421 research outputs found
Solar convection and magneto-convection simulations
Magneto-convection simulations with two scenarios have been performed: in one, horizontal magnetic field is advected into the computational domain by fluid entering at the bottom. In the other, an initially uniform vertical magnetic
field is imposed on a snapshot of non-magnetic convection and allowed to evolve. In both cases, the field is swept into the intergranular lanes and the boundaries of the
underlying mesogranules. The largest field concentrations at the surface reach pressure balance with the surrounding gas. They suppress both horizontal and vertical flows, which reduces the heat transport. They cool, become evacuated and their optical depth unity surface is depressed by several hundred kilometers. Micropores form, typically where a small granule disappears and surrounding flux tubes squeeze into its previous location
Numerical MHD Simulations of Solar Magnetoconvection and Oscillations in Inclined Magnetic Field Regions
The sunspot penumbra is a transition zone between the strong vertical
magnetic field area (sunspot umbra) and the quiet Sun. The penumbra has a fine
filamentary structure that is characterized by magnetic field lines inclined
toward the surface. Numerical simulations of solar convection in inclined
magnetic field regions have provided an explanation of the filamentary
structure and the Evershed outflow in the penumbra. In this paper, we use
radiative MHD simulations to investigate the influence of the magnetic field
inclination on the power spectrum of vertical velocity oscillations. The
results reveal a strong shift of the resonance mode peaks to higher frequencies
in the case of a highly inclined magnetic field. The frequency shift for the
inclined field is significantly greater than that in vertical field regions of
similar strength. This is consistent with the behavior of fast MHD waves.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Solar Physics (in press
Solar Flux Emergence Simulations
We simulate the rise through the upper convection zone and emergence through
the solar surface of initially uniform, untwisted, horizontal magnetic flux
with the same entropy as the non-magnetic plasma that is advected into a domain
48 Mm wide from from 20 Mm deep. The magnetic field is advected upward by the
diverging upflows and pulled down in the downdrafts, which produces a hierarchy
of loop like structures of increasingly smaller scale as the surface is
approached. There are significant differences between the behavior of fields of
10 kG and 20 or 40 kG strength at 20 Mm depth. The 10 kG fields have little
effect on the convective flows and show little magnetic buoyancy effects,
reaching the surface in the typical fluid rise time from 20 Mm depth of 32
hours. 20 and 40 kG fields significantly modify the convective flows, leading
to long thin cells of ascending fluid aligned with the magnetic field and their
magnetic buoyancy makes them rise to the surface faster than the fluid rise
time. The 20 kG field produces a large scale magnetic loop that as it emerges
through the surface leads to the formation of a bipolar pore-like structure.Comment: Solar Physics (in press), 12 pages, 13 figur
Stellar turbulence and mode physics
An overview of selected topical problems on modelling oscillation properties
in solar-like stars is presented. High-quality oscillation data from both
space-borne intensity observations and ground-based spectroscopic measurements
provide first tests of the still-ill-understood, superficial layers in distant
stars. Emphasis will be given to modelling the pulsation dynamics of the
stellar surface layers, the stochastic excitation processes and the associated
dynamics of the turbulent fluxes of heat and momentum.Comment: Proc. HELAS Workshop on 'Synergies between solar and stellar
modelling', eds M. Marconi, D. Cardini, M. P. Di Mauro, Astrophys. Space
Sci., in the pres
Acoustic Events in the Solar Atmosphere from Hinode/SOT NFI observations
We investigate the properties of acoustic events (AEs), defined as spatially
concentrated and short duration energy flux, in the quiet sun using
observations of a 2D field of view (FOV) with high spatial and temporal
resolution provided by the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) onboard
\textit{Hinode}. Line profiles of Fe \textsc{i} 557.6 nm were recorded by the
Narrow band Filter Imager (NFI) on a FOV during 75 min with a
time step of 28.75 s and 0.08 pixel size. Vertical velocities were computed
at three atmospheric levels (80, 130 and 180 km) using the bisector technique
allowing the determination of energy flux in the range 3-10 mHz using two
complementary methods (Hilbert transform and Fourier power spectra). Horizontal
velocities were computed using local correlation tracking (LCT) of continuum
intensities providing divergences.
The net energy flux is upward. In the range 3-10 mHz, a full FOV space and
time averaged flux of 2700 W m (lower layer 80-130 km) and 2000 W
m (upper layer 130-180 km) is concentrated in less than 1% of the solar
surface in the form of narrow (0.3) AE. Their total duration (including rise
and decay) is of the order of s. Inside each AE, the mean flux is W m (lower layer) and W m (upper). Each
event carries an average energy (flux integrated over space and time) of J (lower layer) to J (upper). More than events
could exist permanently on the Sun, with a birth and decay rate of 3500
s. Most events occur in intergranular lanes, downward velocity regions,
and areas of converging motions.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure
Solar Structure in terms of Gauss' Hypergeometric Function
Hydrostatic equilibrium and energy conservation determine the conditions in
the gravitationally stabilized solar fusion reactor. We assume a matter density
distribution varying non- linearly through the central region of the Sun. The
analytic solutions of the differential equations of mass conservation,
hydrostatic equilibrium, and energy conservation, together with the equation of
state of the perfect gas and a nuclear energy generation rate
, are given in terms of Gauss' hypergeometric
function. This model for the structure of the Sun gives the run of density,
mass pressure, temperature, and nuclear energy generation through the central
region of the Sun. Because of the assumption of a matter density distribution,
the conditions of hydrostatic equilibrium and energy conservation are separated
from the mode of energy transport in the Sun.Comment: Invited Paper (A.M.Mathai) at the Fourth UN/ESA Workshop on Basic
Space Science, Cairo, Egypt, July 1994, 10 pages LaTeX,4 figures available on
reques
From GHz to mHz: A Multiwavelength Study of the Acoustically Active 14 August 2004 M7.4 Solar Flare
We carried out an electromagnetic acoustic analysis of the solar flare of 14
August 2004 in active region AR10656 from the radio to the hard X-ray spectrum.
