443 research outputs found
Magnetic Field Strength in the Upper Solar Corona Using White-light Shock Structures Surrounding Coronal Mass Ejections
To measure the magnetic field strength in the solar corona, we examined 10
fast (> 1000 km/s) limb CMEs which show clear shock structures in SOHO/LASCO
images. By applying piston-shock relationship to the observed CME's standoff
distance and electron density compression ratio, we estimated the Mach number,
Alfven speed, and magnetic field strength in the height range 3 to 15 solar
radii (Rs). Main results from this study are: (1) the standoff distance
observed in solar corona is consistent with those from a magnetohydrodynamic
(MHD) model and near-Earth observations; (2) the Mach number as a shock
strength is in the range 1.49 to 3.43 from the standoff distance ratio, but
when we use the density compression ratio, the Mach number is in the range 1.47
to 1.90, implying that the measured density compression ratio is likely to be
underestimated due to observational limits; (3) the Alfven speed ranges from
259 to 982 km/s and the magnetic field strength is in the range 6 to 105 mG
when the standoff distance is used; (4) if we multiply the density compression
ratio by a factor of 2, the Alfven speeds and the magnetic field strengths are
consistent in both methods; (5) the magnetic field strengths derived from the
shock parameters are similar to those of empirical models and previous
estimates.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 11 Figures, 1 Tabl
Solar Sources of Severe Space Weather
Severe space weather is characterized by intense particle radiation from the Sun and severe geomagnetic storm caused by magnetized solar plasma arriving at Earth. Intense particle radiation is almost always caused by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) traveling from the Sun at super-Alfvenic speeds leading to fast-mode MHD shocks and particle acceleration by the shocks. When a CME arrives at Earth, it can interact with Earth's magnetopause resulting in solar plasma entry into the magnetosphere and a geomagnetic storm depending on the magnetic structure of the CME. Particle radiation starts affecting geospace as soon as the CMEs leave the Sun and the geospace may be immersed in the radiation for several days. On the other hand, the geomagnetic storm happens only upon arrival of the CME at Earth. The requirements for the production of particles and magnetic storms by CMEs are different in a number of respects: solar source location, CME magnetic structure, conditions in the ambient solar wind, and shock-driving ability of CMEs. Occasionally, intense geomagnetic storms are caused by corotating interaction regions (CIRs) that form in the interplanetary space when the fast solar wind from coronal holes overtakes the slow wind from the quiet regions. CIRs also accelerate particles, but when they reach several AU from the Sun, so their impact on Earth's space environment is not significant. In addition to these plasma effects, solar flares that accompany CMEs also produce excess ionization in the ionosphere causing sudden ionospheric disturbances. This paper highlights these space weather effects using space weather events observed by space and ground based instruments during of solar cycles 23 and 24
Evolution of Solar Magnetic Field and Associated Multi-wavelength Phenomena: Flare events on 20 November 2003
We analyze H-alpha images, soft X-ray profiles, magnetograms, extreme
ultra-violet images and radio observations of two homologous flare events
(M1.4/1N and M9.6/2B) on 20 November 2003 in the active region NOAA 10501 and
study properties of reconnection between twisted filament systems, energy
release and associated launch of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). During both
events twisted filaments observed in H-alpha approached each other and
initiated the flare processes. However, the second event showed the formation
of cusp as the filaments interacted. The rotation of sunspots of opposite
polarities, inferred from magnetograms likely powered the twisted filaments and
injection of helicity. Along the current sheet between these two opposite
polarity sunspots, the shear was maximum, which could have caused the twist in
the filament. At the time of interaction between filaments, the reconnection
took place and flare emission in thermal and non-thermal energy ranges attained
the maximum. The radio signatures revealed the opening of field lines resulting
from reconnection. The H-alpha images and radio data provide the inflow speed
leading to reconnection and the scale size of particle acceleration region. The
first event produced a narrow and slow CME, whereas the later one was
associated with a fast full halo CME. The halo CME signatures observed between
Sun and Earth using white-light and scintillation images and in-situ
measurements indicated the magnetic energy utilized in the expansion and
propagation. The magnetic cloud signature at the Earth confirmed the flux rope
ejected at the time of filament interaction and reconnection.Comment: 22 pages, 16 figures, Accepted for the publication in Astrophysical
Journal (APJ
Fast Time Structure During Transient Microwave Brightenings: Evidence for Nonthermal Processes
Transient microwave brightenings (TMBs) are small-scale energy releases from
the periphery of sunspot umbrae, with a flux density two orders of magnitude
smaller than that from a typical flare. Gopalswamy et al (1994) first reported
the detection of the TMBs and it was pointed out that the radio emission
implied a region of very high magnetic field so that the emission mechanism has
to be gyroresonance or nonthermal gyrosynchrotron, but not free-free emission.
