761 research outputs found
Critical decay index at the onset of solar eruptions
Magnetic flux ropes are topological structures consisting of twisted magnetic
field lines that globally wrap around an axis. The torus instability model
predicts that a magnetic flux rope of major radius undergoes an eruption
when its axis reaches a location where the decay index of the ambient magnetic field is larger than a critical value. In
the current-wire model, the critical value depends on the thickness and
time-evolution of the current channel. We use magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD)
simulations to investigate if the critical value of the decay index at the
onset of the eruption is affected by the magnetic flux rope's internal current
profile and/or by the particular pre-eruptive photospheric dynamics. The
evolution of an asymmetric, bipolar active region is driven by applying
different classes of photospheric motions. We find that the critical value of
the decay index at the onset of the eruption is not significantly affected by
either the pre-eruptive photospheric evolution of the active region or by the
resulting different magnetic flux ropes. As in the case of the current-wire
model, we find that there is a `critical range' , rather than a
`critical value' for the onset of the torus instability. This range is in good
agreement with the predictions of the current-wire model, despite the inclusion
of line-tying effects and the occurrence of tether-cutting magnetic
reconnection.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures. To appear in The Astrophysical Journa
Expanding and Contracting Coronal Loops as Evidence of Vortex Flows Induced by Solar Eruptions
Eruptive solar flares were predicted to generate large-scale vortex flows at
both sides of the erupting magnetic flux rope. This process is analogous to a
well-known hydrodynamic process creating vortex rings. The vortices lead to
advection of closed coronal loops located at peripheries of the flaring active
region. Outward flows are expected in the upper part and returning flows in the
lower part of the vortex. Here, we examine two eruptive solar flares, an
X1.1-class flare SOL2012-03-05T03:20 and a C3.5-class SOL2013-06-19T07:29. In
both flares, we find that the coronal loops observed by the Atmospheric Imaging
Assembly in its 171\,\AA, 193\,\AA, or 211\,\AA~passbands show coexistence of
expanding and contracting motions, in accordance with the model prediction. In
the X-class flare, multiple expanding/contracting loops coexist for more than
35 minutes, while in the C-class flare, an expanding loop in 193\,\AA~appears
to be close-by and co-temporal with an apparently imploding loop arcade seen in
171\,\AA. Later, the 193\,\AA~loop also switches to contraction. These
observations are naturally explained by vortex flows present in a model of
eruptive solar flares.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, accepte
Satellite observations of reconnection between emerging and pre-existing small-scale magnetic fields
We report multi-wavelength ultraviolet observations taken with the IRIS
satellite, concerning the emergence phase in the upper chromosphere and
transition region of an emerging flux region (EFR) embedded in the unipolar
plage of active region NOAA 12529. The photospheric configuration of the EFR is
analyzed in detail benefitting from measurements taken with the
spectropolarimeter aboard the Hinode satellite, when the EFR was fully
developed. In addition, these data are complemented by full-disk, simultaneous
observations of the SDO satellite, relevant to the photosphere and the corona.
In the photosphere, magnetic flux emergence signatures are recognized in the
fuzzy granulation, with dark alignments between the emerging polarities,
cospatial with highly inclined fields. In the upper atmospheric layers, we
identify recurrent brightenings that resemble UV bursts, with counterparts in
all coronal passbands. These occur at the edges of the EFR and in the region of
the arch filament system (AFS) cospatial to the EFR. Jet activity is also found
at chromospheric and coronal levels, near the AFS and the observed brightness
enhancement sites. The analysis of the IRIS line profiles reveals the heating
of dense plasma in the low solar atmosphere and the driving of bi-directional
high-velocity flows with speeds up to 100 km/s at the same locations.
