164 research outputs found
Helioseismic Travel-Time Definitions and Sensitivity to Horizontal Flows Obtained From Simulations of Solar Convection
We study the sensitivity of wave travel times to steady and spatially
homogeneous horizontal flows added to a realistic simulation of the solar
convection performed by Robert F. Stein, Ake Nordlund, Dali Georgobiani, and
David Benson. Three commonly used definitions of travel times are compared. We
show that the relationship between travel-time difference and flow amplitude
exhibits a non-linearity depending on the travel distance, the travel-time
definition considered, and the details of the time-distance analysis (in
particular, the impact of the phase-speed filter width). For times measured
using a Gabor wavelet fit, the travel-time differences become nonlinear in the
flow strength for flows of about 300 m/s, and this non-linearity reaches almost
60% at 1200 m/s (relative difference between actual travel time and expected
time for a linear behaviour). We show that for travel distances greater than
about 17 Mm, the ray approximation predicts the sensitivity of travel-time
shifts to uniform flows. For smaller distances, the ray approximation can be
inaccurate by more than a factor of three.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figure
Time--Distance Helioseismology Data Analysis Pipeline for Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO/HMI) and Its Initial Results
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory
(SDO/HMI) provides continuous full-disk observations of solar oscillations. We
develop a data-analysis pipeline based on the time-distance helioseismology
method to measure acoustic travel times using HMI Doppler-shift observations,
and infer solar interior properties by inverting these measurements. The
pipeline is used for routine production of near-real-time full-disk maps of
subsurface wave-speed perturbations and horizontal flow velocities for depths
ranging from 0 to 20 Mm, every eight hours. In addition, Carrington synoptic
maps for the subsurface properties are made from these full-disk maps. The
pipeline can also be used for selected target areas and time periods. We
explain details of the pipeline organization and procedures, including
processing of the HMI Doppler observations, measurements of the travel times,
inversions, and constructions of the full-disk and synoptic maps. Some initial
results from the pipeline, including full-disk flow maps, sunspot subsurface
flow fields, and the interior rotation and meridional flow speeds, are
presented.Comment: Accepted by Solar Physics topical issue 'Solar Dynamics Observatory
The Rotation Of The Deep Solar Layers
From the analysis of low-order GOLF+MDI sectoral modes and LOWL data (l > 3),
we derive the solar radial rotation profile assuming no latitudinal dependance
in the solar core. These low-order acoustic modes contain the most
statistically significant information about rotation of the deepest solar
layers and should be least influenced by internal variability associated with
the solar dynamo. After correction of the sectoral splittings for their
contamination by the rotation of the higher latitudes, we obtain a flat
rotation profile down to 0.2 solar radius.Comment: accepted in ApJ Letters 5 pages, 2 figure
Time-distance analysis of the emerging active region NOAA 10790
We investigate the emergence of Active Region NOAA 10790 by means of time – distance helioseismology. Shallow regions of increased sound speed at the location of increased magnetic activity are observed, with regions becoming deeper at the locations of sunspot pores. We also see a long-lasting region of decreased sound speed located underneath the region of the flux emergence, possibly relating to a temperature perturbation due to magnetic quenching of eddy diffusivity, or to a dense flux tube. We detect and track an object in the subsurface layers of the Sun characterised by increased sound speed which could be related to emerging magnetic-flux and thus obtain a provisional estimate of the speed of emergence of around 1 km s−1
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) Vector Magnetic Field Pipeline: Overview and Performance
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) began near-continuous full-disk
solar measurements on 1 May 2010 from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). An
automated processing pipeline keeps pace with observations to produce
observable quantities, including the photospheric vector magnetic field, from
sequences of filtergrams. The primary 720s observables were released in mid
2010, including Stokes polarization parameters measured at six wavelengths as
well as intensity, Doppler velocity, and the line-of-sight magnetic field. More
advanced products, including the full vector magnetic field, are now available.
Automatically identified HMI Active Region Patches (HARPs) track the location
and shape of magnetic regions throughout their lifetime.
The vector field is computed using the Very Fast Inversion of the Stokes
Vector (VFISV) code optimized for the HMI pipeline; the remaining 180 degree
azimuth ambiguity is resolved with the Minimum Energy (ME0) code. The
Milne-Eddington inversion is performed on all full-disk HMI observations. The
disambiguation, until recently run only on HARP regions, is now implemented for
the full disk. Vector and scalar quantities in the patches are used to derive
active region indices potentially useful for forecasting; the data maps and
indices are collected in the SHARP data series, hmi.sharp_720s. Patches are
provided in both CCD and heliographic coordinates.
