483 research outputs found
A method for the estimation of p-mode parameters from averaged solar oscillation power spectra
A new fitting methodology is presented which is equally well suited for the
estimation of low-, medium-, and high-degree mode parameters from -averaged
solar oscillation power spectra of widely differing spectral resolution. This
method, which we call the "Windowed, MuLTiple-Peak, averaged spectrum", or
WMLTP Method, constructs a theoretical profile by convolving the weighted sum
of the profiles of the modes appearing in the fitting box with the power
spectrum of the window function of the observing run using weights from a
leakage matrix that takes into account both observational and physical effects,
such as the distortion of modes by solar latitudinal differential rotation. We
demonstrate that the WMLTP Method makes substantial improvements in the
inferences of the properties of the solar oscillations in comparison with a
previous method that employed a single profile to represent each spectral peak.
We also present an inversion for the internal solar structure which is based
upon 6,366 modes that we have computed using the WMLTP method on the 66-day
long 2010 SOHO/MDI Dynamics Run. To improve both the numerical stability and
reliability of the inversion we developed a new procedure for the
identification and correction of outliers in a frequency data set. We present
evidence for a pronounced departure of the sound speed in the outer half of the
solar convection zone and in the subsurface shear layer from the radial sound
speed profile contained in Model~S of Christensen-Dalsgaard and his
collaborators that existed in the rising phase of Solar Cycle~24 during
mid-2010
Comparison of H alpha synoptic charts with the large-scale solar magnetic field as observed at Stanford
Two methods of observing the neutral line of the large-scale photospheric magnetic field are compared: (1) neutral line positions inferred from H alpha photographs and (2) observations of the photospheric magnetic field made with low spatial resolution (3 arc min.) and high sensitivity using the Stanford magnetograph. The comparison is found to be very favorable
The mean magnetic field of the sun: Observations at Stanford
A solar telescope was built at Stanford University to study the organization and evolution of large-scale solar magnetic fields and velocities. The observations are made using a Babcock-type magnetograph which is connected to a 22.9 m vertical Littrow spectrograph. Sun-as-a-star integrated light measurements of the mean solar magnetic field were made daily since May 1975. The typical mean field magnitude is about 0.15 gauss with typical measurement error less than 0.05 gauss. The mean field polarity pattern is essentially identical to the interplanetary magnetic field sector structure (seen near the earth with a 4 day lag). The differences in the observed structures can be understood in terms of a warped current sheet model
Implementation and Comparison of Acoustic Travel-Time Measurement Procedures for the Solar Dynamics Observatory-Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager Time-Distance Helioseismology Pipeline
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite is designed to produce high-resolution Doppler-velocity maps of oscillations at the solar surface with high temporal cadence. To take advantage of these high-quality oscillation data, a time - distance helioseismology pipeline (Zhao et al., Solar Phys. submitted, 2010) has been implemented at the Joint Science Operations Center (JSOC) at Stanford University. The aim of this pipeline is to generate maps of acoustic travel times from oscillations on the solar surface, and to infer subsurface 3D flow velocities and sound-speed perturbations. The wave travel times are measured from cross-covariances of the observed solar oscillation signals. For implementation into the pipeline we have investigated three different travel-time definitions developed in time - distance helioseismology: a Gabor-wavelet fitting (Kosovichev and Duvall, SCORE'96: Solar Convection and Oscillations and Their Relationship, ASSL, Dordrecht, 241, 1997), a minimization relative to a reference cross-covariance function (Gizon and Birch, Astrophys. J. 571, 966, 2002), and a linearized version of the minimization method (Gizon and Birch, Astrophys. J. 614, 472, 2004). Using Doppler-velocity data from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) instrument onboard SOHO, we tested and compared these definitions for the mean and difference traveltime perturbations measured from reciprocal signals. Although all three procedures return similar travel times in a quiet-Sun region, the method of Gizon and Birch (Astrophys. J. 614, 472, 2004) gives travel times that are significantly different from the others in a magnetic (active) region. Thus, for the pipeline implementation we chose the procedures of Kosovichev and Duvall (SCORE'96: Solar Convection and Oscillations and Their Relationship, ASSL, Dordrecht, 241, 1997) and Gizon and Birch (Astrophys. J. 571, 966, 2002). We investigated the relationships among these three travel-time definitions, their sensitivities to fitting parameters, and estimated the random errors that they produce
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
Properties of Flares-Generated Seismic Waves on the Sun
The solar seismic waves excited by solar flares (``sunquakes'') are observed
as circular expanding waves on the Sun's surface. The first sunquake was
observed for a flare of July 9, 1996, from the Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory (SOHO) space mission. However, when the new solar cycle started in
1997, the observations of solar flares from SOHO did not show the seismic
waves, similar to the 1996 event, even for large X-class flares during the
solar maximum in 2000-2002. The first evidence of the seismic flare signal in
this solar cycle was obtained for the 2003 ``Halloween'' events, through
acoustic ``egression power'' by Donea and Lindsey. After these several other
strong sunquakes have been observed. Here, I present a detailed analysis of the
basic properties of the helioseismic waves generated by three solar flares in
2003-2005. For two of these flares, X17 flare of October 28, 2003, and X1.2
flare of January 15, 2005, the helioseismology observations are compared with
simultaneous observations of flare X-ray fluxes measured from the RHESSI
satellite. These observations show a close association between the flare
seismic waves and the hard X-ray source, indicating that high-energy electrons
accelerated during the flare impulsive phase produced strong compression waves
in the photosphere, causing the sunquake. The results also reveal new physical
properties such as strong anisotropy of the seismic waves, the amplitude of
which varies significantly with the direction of propagation. The waves travel
through surrounding sunspot regions to large distances, up to 120 Mm, without
significant decay. These observations open new perspectives for helioseismic
diagnostics of flaring active regions on the Sun and for understanding the
mechanisms of the energy release and transport in solar flares.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Ap
Constructing and Characterising Solar Structure Models for Computational Helioseismology
In this paper, we construct background solar models that are stable against
convection, by modifying the vertical pressure gradient of Model S
(Christensen-Dalsgaard et al., 1996, Science, 272, 1286) relinquishing
hydrostatic equilibrium. However, the stabilisation affects the eigenmodes that
we wish to remain as close to Model S as possible. In a bid to recover the
Model S eigenmodes, we choose to make additional corrections to the sound speed
of Model S before stabilisation. No stabilised model can be perfectly
solar-like, so we present three stabilised models with slightly different
eigenmodes. The models are appropriate to study the f and p1 to p4 modes with
spherical harmonic degrees in the range from 400 to 900. Background model CSM
has a modified pressure gradient for stabilisation and has eigenfrequencies
within 2% of Model S. Model CSM_A has an additional 10% increase in sound speed
in the top 1 Mm resulting in eigenfrequencies within 2% of Model S and
eigenfunctions that are, in comparison with CSM, closest to those of Model S.
