348 research outputs found
Modeling the Longitudinal Asymmetry in Sunspot Emergence -- the Role of the Wilson Depression
The distributions of sunspot longitude at first appearance and at
disappearance display an east-west asymmetry that results from a reduction in
visibility as one moves from disk centre to the limb. To first order, this is
explicable in terms of simple geometrical foreshortening. However, the
centre-to-limb visibility variation is much larger than that predicted by
foreshortening. Sunspot visibility is also known to be affected by the Wilson
effect: the apparent dish shape of the sunspot photosphere caused by the
temperature-dependent variation of the geometrical position of the tau=1 layer.
In this article we investigate the role of the Wilson effect on the sunspot
appearance distributions, deducing a mean depth for the umbral tau=1 layer of
500 to 1500 km. This is based on the comparison of observations of sunspot
longitude distribution and Monte Carlo simulations of sunspot appearance using
different models for spot growth rate, growth time and depth of Wilson
depression.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, in press (Solar Physics
Analytical approximation of the stress-energy tensor of a quantized scalar field in static spherically symmetric spacetimes
Analytical approximations for and of a
quantized scalar field in static spherically symmetric spacetimes are obtained.
The field is assumed to be both massive and massless, with an arbitrary
coupling to the scalar curvature, and in a zero temperature vacuum state.
The expressions for and are divided into
low- and high-frequency parts. The contributions of the high-frequency modes to
these quantities are calculated for an arbitrary quantum state. As an example,
the low-frequency contributions to and are
calculated in asymptotically flat spacetimes in a quantum state corresponding
to the Minkowski vacuum (Boulware quantum state). The limits of the
applicability of these approximations are discussed.Comment: revtex4, 17 pages; v2: three references adde
Differences in echocardiographic findings and systemic hemodynamics among non-diabetic American Indians in different regions: the strong heart study
Evolution of active and polar photospheric magnetic fields during the rise of Cycle 24 compared to previous cycles
The evolution of the photospheric magnetic field during the declining phase
and minimum of Cycle 23 and the recent rise of Cycle 24 are compared with the
behavior during previous cycles. We used longitudinal full-disk magnetograms
from the NSO's three magnetographs at Kitt Peak, the Synoptic Optical Long-term
Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) Vector Spectro-Magnetograph (VSM), the
Spectromagnetograph and the 512-Channel Magnetograph instruments, and
longitudinal full-disk magnetograms from the Mt. Wilson 150-foot tower. We
analyzed 37 years of observations from these two observatories that have been
observing daily, weather permitting, since 1974, offering an opportunity to
study the evolving relationship between the active region and polar fields in
some detail over several solar cycles. It is found that the annual averages of
a proxy for the active region poloidal magnetic field strength, the magnetic
field strength of the high-latitude poleward streams, and the time derivative
of the polar field strength are all well correlated in each hemisphere. These
results are based on statistically significant cyclical patterns in the active
region fields and are consistent with the Babcock-Leighton phenomenological
model for the solar activity cycle. There was more hemispheric asymmetry in the
activity level, as measured by total and maximum active region flux, during
late Cycle 23 (after around 2004), when the southern hemisphere was more
active, and Cycle 24 up to the present, when the northern hemisphere has been
more active, than at any other time since 1974. The active region net proxy
poloidal fields effectively disappeared in both hemispheres around 2004, and
the polar fields did not become significantly stronger after this time. We see
evidence that the process of Cycle 24 field reversal has begun at both poles.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
Method to compute the stress-energy tensor for the massless spin 1/2 field in a general static spherically symmetric spacetime
A method for computing the stress-energy tensor for the quantized, massless,
spin 1/2 field in a general static spherically symmetric spacetime is
presented. The field can be in a zero temperature state or a non-zero
temperature thermal state. An expression for the full renormalized
stress-energy tensor is derived. It consists of a sum of two tensors both of
which are conserved. One tensor is written in terms of the modes of the
quantized field and has zero trace. In most cases it must be computed
numerically. The other tensor does not explicitly depend on the modes and has a
trace equal to the trace anomaly. It can be used as an analytic approximation
for the stress-energy tensor and is equivalent to other approximations that
have been made for the stress-energy tensor of the massless spin 1/2 field in
static spherically symmetric spacetimes.Comment: 34 pages, no figure
On the structure and evolution of a polar crown prominence/filament system
Polar crown prominences are made of chromospheric plasma partially circling
the Suns poles between 60 and 70 degree latitude. We aim to diagnose the 3D
dynamics of a polar crown prominence using high cadence EUV images from the
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/AIA at 304 and 171A and the Ahead spacecraft
of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO-A)/EUVI at 195A. Using