HMI provides continuous coverage of the vector field, but has modest spatial,
spectral, and temporal resolution. Coupled with limitations of the analysis and
interpretation techniques, effects of the orbital velocity, and instrument
performance, the resulting measurements have a certain dynamic range and
sensitivity and are subject to systematic errors and uncertainties that are
characterized in this report.Comment: 42 pages, 19 figures, accepted to Solar Physic
Deep-Focus Diagnostics of Sunspot Structure
In sequel to Moradi et al. [2009, ApJ, 690, L72], we employ two established
numerical forward models (a 3D ideal MHD solver and MHD ray theory) in
conjunction with time-distance helioseismology to probe the lateral extent of
wave-speed perturbations produced in regions of strong, near-surface magnetic
fields. We continue our comparisons of forward modeling approaches by extending
our previous surface-focused travel-time measurements with a common midpoint
deep-focusing scheme that avoids the use of oscillation signals within the
sunspot region. The idea is to also test MHD ray theory for possible
application in future inverse methods.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, published in the conference proceedings "Magnetic
Coupling between the Interior and Atmosphere of the Sun", edited by S.S.
Hasan and R.J. Rutten; Astrophysics and Space Science Proceeding
Effects of Uniform and Differential Rotation on Stellar Pulsations
We have investigated the effects of uniform rotation and a specific model for
differential rotation on the pulsation frequencies of 10 \Msun\ stellar models.
Uniform rotation decreases the frequencies for all modes. Differential rotation
does not appear to have a significant effect on the frequencies, except for the
most extreme differentially rotating models. In all cases, the large and small
separations show the effects of rotation at lower velocities than do the
individual frequencies. Unfortunately, to a certain extent, differential
rotation mimics the effects o f more rapid rotation, and only the presence of
some specific observed frequencies with well identified modes will be able to
uniquely constrain the internal rotation of pulsating stars.Comment: 33 pages, 16 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
Local helioseismology of sunspot regions: comparison of ring-diagram and time-distance results
Local helioseismology provides unique information about the subsurface
structure and dynamics of sunspots and active regions. However, because of
complexity of sunspot regions local helioseismology diagnostics require careful
analysis of systematic uncertainties and physical interpretation of the
inversion results. We present new results of comparison of the ring-diagram
analysis and time-distance helioseismology for active region NOAA 9787, for
which a previous comparison showed significant differences in the subsurface
sound-speed structure, and discuss systematic uncertainties of the measurements
and inversions. Our results show that both the ring-diagram and time-distance
techniques give qualitatively similar results, revealing a characteristic
two-layer seismic sound-speed structure consistent with the results for other
active regions. However, a quantitative comparison of the inversion results is
not straightforward. It must take into account differences in the sensitivity,
spatial resolution and the averaging kernels. In particular, because of the
acoustic power suppression, the contribution of the sunspot seismic structure
to the ring-diagram signal can be substantially reduced. We show that taking
into account this effect reduces the difference in the depth of transition
between the negative and positive sound-speed variations inferred by these
methods. Further detailed analysis of the sensitivity, resolution and averaging
properties of the local helioseismology methods is necessary for consolidation
of the inversion results. It seems to be important that both methods indicate
that the seismic structure of sunspots is rather deep and extends to at least
20 Mm below the surface, putting constraints on theoretical models of sunspots.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Journal of Physics: Conference
Series (JPCS) GONG 2010 - SoHO 24 "A new era of seismology of the Sun and
solar-like stars", June 27 - July 2, 2010 Aix-en-Provence, Franc
Renal papillary carcinoma: CT and MRI features
AbstractPurposeTo describe the CT and MRI appearances of papillary renal cell carcinoma.Materials and methodsRetrospective study of 102 papillary carcinomas in 79 patients, 81 tumors examined by CT and 56 by MRI. Tumor size, homogeneity and contrast enhancement were recorded.ResultsThe most common presentation of papillary renal cell carcinoma was a small homogeneous hypovascular tumor both on CT and MRI. Eighty-nine percent of lesions were hypointense on T2 weighted images compared to the renal parenchyma. Seventeen percent of the lesions did not significantly enhance with contrast on CT. All of the lesions examined on MRI had a significant enhancement percentage. Calcifications were rare and only seen in 7% of cases (CT). The second most common presentation was a bulky necrotic tumor. In addition, atypical types of disease were found which were difficult to diagnose, including infiltrating tumors and tumors with a fatty component.ConclusionA homogeneous hypovascular renal tumor which is hypointense on T2 weighted images should suggest a diagnosis of papillary carcinoma. Some papillary carcinomas do not enhance significantly on CT. MRI is then required to diagnose the renal tumor
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