Furthermore, we detect a correlation between the Doppler velocity and line
width of the Si IV 1394 and 1402 \AA{} line profiles in the UV burst pixels and
their skewness. Comparing these findings with previous observations and
numerical models, we suggest evidence of several long-lasting, small-scale
magnetic reconnection episodes between the emerging bipole and the ambient
field. This process leads to the cancellation of a pre-existing photospheric
flux concentration of the plage with the opposite polarity flux patch of the
EFR. [...]Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to be published in "Nuovo Cimento C" as
proceeding of the Third Meeting of the Italian Solar and Heliospheric
Communit
CFRP STRUCTURAL CAPACITORS: EFFECT OF DAMAGE AND MECHANICAL LOAD ON CAPACITANCE
Aim of this work is to study the effect of mechanical load and damages, on the performance of
structural capacitors, made by CFRP composite laminates with a PET dielectric film (treated with
sodium hydroxide) inserted at the laminate middle-plane. Such capacitors have been characterized by
ILSS and tensile tests and the properties so estimated were compared to those of the simple CFRP.
By measuring the capacitance before mechanical loading, under loading and after unloading, it has
been observed that, due to the damage of the CFRP layers, proved also by proper fractographic
analysis, at high strain level the capacitance decreases although it exhibits a complete recovery after
unloading. Successive FEM analysis have been performed on structural capacitors to detect the
interlaminar stress field and to implement a suitable criterion that can be used at the design stage to a
reliable prediction of the failure load of such multifunctional CFRP composite materials
Plasma flows and magnetic field interplay during the formation of a pore
We studied the formation of a pore in AR NOAA 11462. We analysed data
obtained with the IBIS at the DST on April 17, 2012, consisting of full Stokes
measurements of the Fe I 617.3 nm lines. Furthermore, we analysed SDO/HMI
observations in the continuum and vector magnetograms derived from the Fe I
617.3 nm line data taken from April 15 to 19, 2012. We estimated the magnetic
field strength and vector components and the LOS and horizontal motions in the
photospheric region hosting the pore formation. We discuss our results in light
of other observational studies and recent advances of numerical simulations.
The pore formation occurs in less than 1 hour in the leading region of the AR.
The evolution of the flux patch in the leading part of the AR is faster (< 12
hour) than the evolution (20-30 hour) of the more diffuse and smaller scale
flux patches in the trailing region. During the pore formation, the ratio
between magnetic and dark area decreases from 5 to 2. We observe strong
downflows at the forming pore boundary and diverging proper motions of plasma
in the vicinity of the evolving feature that are directed towards the forming
pore. The average values and trends of the various quantities estimated in the
AR are in agreement with results of former observational studies of steady
pores and with their modelled counterparts, as seen in recent numerical
simulations of a rising-tube process. The agreement with the outcomes of the
numerical studies holds for both the signatures of the flux emergence process
(e.g. appearance of small-scale mixed polarity patterns and elongated granules)
and the evolution of the region. The processes driving the formation of the
pore are identified with the emergence of a magnetic flux concentration and the
subsequent reorganization of the emerged flux, by the combined effect of
velocity and magnetic field, in and around the evolving structure.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
The 2013 February 17 sunquake in the context of the active region's magnetic field configuration
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Sunquakes are created by the hydrodynamic response of the lower atmosphere to a sudden deposition of energy and momentum. In this study, we investigate a sunquake that occurred in NOAA active region 11675 on 2013 February 17. Observations of the corona, chromosphere, and photosphere are brought together for the first time with a nonlinear force-free model of the active region's magnetic field in order to probe the magnetic environment in which the sunquake was initiated. We find that the sunquake was associated with the destabilization of a flux rope and an associated M-class GOES flare. Active region 11675 was in its emergence phase at the time of the sunquake and photospheric motions caused by the emergence heavily modified the flux rope and its associated quasi-separatrix layers, eventually triggering the flux rope's instability. The flux rope was surrounded by an extended envelope of field lines rooted in a small area at the approximate position of the sunquake. We argue that the configuration of the envelope, by interacting with the expanding flux rope, created a “magnetic lens” that may have focussed energy on one particular location of the photosphere, creating the necessary conditions for the initiation of the sunquake
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