time series across specific structures we compare flows across the disk in 195A
with the prominence dynamics seen on the limb. The densest prominence material
forms vertical columns which are separated by many tens of Mm and connected by
dynamic bridges of plasma that are clearly visible in 304/171A two-color
images. We also observe intermittent but repetitious flows with velocity 15
km/s in the prominence that appear to be associated with EUV bright points on
the solar disk. The boundary between the prominence and the overlying cavity
appears as a sharp edge. We discuss the structure of the coronal cavity seen
both above and around the prominence. SDO/HMI and GONG magnetograms are used to
infer the underlying magnetic topology. The evolution and structure of the
prominence with respect to the magnetic field seems to agree with the filament
linkage model.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures, Accepted for publication in Solar Physics
Journal, Movies can be found at http://www2.mps.mpg.de/data/outgoing/panesar
A Helicity-Based Method to Infer the CME Magnetic Field Magnitude in Sun and Geospace: Generalization and Extension to Sun-Like and M-Dwarf Stars and Implications for Exoplanet Habitability
Patsourakos et al. (Astrophys. J. 817, 14, 2016) and Patsourakos and
Georgoulis (Astron. Astrophys. 595, A121, 2016) introduced a method to infer
the axial magnetic field in flux-rope coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the
solar corona and farther away in the interplanetary medium. The method, based
on the conservation principle of magnetic helicity, uses the relative magnetic
helicity of the solar source region as input estimates, along with the radius
and length of the corresponding CME flux rope. The method was initially applied
to cylindrical force-free flux ropes, with encouraging results. We hereby
extend our framework along two distinct lines. First, we generalize our
formalism to several possible flux-rope configurations (linear and nonlinear
force-free, non-force-free, spheromak, and torus) to investigate the dependence
of the resulting CME axial magnetic field on input parameters and the employed
flux-rope configuration. Second, we generalize our framework to both Sun-like
and active M-dwarf stars hosting superflares. In a qualitative sense, we find
that Earth may not experience severe atmosphere-eroding magnetospheric
compression even for eruptive solar superflares with energies ~ 10^4 times
higher than those of the largest Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellite (GOES) X-class flares currently observed. In addition, the two
recently discovered exoplanets with the highest Earth-similarity index, Kepler
438b and Proxima b, seem to lie in the prohibitive zone of atmospheric erosion
due to interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs), except when they possess planetary magnetic
fields that are much higher than that of Earth.Comment: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017SoPh..292...89
Stereoscopic Analysis of the 19 May 2007 Erupting Filament
A filament eruption, accompanied by a B9.5 flare, coronal dimming and an EUV
wave, was observed by the Solar TERrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) on
19 May 2007, beginning at about 13:00 UT. Here, we use observations from the
SECCHI/EUVI telescopes and other solar observations to analyze the behavior and
geometry of the filament before and during the eruption. At this time, STEREO A
and B were separated by about 8.5 degrees, sufficient to determine the
three-dimensional structure of the filament using stereoscopy. The filament
could be followed in SECCHI/EUVI 304 A stereoscopic data from about 12 hours
before to about 2 hours after the eruption, allowing us to determine the 3D
trajectory of the erupting filament. From the 3D reconstructions of the
filament and the chromospheric ribbons in the early stage of the eruption,
simultaneous heating of both the rising filamentary material and the
chromosphere directly below is observed, consistent with an eruption resulting
from magnetic reconnection below the filament. Comparisons of the filament
during eruption in 304 A and Halpha show that when it becomes emissive in He
II, it tends to disappear in Halpha, indicating that the disappearance probably
results from heating or motion, not loss, of filamentary material.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
Multiwavelength studies of MHD waves in the solar chromosphere: An overview of recent results
The chromosphere is a thin layer of the solar atmosphere that bridges the
relatively cool photosphere and the intensely heated transition region and
corona. Compressible and incompressible waves propagating through the
chromosphere can supply significant amounts of energy to the interface region
and corona. In recent years an abundance of high-resolution observations from
state-of-the-art facilities have provided new and exciting ways of
disentangling the characteristics of oscillatory phenomena propagating through
the dynamic chromosphere. Coupled with rapid advancements in
magnetohydrodynamic wave theory, we are now in an ideal position to thoroughly
investigate the role waves play in supplying energy to sustain chromospheric
and coronal heating. Here, we review the recent progress made in
characterising, categorising and interpreting oscillations manifesting in the
solar chromosphere, with an impetus placed on their intrinsic energetics.Comment: 48 pages, 25 figures, accepted into Space Science Review
An imperial laboratory: the investigation and treatment of treponematoses in occupied Haiti, 1915-1934
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