1,214 research outputs found
Transport of magnetic flux from the canopy to the internetwork
Recent observations have revealed that 8% of linear polarization patches in
the internetwork quiet Sun are fully embedded in downflows. These are not
easily explained with the typical scenarios for the source of internetwork
fields which rely on flux emergence from below. We explore using radiative MHD
simulations a scenario where magnetic flux is transported from the magnetic
canopy overlying the internetwork into the photosphere by means of downward
plumes associated with convective overshoot. We find that if a canopy-like
magnetic field is present in the simulation, the transport of flux from the
canopy is an important process for seeding the photospheric layers of the
internetwork with magnetic field. We propose that this mechanism is relevant
for the Sun as well, and it could naturally explain the observed internetwork
linear polarization patches entirely embedded in downflows.Comment: Accepted to Ap
Emergence of Small-Scale Magnetic Loops in the Quiet Sun Internetwork
We study the emergence of magnetic flux at very small spatial scales (less
than 2 arcsec) in the quiet Sun internetwork. To this aim, a time series of
spectropolarimetric maps was taken at disk center using the instrument SP/SOT
on board Hinode. The LTE inversion of the full Stokes vector measured in the Fe
I 6301 and 6302 A lines allows us to retrieve the magnetic flux and topology in
the region of study. In the example presented here, the magnetic flux emerges
within a granular structure. The horizontal magnetic field appears prior to any
significant amount of vertical field. As time goes on, the traces of the
horizontal field disappear while the the vertical dipoles drift -carried by the
plasma motions- towards the surrounding intergranular lanes. These events take
place within typical granulation timescales.Comment: 9 pages (referee format), 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Letter
All-Dielectric Rod-Type Metamaterials at Optical Frequencies
Light propagation in all-dielectric rod-type metamaterials is studied
theoretically. The electric and magnetic dipole moments of the rods are derived
analytically in the long-wavelength limit. The effective permittivity and
permeability of a square lattice of rods are calculated by homogenizing the
corresponding array of dipoles. The role of dipole resonances in the optical
properties of the rod array is interpreted. This structure is found to exhibit
a true left-handed behavior, confirming previous experiments [L. Peng
\textit{et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{98}, 157403 (2007)]. A scaling
analysis shows that this effect holds at optical frequencies and can be
obtained by using rods made, for example, of silicon.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. The title has been shortened; Figs. 1, 2 and 3
have been modified; Eq. 4 has been corrected (sign error); A few sentences
have been added/rewritte
Features of spatial distribution of oscillations in faculae regions
We found that oscillations of LOS velocity in H-alpha are different for
various parts of faculae regions. Power spectra show that the contribution of
low-frequency modes (1.2 - 2 mHz) increase at the network boundaries. Three and
five- minute periods dominate inside cells. The spectra of photosphere and
chromosphere LOS velocity oscillations differ for most faculae. On the other
hand, we detected several cases where propagating oscillations in faculae were
manifest with a five-minute period. Their initiation point on spatial-temporal
diagrams coincided with the local maximum of the longitudinal magnetic field.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Magnetic field diagnostics and spatio-temporal variability of the solar transition region
Magnetic field diagnostics of the transition region from the chromosphere to
the corona faces us with the problem that one has to apply extreme UV
spectro-polarimetry. While for coronal diagnostic techniques already exist
through infrared coronagraphy above the limb and radio observations on the
disk, for the transition region one has to investigate extreme UV observations.
However, so far the success of such observations has been limited, but there
are various projects to get spectro-polarimetric data in the extreme UV in the
near future. Therefore it is timely to study the polarimetric signals we can
expect for such observations through realistic forward modeling.
We employ a 3D MHD forward model of the solar corona and synthesize the
Stokes I and Stokes V profiles of C IV 1548 A. A signal well above 0.001 in
Stokes V can be expected, even when integrating for several minutes in order to
reach the required signal-to-noise ratio, despite the fact that the intensity
in the model is rapidly changing (just as in observations). Often this
variability of the intensity is used as an argument against transition region
magnetic diagnostics which requires exposure times of minutes. However, the
magnetic field is evolving much slower than the intensity, and thus when
integrating in time the degree of (circular) polarization remains rather
constant. Our study shows the feasibility to measure the transition region
magnetic field, if a polarimetric accuracy on the order of 0.001 can be
reached, which we can expect from planned instrumentation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics (4.Mar.2013), 19 pages, 9
figure
EUV jets, type III radio bursts and sunspot waves investigated using SDO/AIA observations
Images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) at 211A are used to identify
the solar source of the type III radio bursts seen in WIND/WAVES dynamic
spectra. We analyse a 2.5 hour period during which six strong bursts are seen.
