787 research outputs found
Suppression of small scale dynamo action by an imposed magnetic field
Non-helical hydromagnetic turbulence with an externally imposed magnetic
field is investigated using direct numerical simulations. It is shown that the
imposed magnetic field lowers the spectral magnetic energy in the inertial
range. This is explained by a suppression of the small scale dynamo. At large
scales, however, the spectral magnetic energy increases with increasing imposed
field strength for moderately strong fields, and decreases only slightly for
even stronger fields. The presence of Alfven waves is explicitly confirmed by
monitoring the evolution of magnetic field and velocity at one point. The
frequency omega agrees with vA k1, where vA is the Alfven speed and k1 is the
smallest wavenumber in the box.Comment: Final version (7 pages
Properties of simulated sunspot umbral dots
Realistic 3D radiative MHD simulations reveal the magneto-convective
processes underlying the formation of the photospheric fine structure of
sunspots, including penumbral filaments and umbral dots. Here we provide
results from a statistical analysis of simulated umbral dots and compare them
with reports from high-resolution observations. A multi-level segmentation and
tracking algorithm has been used to isolate the bright structures in synthetic
bolometric and continuum brightness images. Areas, brightness, and lifetimes of
the resulting set of umbral dots are found to be correlated: larger umbral dots
tend to be brighter and live longer. The magnetic field strength and velocity
structure of umbral dots on surfaces of constant optical depth in the continuum
at 630 nm indicate that the strong field reduction and high velocities in the
upper parts of the upflow plumes underlying umbral dots are largely hidden from
spectro-polarimetric observations. The properties of the simulated umbral dots
are generally consistent with the results of recent high-resolution
observations. However, the observed population of small, short-lived umbral
dots is not reproduced by the simulations, possibly owing to insufficient
spatial resolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Precision spectroscopy of the 3s-3p fine structure doublet in Mg+
We apply a recently demonstrated method for precision spectroscopy on strong
transitions in trapped ions to measure both fine structure components of the
3s-3p transition in 24-Mg+ and 26-Mg+. We deduce absolute frequency reference
data for transition frequencies, isotope shifts and fine structure splittings
that are in particular useful for comparison with quasar absorption spectra,
which test possible space-time variations of the fine structure constant. The
measurement accuracy improves previous literature values, when existing, by
more than two orders of magnitude
Flux-loss of buoyant ropes interacting with convective flows
We present 3-d numerical magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of a buoyant,
twisted magnetic flux rope embedded in a stratified, solar-like model
convection zone. The flux rope is given an initial twist such that it neither
kinks nor fragments during its ascent. Moreover, its magnetic energy content
with respect to convection is chosen so that the flux rope retains its basic
geometry while being deflected from a purely vertical ascent by convective
flows. The simulations show that magnetic flux is advected away from the core
of the flux rope as it interacts with the convection. The results thus support
the idea that the amount of toroidal flux stored at or near the bottom of the
solar convection zone may currently be underestimated.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Properties of Umbral Dots as Measured from the New Solar Telescope Data and MHD Simulations
We studied bright umbral dots (UDs) detected in a moderate size sunspot and
compared their statistical properties to recent MHD models. The study is based
on high resolution data recorded by the New Solar Telescope at the Big Bear
Solar Observatory and 3D MHD simulations of sunspots. Observed UDs, living
longer than 150 s, were detected and tracked in a 46 min long data set, using
an automatic detection code. Total 1553 (620) UDs were detected in the
photospheric (low chromospheric) data. Our main findings are: i) none of the
analyzed UDs is precisely circular, ii) the diameter-intensity relationship
only holds in bright umbral areas, and iii) UD velocities are inversely related
to their lifetime. While nearly all photospheric UDs can be identified in the
low chromospheric images, some small closely spaced UDs appear in the low
chromosphere as a single cluster. Slow moving and long living UDs seem to exist
in both the low chromosphere and photosphere, while fast moving and short
living UDs are mainly detected in the photospheric images. Comparison to the 3D
MHD simulations showed that both types of UDs display, on average, very similar
statistical characteristics. However, i) the average number of observed UDs per
unit area is smaller than that of the model UDs, and ii) on average, the
diameter of model UDs is slightly larger than that of observed ones.Comment: Accepted by the AP
High-resolution models of solar granulation: the 2D case
Using grid refinement, we have simulated solar granulation in 2D. The refined
region measures 1.97*2.58 Mm (vertical*horizontal). Grid spacing there is
1.82*2.84 km. The downflows exhibit strong Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities.
Below the photosphere, acoustic pulses are generated. They proceed laterally
(in some cases distances of at least the size of our refined domain) and may be
enhanced when transversing downflows) as well as upwards where, in the
photosphere they contribute significantly to 'turbulence' (velocity gradients,
etc.) The acoustic pulses are ubiquitous in that at any time several of them
are seen in our high-resolution domain. Their possible contributions to p-mode
excitation or heating of the chromosphere needs to be investigated
CRISP Spectropolarimetric Imaging of Penumbral Fine Structure
We discuss penumbral fine structure in a small part of a pore, observed with
the CRISP imaging spectropolarimeter at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST),
close to its diffraction limit of 0.16 arcsec. Milne-Eddington inversions
applied to these Stokes data reveal large variations of field strength and
inclination angle over dark-cored penumbral intrusions and a dark-cored light
bridge. The mid-outer part of this penumbra structure shows 0.3 arcsec wide
spines, separated by 1.6 arcsec (1200 km) and associated with 30 deg
inclination variations. Between these spines, there are no small-scale magnetic
structures that easily can be be identified with individual flux tubes. A
structure with nearly 10 deg more vertical and weaker magnetic field is seen
midways between two spines. This structure is co-spatial with the brightest
penumbral filament, possibly indicating the location of a convective upflow
from below.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL 17 Oct 2008. One Figure adde
Imaging Spectropolarimetry with IBIS II: on the fine structure of G-band bright features
We present new results from first observations of the quiet solar photosphere
performed through the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer (IBIS) in
spectropolarimetric mode. IBIS allowed us to measure the four Stokes parameters
in the FeI 630.15 nm and FeI 630.25 nm lines with high spatial and spectral
resolutions for 53 minutes; the polarimetric sensitivity achieved by the
instrument is 0.003 the continuum intensity level. We focus on the correlation
which emerges between G-band bright feature brightness and magnetic filling
factor of ~ 1000 G (kG) fields derived by inverting Stokes I and V profiles.
More in detail, we present the correlation first in a pixel-by-pixel study of
an approximatively 3 arcsec wide bright feature (a small network patch) and
then we show that such a result can be extended to all the bright features
found in the dataset at any instant of the time sequence. The higher the kG
filling factor associated to a feature the higher the brightness of the feature
itself. Filling factors up to about 35 % are obtained for the brightest
features. Considering the values of the filling factors derived from the
inversion analysis of spectropolarimetric data and the brightness variation
observed in G-band data we put forward an upper limit for the smallest scale
over which magnetic flux concentrations in intergranular lanes produce a G-band
brightness enhancement (~ 0.1''). Moreover, the brightness saturation observed
for feature sizes comparable to the resolution of the observations is
compatible with large G-band bright features being clusters of sub-arcsecond
bright points. This conclusion deserves to be confirmed by forthcoming
spectropolarimetric observations at higher spatial resolution.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 1 table - Accepted for publication on Ap
Энергетика Австралии
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