Origins of Hot Plasma in the Solar Corona De Pontieu, B; McIntosh, S.W; Carlsson, M ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
01/2011, Letnik:
331, Številka:
6013
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, is heated to millions of degrees, considerably hotter than its surface or photosphere. Explanations for this enigma typically invoke the deposition in the ...corona of nonthermal energy generated by magnetoconvection. However, the coronal heating mechanism remains unknown. We used observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Hinode solar physics mission to reveal a ubiquitous coronal mass supply in which chromospheric plasma in fountainlike jets or spicules is accelerated upward into the corona, with much of the plasma heated to temperatures between approximately 0.02 and 0.1 million kelvin (MK) and a small but sufficient fraction to temperatures above 1 MK. These observations provide constraints on the coronal heating mechanism(s) and highlight the importance of the interface region between photosphere and corona.
Hot explosions in the cool atmosphere of the Sun Peter, H.; Tian, H.; Curdt, W. ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
10/2014, Letnik:
346, Številka:
6207
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The solar atmosphere was traditionally represented with a simple one-dimensional model. Over the past few decades, this paradigm shifted for the chromosphere and corona that constitute the outer ...atmosphere, which is now considered a dynamic structured envelope. Recent observations by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reveal that it is difficult to determine what is up and down, even in the cool 6000-kelvin photosphere just above the solar surface: This region hosts pockets of hot plasma transiently heated to almost 100,000 kelvin. The energy to heat and accelerate the plasma requires a considerable fraction of the energy from flares, the largest solar disruptions. These IRIS observations not only confirm that the photosphere is more complex than conventionally thought, but also provide insight into the energy conversion in the process of magnetic reconnection.
Alfvén waves have been invoked as a possible mechanism for the heating of the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, to millions of degrees and for the acceleration of the solar wind to hundreds of ...kilometers per second. However, Alfvén waves of sufficient strength have not been unambiguously observed in the solar atmosphere. We used images of high temporal and spatial resolution obtained with the Solar Optical Telescope onboard the Japanese Hinode satellite to reveal that the chromosphere, the region sandwiched between the solar surface and the corona, is permeated by Alfvén waves with strong amplitudes on the order of 10 to 25 kilometers per second and periods of 100 to 500 seconds. Estimates of the energy flux carried by these waves and comparisons with advanced radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations indicate that such Alfvén waves are energetic enough to accelerate the solar wind and possibly to heat the quiet corona.
The
Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager
(HMI) instrument and investigation as a part of the NASA
Solar Dynamics Observatory
(SDO) is designed to study convection-zone dynamics and the solar dynamo, the ...origin and evolution of sunspots, active regions, and complexes of activity, the sources and drivers of solar magnetic activity and disturbances, links between the internal processes and dynamics of the corona and heliosphere, and precursors of solar disturbances for space-weather forecasts. A brief overview of the instrument, investigation objectives, and standard data products is presented.
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) investigation will study the solar interior using helioseismic techniques as well as the magnetic field near the solar surface. The HMI instrument is part ...of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) that was launched on 11 February 2010. The instrument is designed to measure the Doppler shift, intensity, and vector magnetic field at the solar photosphere using the 6173 Fe I absorption line. The instrument consists of a front-window filter, a telescope, a set of wave plates for polarimetry, an image-stabilization system, a blocking filter, a five-stage Lyot filter with one tunable element, two wide-field tunable Michelson interferometers, a pair of 4096(exo 2) pixel cameras with independent shutters, and associated electronics. Each camera takes a full-disk image roughly every 3.75 seconds giving an overall cadence of 45 seconds for the Doppler, intensity, and line-of-sight magnetic-field measurements and a slower cadence for the full vector magnetic field. This article describes the design of the HMI instrument and provides an overview of the pre-launch calibration efforts. Overviews of the investigation, details of the calibrations, data handling, and the science analysis are provided in accompanying articles.
The solar chromosphere and transition region (TR) form an interface between the Sun's surface and its hot outer atmosphere. There, most of the nonthermal energy that powers the solar atmosphere is ...transformed into heat, although the detailed mechanism remains elusive. High-resolution (0.33-arc second) observations with NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reveal a chromosphere and TR that are replete with twist or torsional motions on sub-arc second scales, occurring in active regions, quiet Sun regions, and coronal holes alike. We coordinated observations with the Swedish 1-meter Solar Telescope (SST) to quantify these twisting motions and their association with rapid heating to at least TR temperatures. This view of the interface region provides insight into what heats the low solar atmosphere.
The unresolved fine structure resolved Hansteen, V.; De Pontieu, B.; Carlsson, M. ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
10/2014, Letnik:
346, Številka:
6207
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The heating of the outer solar atmospheric layers, i.e., the transition region and corona, to high temperatures is a long-standing problem in solar (and stellar) physics. Solutions have been hampered ...by an incomplete understanding of the magnetically controlled structure of these regions. The high spatial and temporal resolution observations with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) at the solar limb reveal a plethora of short, low-lying loops or loop segments at transition-region temperatures that vary rapidly, on the time scales of minutes. We argue that the existence of these loops solves a long-standing observational mystery. At the same time, based on comparison with numerical models, this detection sheds light on a critical piece of the coronal heating puzzle.
As the interface between the Sun's photosphere and corona, the chromosphere and transition region play a key role in the formation and acceleration of the solar wind. Observations from the Interface ...Region Imaging Spectrograph reveal the prevalence of intermittent small-scale jets with speeds of 80 to 250 kilometers per second from the narrow bright network lanes of this interface region. These jets have lifetimes of 20 to 80 seconds and widths of ≤300 kilometers. They originate from small-scale bright regions, often preceded by footpoint brightenings and accompanied by transverse waves with amplitudes of ~20 kilometers per second. Many jets reach temperatures of at least ~10(5) kelvin and constitute an important element of the transition region structures. They are likely an intermittent but persistent source of mass and energy for the solar wind.
The physical processes causing energy exchange between the Sun's hot corona and its cool lower atmosphere remain poorly understood. The chromosphere and transition region (TR) form an interface ...region between the surface and the corona that is highly sensitive to the coronal heating mechanism. High-resolution observations with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reveal rapid variability (~20 to 60 seconds) of intensity and velocity on small spatial scales (≲500 kilometers) at the footpoints of hot and dynamic coronal loops. The observations are consistent with numerical simulations of heating by beams of nonthermal electrons, which are generated in small impulsive (≲30 seconds) heating events called "coronal nanoflares." The accelerated electrons deposit a sizable fraction of their energy (≲10(25) erg) in the chromosphere and TR. Our analysis provides tight constraints on the properties of such electron beams and new diagnostics for their presence in the nonflaring corona.
Solar prominences are cool 10⁴ kelvin plasma clouds supported in the surrounding 10⁶ kelvin coronal plasma by as-yet-undetermined mechanisms. Observations from Hinode show fine-scale threadlike ...structures oscillating in the plane of the sky with periods of several minutes. We suggest that these represent Alfvén waves propagating on coronal magnetic field lines and that these may play a role in heating the corona.
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