The radio bursts correlate very well with the EUV jets coming from the western
side of a sunspot in AR11092. The EUV jet emission also correlates well with
brightening at what looks like their footpoint at the edge of the umbra. For
10-15 min after strong EUV jets are ejected, the footpoint brightens at roughly
3 min intervals. In both the EUV images and the extracted light curves, it
looks as though the brightening is related to the 3-min sunspot oscillations,
although the correlation coefficient is rather low. The only open field near
the jets is rooted in the sunspot. We conclude that active region EUV/X-ray
jets and interplanetary electron streams originate on the edge of the sunspot
umbra. They form along a current sheet between the sunspot open field and
closed field connecting to underlying satellite flux. Sunspot running penumbral
waves cause roughly 3-min jet footpoint brightening. The relationship between
the waves and jets is less clear.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures, Accepted by A&A Letters. For associated gif
movie, see http://www.mps.mpg.de/data/outgoing/innes/jets/losb_304_211_rd.gi
Direct Imaging of Fine Structure in the Chromosphere of a Sunspot Umbra
High-resolution imaging observations from the Hinode spacecraft in the CaII H
line are employed to study the dynamics of the chromosphere above a sunspot. We
find that umbral flashes and other brightenings produced by the oscillation are
extremely rich in fine structure, even beyond the resolving limit of our
observations (0.22"). The umbra is tremendously dynamic, to the point that our
time cadence of 20 s does not suffice to resolve the fast lateral (probably
apparent) motion of the emission source. Some bright elements in our dataset
move with horizontal propagation speeds of 30 km/s. We have detected
filamentary structures inside the umbra (some of which have a horizontal
extension of ~1500 km) which, to our best knowledge, had not been reported
before. The power spectra of the intensity fluctuations reveals a few distinct
areas with different properties within the umbra that seem to correspond with
the umbral cores that form it. Inside each one of these areas the dominant
frequencies of the oscillation are coherent, but they vary considerably from
one core to another.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Recent Advances in Chromospheric and Coronal Polarization Diagnostics
I review some recent advances in methods to diagnose polarized radiation with
which we may hope to explore the magnetism of the solar chromosphere and
corona. These methods are based on the remarkable signatures that the
radiatively induced quantum coherences produce in the emergent spectral line
polarization and on the joint action of the Hanle and Zeeman effects. Some
applications to spicules, prominences, active region filaments, emerging flux
regions and the quiet chromosphere are discussed.Comment: Review paper to appear in "Magnetic Coupling between the Interior and
the Atmosphere of the Sun", eds. S. S. Hasan and R. J. Rutten, Astrophysics
and Space Science Proceedings, Springer-Verlag, 200
Optimising EEG-fMRI for Localisation of Focal Epilepsy in Children
BACKGROUND: Early surgical intervention in children with drug resistant epilepsy has benefits but requires using tolerable and minimally invasive tests. EEG-fMRI studies have demonstrated good sensitivity for the localization of epileptic focus but a poor yield although the reasons for this have not been systematically addressed. While adults EEG-fMRI studies are performed in the "resting state"; children are commonly sedated however, this has associated risks and potential confounds. In this study, we assessed the impact of the following factors on the tolerability and results of EEG-fMRI in children: viewing a movie inside the scanner; movement; occurrence of interictal epileptiform discharges (IED); scan duration and design efficiency. This work's motivation is to optimize EEG-fMRI parameters to make this test widely available to paediatric population. METHODS: Forty-six children with focal epilepsy and 20 controls (6-18) underwent EEG-fMRI. For two 10 minutes sessions subjects were told to lie still with eyes closed, as it is classically performed in adult studies ("rest sessions"), for another two sessions, subjects watched a child friendly stimulation i.e. movie ("movie sessions"). IED were mapped with EEG-fMRI for each session and across sessions. The resulting maps were classified as concordant/discordant with the presumed epileptogenic focus for each subject. FINDINGS: Movement increased with scan duration, but the movie reduced movement by ~40% when played within the first 20 minutes. There was no effect of movie on the occurrence of IED, nor in the concordance of the test. Ability of EEG-fMRI to map the epileptogenic region was similar for the 20 and 40 minute scan durations. Design efficiency was predictive of concordance. CONCLUSIONS: A child friendly natural stimulus improves the tolerability of EEG-fMRI and reduces in-scanner movement without having an effect on IED occurrence and quality of EEG-fMRI maps. This allowed us to scan children as young as 6 and obtain localising information without sedation. Our data suggest that ~20 minutes is the optimal length of scanning for EEG-fMRI studies in children with frequent IED. The efficiency of the fMRI design derived from spontaneous IED generation is an important factor for producing concordant results
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