It was not possible to decide between gyroresonance and gyrosynchrotron
processes because of the low time resolution (30 s) used in the data analysis.
We have since performed a detailed analysis of the Very Large Array data with
full time resolution (3.3 s) at two wavelengths (2 and 3.6 cm) and we can now
adequately address the question of the emission mechanism of the TMBs. We find
that nonthermal processes indeed take place during the TMBs. We present
evidence for nonthermal emission in the form of temporal and spatial structure
of the TMBs. The fast time structure cannot be explained by a thermodynamic
cooling time and therefore requires a nonthermal process. Using the physical
parameters obtained from X-ray and radio observations, we determine the
magnetic field parameters of the loop and estimate the energy released during
the TMBs. The impulsive components of TMBs imply an energy release rate of 1.3
x 10^22 erg/s so that the thermal energy content of the TMBs could be less than
10^24 erg.Comment: 15 pages (Latex), 4 figures (eps). ApJ Letters in press (1997
Long‐lived geomagnetic storms and coronal mass ejections
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94830/1/jgra18071.pd
Multi-wavelength Diagnostics of the Precursor and Main phases of an M1.8 Flare on 2011 April 22
We study the temporal, spatial and spectral evolution of the M1.8 flare,
which occurred in NOAA AR 11195 (S17E31) on 22 April 2011, and explore the
underlying physical processes during the precursors and their relation to the
main phase. The study of the source morphology using the composite images in
131 {\deg}A wavelength observed by the SDO/AIA and 6-14 keV revealed a
multiloop system that destabilized systematically during the precursor and main
phases. In contrast, HXR emission (20-50 keV) was absent during the precursor
phase, appearing only from the onset of the impulsive phase in the form of
foot-points of emitting loop/s. This study has also revealed the heated
loop-top prior to the loop emission, although no accompanying foot-point
sources were observed during the precursor phase. We estimate the flare plasma
parameters viz. T, EM, power-law index, and photon turn-over energy by forward
fitting RHESSI spectral observations. The energy released in the precursor
phase was thermal and constituted ~1 per cent of the total energy released
during the flare. The study of morphological evolution of the filament in
conjunction with synthesized T and EM maps has been carried out which reveals
(a) Partial filament eruption prior to the onset of the precursor emission, (b)
Heated dense plasma over the polarity inversion line and in the vicinity of the
slowly rising filament during the precursor phase. Based on the implications
from multi-wavelength observations, we propose a scheme to unify the energy
release during the precursor and main phase emissions in which, the precursor
phase emission has been originated via conduction front formed due to the
partial filament eruption. Next, the heated leftover S-shaped filament has
undergone slow rise and heating due to magnetic reconnection and finally
erupted to produce emission during the impulsive and gradual phases.Comment: 16 Pages, 11 Figures, Accepted for Publication in MNRAS Main Journa
Multiwavelength Study on Solar and Interplanetary Origins of the Strongest Geomagnetic Storm of Solar Cycle 23
We study the solar sources of an intense geomagnetic storm of solar cycle 23
that occurred on 20 November 2003, based on ground- and space-based
multiwavelength observations. The coronal mass ejections (CMEs) responsible for
the above geomagnetic storm originated from the super-active region NOAA 10501.