The flare was a GOES soft X-ray class M7.4 and produced a detectable sun quake,
confirming earlier inferences that relatively low-energy flares may be able to
generate sun quakes. We introduce the hypothesis that the seismicity of the
active region is closely related to the heights of coronal magnetic loops that
conduct high-energy particles from the flare. In the case of relatively short
magnetic loops, chromospheric evaporation populates the loop interior with
ionized gas relatively rapidly, expediting the scattering of remaining trapped
high-energy electrons into the magnetic loss cone and their rapid precipitation
into the chromosphere. This increases both the intensity and suddenness of the
chromospheric heating, satisfying the basic conditions for an acoustic emission
that penetrates into the solar interior.Comment: Accepted in Solar Physic
A New Look at Mode Conversion in a Stratified Isothermal Atmosphere
Recent numerical investigations of wave propagation near coronal magnetic
null points (McLaughlin and Hood: Astron. Astrophys. 459, 641,2006) have
indicated how a fast MHD wave partially converts into a slow MHD wave as the
disturbance passes from a low-beta plasma to a high-beta plasma. This is a
complex process and a clear understanding of the conversion mechanism requires
the detailed investigation of a simpler model. An investigation of mode
conversion in a stratified, isothermal atmosphere, with a uniform, vertical
magnetic field is carried out, both numerically and analytically. In contrast
to previous investigations of upward-propagating waves (Zhugzhda and Dzhalilov:
Astron. Astrophys. 112, 16, 1982a; Cally: Astrophys. J. 548, 473, 2001), this
paper studies the downward propagation of waves from a low-beta to high-beta
environment. A simple expression for the amplitude of the transmitted wave is
compared with the numerical solution.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Stokes Diagnostis of 2D MHD-simulated Solar Magnetogranulation
We study the properties of solar magnetic fields on scales less than the
spatial resolution of solar telescopes. A synthetic infrared
spectropolarimetric diagnostics based on a 2D MHD simulation of
magnetoconvection is used for this. We analyze two time sequences of snapshots
that likely represent two regions of the network fields with their immediate
surrounding on the solar surface with the unsigned magnetic flux density of 300
and 140 G. In the first region we find from probability density functions of
the magnetic field strength that the most probable field strength at logtau_5=0
is equal to 250 G. Weak fields (B < 500 G) occupy about 70% of the surface,
while stronger fields (B 1000 G) occupy only 9.7% of the surface. The magnetic
flux is -28 G and its imbalance is -0.04. In the second region, these
parameters are correspondingly equal to 150 G, 93.3 %, 0.3 %, -40 G, and -0.10.
We estimate the distribution of line-of-sight velocities on the surface of log
tau_5=-1. The mean velocity is equal to 0.4 km/s in the first simulated region.
The averaged velocity in the granules is -1.2 km/s and in the intergranules is
2.5 km/s. In the second region, the corresponding values of the mean velocities
are equal to 0, -1.8, 1.5 km/s. In addition we analyze the asymmetry of
synthetic Stokes-V profiles of the Fe I 1564.8 nm line. The mean values of the
amplitude and area asymmetry do not exceed 1%. The spatially smoothed amplitude
asymmetry is increased to 10% while the area asymmetry is only slightly varied.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figure
Stochastic excitation of acoustic modes in stars
For more than ten years, solar-like oscillations have been detected and
frequencies measured for a growing number of stars with various characteristics
(e.g. different evolutionary stages, effective temperatures, gravities, metal
abundances ...).
Excitation of such oscillations is attributed to turbulent convection and
takes place in the uppermost part of the convective envelope. Since the
pioneering work of Goldreich & Keely (1977), more sophisticated theoretical
models of stochastic excitation were developed, which differ from each other
both by the way turbulent convection is modeled and by the assumed sources of
excitation. We review here these different models and their underlying
approximations and assumptions.
We emphasize how the computed mode excitation rates crucially depend on the
way turbulent convection is described but also on the stratification and the
metal abundance of the upper layers of the star. In turn we will show how the
seismic measurements collected so far allow us to infer properties of turbulent
convection in stars.Comment: Notes associated with a lecture given during the fall school
organized by the CNRS and held in St-Flour (France) 20-24 October 2008 ; 39
pages ; 11 figure
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