Magnetic helicity transported by flux emergence and shuffling motions in Solar Active Region NOAA 10930

We present a new methodology which can determine magnetic helicity transport by the passage of helical magnetic field lines from sub-photosphere and the shuffling motions of foot-points of preexisting coronal field lines separately. It is well known that only the velocity component which is perpendicular to the magnetic field ($\upsilon_{\perp B}$) has contribution to the helicity accumulation. Here, we demonstrate that $\upsilon_{\perp B}$ can be deduced from horizontal motion and vector magnetograms, under a simple relation of $\upsilon_t = \mu_t + \frac{\upsilon_n}{B_n} B_t$ as suggested by D$\acute{e}$moulin & Berger (2003). Then after dividing $\upsilon_{\perp B}$ into two components, as one is tangential and the other is normal to the solar surface, we can determine both terms of helicity transport. Active region (AR) NOAA 10930 is analyzed as an example during its solar disk center passage by using data obtained by the Spectro-Polarimeter and the Narrowband Filter Imager of Solar Optical Telescope on board Hinode. We find that in our calculation, the helicity injection by flux emergence and shuffling motions have the same sign. During the period we studied, the main contribution of helicity accumulation comes from the flux emergence effect, while the dynamic transient evolution comes from the shuffling motions effect. Our observational results further indicate that for this AR, the apparent rotational motion in the following sunspot is the real shuffling motions on solar surface

Solar Physics with the Square Kilometre Array

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the largest radio telescope ever built, aiming to provide collecting area larger than 1 km$^2$. The SKA will have two independent instruments, SKA-LOW comprising of dipoles organized as aperture arrays in Australia and SKA-MID comprising of dishes in South Africa. Currently the phase-1 of SKA, referred to as SKA1, is in its late design stage and construction is expected to start in 2020. Both SKA1-LOW (frequency range of 50-350 MHz) and SKA1-MID Bands 1, 2, and 5 (frequency ranges of 350-1050, 950-1760, and 4600-15300 MHz, respectively) are important for solar observations. In this paper we present SKA's unique capabilities in terms of spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution, as well as sensitivity and show that they have the potential to provide major new insights in solar physics topics of capital importance including (i) the structure and evolution of the solar corona, (ii) coronal heating, (iii) solar flare dynamics including particle acceleration and transport, (iv) the dynamics and structure of coronal mass ejections, and (v) the solar aspects of space weather. Observations of the Sun jointly with the new generation of ground-based and space-borne instruments promise unprecedented discoveries.Comment: Accepted for publication in Advances in Space Researc

Combined radio and space-based solar observations: from techniques to new results – preface

The phenomena observed at the Sun have a variety of unique radio signatures that can be used to diagnose the processes in the solar atmosphere. The insights provided by radio observations are further enhanced when they are combined with observations from space-based telescopes. This Topical collection demonstrates the power of combination methodology at work and provides new results on i) type I solar radio bursts and thermal emission to study active regions; ii) type II and IV bursts to better understand the structure of coronal mass ejections; and iii) non-thermal gyro-synchrotron and/or type III bursts to improve the characterisation of particle acceleration in solar flares. The ongoing improvements in time, frequency, and spatial resolutions of ground-based telescopes reveal new levels in the complexity of solar phenomena and pose new questions

Radio signatures of solar energetic particles during the 23rd solar cycle

We present the association rates between solar energetic particles (SEPs) and the radio emission signatures in the corona and IP space during the entire solar cycle 23. We selected SEPs associated with X and M-class flares from the visible solar hemisphere. All SEP events are also accompanied by coronal mass ejections. Here, we focus on the correlation between the SEP events and the appearance of radio type II, III and IV bursts on dynamic spectra. For this we used the available radio data from ground-based stations and the Wind/WAVES spacecraft. The associations are presented separately for SEP events accompanying activity in the eastern and western solar hemisphere. We find the highest association rate of SEP events to be with type III bursts, followed by types II and IV. Whereas for types III and IV no longitudinal dependence is noticed, these is a tendency for a higher SEP-association rate with type II bursts in the eastern hemisphere. A comparison with reports from previous studies is briefly discussed.Comment: http://adsabs.harvard.edu.ezproxy.obspm.fr/abs/2013CEAB...37..541