Emergence of Twisted Magnetic Flux Related Sigmoidal Brightening

2000 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 263-264
Author(s):  
K. Sundara Raman ◽  
K. B. Ramesh ◽  
R. Selvendran ◽  
P. S. M. Aleem ◽  
K. M. Hiremath

Extended AbstractWe have examined the morphological properties of a sigmoid associated with an SXR (soft X-ray) flare. The sigmoid is cospatial with the EUV (extreme ultra violet) images and in the optical part lies along an S-shaped Hαfilament. The photoheliogram shows flux emergence within an existingδtype sunspot which has caused the rotation of the umbrae giving rise to the sigmoidal brightening.It is now widely accepted that flares derive their energy from the magnetic fields of the active regions and coronal levels are considered to be the flare sites. But still a satisfactory understanding of the flare processes has not been achieved because of the difficulties encountered to predict and estimate the probability of flare eruptions. The convection flows and vortices below the photosphere transport and concentrate magnetic field, which subsequently appear as active regions in the photosphere (Rust & Kumar 1994 and the references therein). Successive emergence of magnetic flux, twist the field, creating flare productive magnetic shear and has been studied by many authors (Sundara Ramanet al.1998 and the references therein). Hence, it is considered that the flare is powered by the energy stored in the twisted magnetic flux tubes (Kurokawa 1996 and the references therein). Rust & Kumar (1996) named the S-shaped bright coronal loops that appear in soft X-rays as ‘Sigmoids’ and concluded that this S-shaped distortion is due to the twist developed in the magnetic field lines. These transient sigmoidal features tell a great deal about unstable coronal magnetic fields, as these regions are more likely to be eruptive (Canfieldet al.1999). As the magnetic fields of the active regions are deep rooted in the Sun, the twist developed in the subphotospheric flux tube penetrates the photosphere and extends in to the corona. Thus, it is essentially favourable for the subphotospheric twist to unwind the twist and transmit it through the photosphere to the corona. Therefore, it becomes essential to make complete observational descriptions of a flare from the magnetic field changes that are taking place in different atmospheric levels of the Sun, to pin down the energy storage and conversion process that trigger the flare phenomena.

Author(s):  
Robert Cameron

The solar dynamo is the action of flows inside the Sun to maintain its magnetic field against Ohmic decay. On small scales the magnetic field is seen at the solar surface as a ubiquitous “salt-and-pepper” disorganized field that may be generated directly by the turbulent convection. On large scales, the magnetic field is remarkably organized, with an 11-year activity cycle. During each cycle the field emerging in each hemisphere has a specific East–West alignment (known as Hale’s law) that alternates from cycle to cycle, and a statistical tendency for a North-South alignment (Joy’s law). The polar fields reverse sign during the period of maximum activity of each cycle. The relevant flows for the large-scale dynamo are those of convection, the bulk rotation of the Sun, and motions driven by magnetic fields, as well as flows produced by the interaction of these. Particularly important are the Sun’s large-scale differential rotation (for example, the equator rotates faster than the poles), and small-scale helical motions resulting from the Coriolis force acting on convective motions or on the motions associated with buoyantly rising magnetic flux. These two types of motions result in a magnetic cycle. In one phase of the cycle, differential rotation winds up a poloidal magnetic field to produce a toroidal field. Subsequently, helical motions are thought to bend the toroidal field to create new poloidal magnetic flux that reverses and replaces the poloidal field that was present at the start of the cycle. It is now clear that both small- and large-scale dynamo action are in principle possible, and the challenge is to understand which combination of flows and driving mechanisms are responsible for the time-dependent magnetic fields seen on the Sun.


1985 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 999 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR DeVore ◽  
NR Sheeley Jr ◽  
JP Boris ◽  
TR Young Jr ◽  
KL Harvey

We have solved numerically a transport equation which describes the evolution of the large-scale magnetic field of the Sun. Data derived from solar magnetic observations are used to initialize the computations and to account for the emergence of new magnetic flux during the sunspot cycle. Our objective is to assess the ability of the model to reproduce the observed evolution of the field patterns. We discuss recent results from simulations of individual active regions over a few solar rotations and of the magnetic field of the Sun over sunspot cycle 21.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S325) ◽  
pp. 59-62
Author(s):  
Olga Botygina ◽  
Mykola Gordovskyy ◽  
Vsevolod Lozitsky

AbstractThe structure of photospheric magnetic fields outside sunspots is investigated in three active regions using Hinode/Solar Optical Telescope(SOT) observations. We analyze Zeeman effect in FeI 6301.5 and FeI 6302.5 lines and determine the observed magnetic field value Beff for each of them. We find that the line ratio Beff(6301)/Beff(6302) is close to 1.3 in the range Beff < 0.2 kG, and close to 1.0 for 0.8 kG < Beff < 1.2 kG. We find that the observed magnetic field is formed by flux tubes with the magnetic field strengths 1.3 − 2.3 kG even in places with weak observed magnetic field fluxes. We also estimate the diameters of smallest magnetic flux tubes to be 15 − 20 km.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S305) ◽  
pp. 92-96
Author(s):  
Y. Hanaoka ◽  
T. Sakurai ◽  

AbstractThe near-infrared absorption line Fe I 15648 Å, which has a Landé g-factor of 3, shows a particularly large Zeeman splitting. We regularly take full-disk polarization maps of the Sun in the Fe I 15648 Å line (as well as the He I 10830 Å line) with an infrared spectropolarimeter installed at the Solar Flare Telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). It is known that weak, mostly horizontal magnetic fields are ubiquitously distributed in the quiet regions of the Sun, while the strong magnetic fields are concentrated in active regions and network boundaries. The weak horizontal field has not been sufficiently investigated due to the difficulty of such observations. The polarization maps in Fe I 15648 Å show the magnetic field strength at each pixel, regardless of the filling factor, so we can easily isolate the weak horizontal field signals from strong magnetic field ones using the Stokes V profiles of the Fe I 15648 Å line. Here we present instrumental aspects and observational results of solar near-infrared full-disk polarimetry. We highlight the weak horizontal field inferred from Fe I 15648 Å.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitrii Baranov ◽  
Elena Vernova ◽  
Marta Tyasto ◽  
Olga Danilova

