evolution of the
magnetic elements is governed by a supergranular flow profile. In addition,
magnetic elements may evolve through the processes of emergence, cancellation,
coalescence and fragmentation. Model parameters for the emergence of bipoles
are based upon the results of observational studies. Using this model, several
simulations are considered, where the range of flux with which bipoles may
emerge is varied. In all cases the model quickly reaches a steady state where
the rates of emergence and cancellation balance. Analysis of the resulting
magnetic field shows that we reproduce observed quantities such as the flux
distribution, mean field, cancellation rates, photospheric recycle time and a
magnetic network. As expected, the simulation matches observations more closely
when a larger, and consequently more realistic, range of emerging flux values
is allowed (4e16 - 1e19 Mx). The model best reproduces the current observed
properties of the magnetic carpet when we take the minimum absolute flux for
emerging bipoles to be 4e16 Mx. In future, this 2D model will be used as an
evolving photospheric boundary condition for 3D non-potential modeling.Comment: 33 pages, 16 figures, 5 gif movies included: movies may be viewed at
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~karen/movies_paper1
Coronal Diagnostics from Narrowband Images around 30.4 nm
Images taken in the band centered at 30.4 nm are routinely used to map the
radiance of the He II Ly alpha line on the solar disk. That line is one of the
strongest, if not the strongest, line in the EUV observed in the solar
spectrum, and one of the few lines in that wavelength range providing
information on the upper chromosphere or lower transition region. However, when
observing the off-limb corona the contribution from the nearby Si XI 30.3 nm
line can become significant. In this work we aim at estimating the relative
contribution of those two lines in the solar corona around the minimum of solar
activity. We combine measurements from CDS taken in August 2008 with
temperature and density profiles from semiempirical models of the corona to
compute the radiances of the two lines, and of other representative coronal
lines (e.g., Mg X 62.5 nm, Si XII 52.1 nm). Considering both diagnosed
quantities from line ratios (temperatures and densities) and line radiances in
absolute units, we obtain a good overall match between observations and models.
We find that the Si XI line dominates the He II line from just above the limb
up to ~2 R_Sun in streamers, while its contribution to narrowband imaging in
the 30.4 nm band is expected to become smaller, even negligible in the corona
beyond ~2 - 3 R_Sun, the precise value being strongly dependent on the coronal
temperature profile.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures; to be published in: Solar Physic
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