We investigate the H-alpha observations of the flare events made with a 15 cm
solar tower telescope at ARIES, Nainital, India. The propagation
characteristics of the CMEs have been derived from the three-dimensional images
of the solar wind (i.e., density and speed) obtained from the interplanetary
scintillation data, supplemented with other ground- and space-based
measurements. The TRACE, SXI and H-alpha observations revealed two successive
ejections (of speeds ~350 and ~100 km/s), originating from the same filament
channel, which were associated with two high speed CMEs (~1223 and ~1660 km/s,
respectively). These two ejections generated propagating fast shock waves
(i.e., fast drifting type II radio bursts) in the corona. The interaction of
these CMEs along the Sun-Earth line has led to the severity of the storm.
According to our investigation, the interplanetary medium consisted of two
merging magnetic clouds (MCs) that preserved their identity during their
propagation. These magnetic clouds made the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)
southward for a long time, which reconnected with the geomagnetic field,
resulting the super-storm (Dst_peak=-472 nT) on the Earth.Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures, Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
Magnetic Flux of EUV Arcade and Dimming Regions as a Relevant Parameter for Early Diagnostics of Solar Eruptions - Sources of Non-Recurrent Geomagnetic Storms and Forbush Decreases
This study aims at the early diagnostics of geoeffectiveness of coronal mass
ejections (CMEs) from quantitative parameters of the accompanying EUV dimming
and arcade events. We study events of the 23th solar cycle, in which major
non-recurrent geomagnetic storms (GMS) with Dst <-100 nT are sufficiently
reliably identified with their solar sources in the central part of the disk.
Using the SOHO/EIT 195 A images and MDI magnetograms, we select significant
dimming and arcade areas and calculate summarized unsigned magnetic fluxes in
these regions at the photospheric level. The high relevance of this eruption
parameter is displayed by its pronounced correlation with the Forbush decrease
(FD) magnitude, which, unlike GMSs, does not depend on the sign of the Bz
component but is determined by global characteristics of ICMEs. Correlations
with the same magnetic flux in the solar source region are found for the GMS
intensity (at the first step, without taking into account factors determining
the Bz component near the Earth), as well as for the temporal intervals between
the solar eruptions and the GMS onset and peak times. The larger the magnetic
flux, the stronger the FD and GMS intensities are and the shorter the ICME
transit time is. The revealed correlations indicate that the main quantitative
characteristics of major non-recurrent space weather disturbances are largely
determined by measurable parameters of solar eruptions, in particular, by the
magnetic flux in dimming areas and arcades, and can be tentatively estimated in
advance with a lead time from 1 to 4 days. For GMS intensity, the revealed
dependencies allow one to estimate a possible value, which can be expected if
the Bz component is negative.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
Coronal Mass Ejection-driven Shocks and the Associated Sudden Commencements-sudden Impulses
Interplanetary (IP) shocks are mainly responsible for the sudden compression of the magnetosphere, causing storm sudden commencement (SC) and sudden impulses (SIs) which are detected by ground-based magnetometers. On the basis of the list of 222 IP shocks compiled by Gopalswamy et al., we have investigated the dependence of SC/SIs amplitudes on the speed of the coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that drive the shocks near the Sun as well as in the interplanetary medium. We find that about 91% of the IP shocks were associated with SC/SIs. The average speed of the SC/SI-associated CMEs is 1015 km/s, which is almost a factor of 2 higher than the general CME speed. When the shocks were grouped according to their ability to produce type II radio burst in the interplanetary medium, we find that the radio-loud (RL) shocks produce a much larger SC/SI amplitude (average approx. 32 nT) compared to the radio-quiet (RQ) shocks (average approx. 19 nT). Clearly, RL shocks are more effective in producing SC/SIs than the RQ shocks. We also divided the IP shocks according to the type of IP counterpart of interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs): magnetic clouds (MCs) and nonmagnetic clouds. We find that the MC-associated shock speeds are better correlated with SC/SI amplitudes than those associated with non-MC ejecta. The SC/SI amplitudes are also higher for MCs than ejecta. Our results show that RL and RQ type of shocks are important parameters in producing the SC/SI amplitude
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