&lt;p&gt;On the basis of the synoptic maps of the photospheric magnetic field obtained by the National Solar Observatory Kitt Peak for 1978-2016, a latitude-time diagram of the magnetic field was built. When averaging intensity values over the heliolongitude, the magnetic field sign was taken into account. In order to consider the characteristics of the distribution of weak magnetic fields an upper limit of 5 G was set.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The latitude-time diagram clearly shows inclined bands corresponding to positive and negative polarity magnetic flows drifting towards the poles of the Sun. Two groups of flows are observed: 1. Relatively narrow bands, with alternating polarity, beginning near the equator and reaching almost the poles of the Sun. Along the time axis, the flow length of one polarity is on the order of 1-2 years; 2. short powerful flows, 3-4.5 years wide, propagating from the spot zone to the poles. These flows reach the poles simultaneously with the begin of the polar field reversal, apparently representing &amp;#160;the so-called &amp;#8220;Rush to the Poles&amp;#8221; phenomenon.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The pattern of magnetic field transport is significantly different for the northern and southern hemispheres. Alternating flows of positive and negative polarities most clearly appear in the southern hemisphere during periods of positive polarity of the southern polar field. For the northern hemisphere the picture is much less clear but for individual time intervals alternating flows of opposite polarities can be traced. The slopes of magnetic flux bands allow us to estimate the rate of meridional drift of magnetic fields, which was slightly different for the two hemispheres: V = (16&amp;#177;2) m/s for the southern hemisphere and V = (21&amp;#177;4) m/s for the northern hemisphere. The results obtained indicate that the distribution of weak magnetic fields over the surface of the Sun has a complex structure that is different for the two hemispheres and varies from cycle to cycle.&lt;/p&gt;


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (40) ◽  
pp. 1250233 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROSY TEH ◽  
BAN-LOONG NG ◽  
KHAI-MING WONG

We present finite energy SU(2) Yang–Mills–Higgs particles of one-half topological charge. The magnetic fields of these solutions at spatial infinity correspond to the magnetic field of a positive one-half magnetic monopole at the origin and a semi-infinite Dirac string on one-half of the z-axis carrying a magnetic flux of [Formula: see text] going into the origin. Hence the net magnetic charge is zero. The gauge potentials are singular along one-half of the z-axis, elsewhere they are regular.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S320) ◽  
pp. 167-174
Author(s):  
M. S. Wheatland ◽  
S. A. Gilchrist

AbstractWe review nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) modeling of magnetic fields in active regions. The NLFFF model (in which the electric current density is parallel to the magnetic field) is often adopted to describe the coronal magnetic field, and numerical solutions to the model are constructed based on photospheric vector magnetogram boundary data. Comparative tests of NLFFF codes on sets of boundary data have revealed significant problems, in particular associated with the inconsistency of the model and the data. Nevertheless NLFFF modeling is often applied, in particular to flare-productive active regions. We examine the results, and discuss their reliability.


1974 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 275-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Davies

Observations of Class I OH maser sources show a range of features which are predicted on the basis of Zeeman splitting in a source magnetic field. Magnetic field strengths of 2 to 7 mG are derived for eight OH maser sources. The fields in all the clouds are directed in the sense of galactic rotation. A model of W3 OH is proposed which incorporates the magnetic field data. It is shown that no large amount of magnetic flux or angular momentum has been lost since the condensation from the interstellar medium began.


1998 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 415-418
Author(s):  
Kirill M. Kuzanyan

AbstractThe main magnetic activity of the Sun can be visualised by Maunder butterfly diagrams which represent the spatio-temporal distribution of sunspots. Besides sunspots there are other tracers of magnetic activity, like filaments and active regions, which are observable over a wider latitudinal range of the Sun. Both these phenomena allow one to consider a complete picture of solar magnetic activity, which should be explained in the framework of one relatively simple model.A kinematic αѡ-dynamo model of the magnetic field’s generation in a thin convection shell with nonuniform helicity for large dynamo numbers is considered in the framework of Parker’s migratory dynamo. The obtained asymptotic solution of equations governing the magnetic field has a form of a modulated travelling dynamo wave. This wave propagates over the most latitudes of the solar hemisphere equatorwards, and the amplitude of the magnetic field first increases and then decreases with the propagation. Over the subpolar latitudes the dynamo wave reverses, there the dynamo wave propagates polewards and decays with latitude. Butterfly diagrams are plotted and analyzed.There is an attractive opportunity to develop a more quantitatively precise model taking into account helioseismological data on differential rotation and fitting the solar observational data on the magnetic field and turbulence, analyzing the helicity and the phase shift between toroidal and poloidal components of the field.


1968 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 127-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. I. Syrovatsky ◽  
Y. D. Zhugzhda

The convection in a compressible inhomogeneous conducting fluid in the presence of a vertical uniform magnetic field has been studied. It is shown that a new mode of oscillatory convection occurs, which exists in arbitrarily strong magnetic fields. The convective cells are stretched along the magnetic field, their horizontal dimensions are determined by radiative cooling. Criteria for convective instability in a polytropic atmosphere are obtained for various boundary conditions in the case when the Alfvén velocity is higher compared with the velocity of sound.The role of oscillatory convection in the origin of sunspots and active regions is discussed.


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