Model CSM_B has a 3% decrease in sound speed in the top 5 Mm resulting in
eigenfrequencies within 1% of Model S and eigenfunctions that are only
marginally adversely affected. These models are useful to study the interaction
of solar waves with embedded three-dimensional heterogeneities, such as
convective flows and model sunspots. We have also calculated the response of
the stabilised models to excitation by random near-surface sources, using
simulations of the propagation of linear waves. We find that the simulated
power spectra of wave motion are in good agreement with an observed SOHO/MDI
power spectrum. Overall, our convectively stabilised background models provide
a good basis for quantitative numerical local helioseismology. The models are
available for download from http://www.mps.mpg.de/projects/seismo/NA4/.Comment: 35 pages, 23 figures Changed title Updated Figure 1
Comparisons of Supergranule Characteristics During the Solar Minima of Cycles 22/23 and 23/24
Supergranulation is a component of solar convection that manifests itself on
the photosphere as a cellular network of around 35 Mm across, with a turnover
lifetime of 1-2 days. It is strongly linked to the structure of the magnetic
field. The horizontal, divergent flows within supergranule cells carry local
field lines to the cell boundaries, while the rotational properties of
supergranule upflows may contribute to the restoration of the poloidal field as
part of the dynamo mechanism that controls the solar cycle. The solar minimum
at the transition from cycle 23 to 24 was notable for its low level of activity
and its extended length. It is of interest to study whether the convective
phenomena that influences the solar magnetic field during this time differed in
character to periods of previous minima. This study investigates three
characteristics (velocity components, sizes and lifetimes) of solar
supergranulation. Comparisons of these characteristics are made between the
minima of cycles 22/23 and 23/24 using MDI Doppler data from 1996 and 2008,
respectively. It is found that whereas the lifetimes are equal during both
epochs (around 18 h), the sizes are larger in 1996 (35.9 +/- 0.3 Mm) than in
2008 (35.0 +/- 0.3 Mm), while the dominant horizontal velocity flows are weaker
(139 +/- 1 m/s in 1996; 141 +/- 1 m/s in 2008). Although numerical differences
are seen, they are not conclusive proof of the most recent minimum being
inherently unusual.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures. Solar Physics, in pres
Solar Polar Fields During Cycles 21 --- 23: Correlation with Meridional Flows
We have examined polar magnetic fields for the last three solar cycles,
{}, cycles 21, 22 and 23 using NSO Kitt Peak synoptic magnetograms.
In addition, we have used SoHO/MDI magnetograms to derive the polar fields
during cycle 23. Both Kitt Peak and MDI data at high latitudes
(78--90) in both solar hemispheres show a significant
drop in the absolute value of polar fields from the late declining phase of the
solar cycle 22 to the maximum of the solar cycle 23. We find that long term
changes in the absolute value of the polar field, in cycle 23, is well
correlated with changes in meridional flow speeds that have been reported
recently. We discuss the implication of this in influencing the extremely
prolonged minimum experienced at the start of the current cycle 24 and in
forecasting the behaviour of future solar cycles.Comment: 4 Figures 11 pages; Revised version under review in Solar Physic
Determining Absorption, Emissivity Reduction, and Local Suppression Coefficients inside Sunspots
The power of solar acoustic waves is reduced inside sunspots mainly due to
absorption, emissivity reduction, and local suppression. The coefficients of
these power-reduction mechanisms can be determined by comparing time-distance
cross-covariances obtained from sunspots and from the quiet Sun. By analyzing
47 active regions observed by SOHO/MDI without using signal filters, we have
determined the coefficients of surface absorption, deep absorption, emissivity
reduction, and local suppression. The dissipation in the quiet Sun is derived
as well. All of the cross-covariances are width corrected to offset the effect
of dispersion. We find that absorption is the dominant mechanism of the power
deficit in sunspots for short travel distances, but gradually drops to zero at
travel distances longer than about 6 degrees. The absorption in sunspot
interiors is also significant. The emissivity-reduction coefficient ranges from
about 0.44 to 1.00 within the umbra and 0.29 to 0.72 in the sunspot, and
accounts for only about 21.5% of the umbra's and 16.5% of the sunspot's total
power reduction. Local suppression is nearly constant as a function of travel
distance with values of 0.80 and 0.665 for umbrae and whole sunspots
respectively, and is the major cause of the power deficit at large travel
distances.Comment: 14 pages, 21 Figure
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