Properties of Coronal Holes in Solar Cycle 21-23 using McIntosh archive

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (S340) ◽  
pp. 187-188
Author(s):  
Rakesh Mazumder ◽  
Prantika Bhowmik ◽  
Dibyendu Nandy

AbstractWe study the properties of coronal holes during solar cycle 21-23 from the McIntosh archive. In the spatial distribution of coronal hole area we find that there is a sharp increase in coronal hole area at high latitude in agreement with expected open flux configuration there. In overall spatiotemporal distribution of coronal hole centroids, we find the dominance of high latitude coronal holes except for the maximum of the solar cycle, when coronal holes mostly appear in low latitudes. This is in agreement with the expected solar cycle evolution of surface magnetic flux.

2020 ◽  
Vol 638 ◽  
pp. A68 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. G. Heinemann ◽  
V. Jerčić ◽  
M. Temmer ◽  
S. J. Hofmeister ◽  
M. Dumbović ◽  
...  

Context. Understanding the evolution of coronal holes is especially important when studying the high-speed solar wind streams that emanate from them. Slow- and high-speed stream interaction regions may deliver large amounts of energy into the Earth’s magnetosphere-ionosphere system, cause geomagnetic storms, and shape interplanetary space. Aims. By statistically investigating the long-term evolution of well-observed coronal holes we aim to reveal processes that drive the observed changes in the coronal hole parameters. By analyzing 16 long-living coronal holes observed by the Solar Dynamic Observatory, we focus on coronal, morphological, and underlying photospheric magnetic field characteristics, and investigate the evolution of the associated high-speed streams. Methods. We use the Collection of Analysis Tools for Coronal Holes to extract and analyze coronal holes using 193 Å EUV observations taken by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly as well as line–of–sight magnetograms observed by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. We derive changes in the coronal hole properties and look for correlations with coronal hole evolution. Further, we analyze the properties of the high–speed stream signatures near 1AU from OMNI data by manually extracting the peak bulk velocity of the solar wind plasma. Results. We find that the area evolution of coronal holes shows a general trend of growing to a maximum followed by a decay. We did not find any correlation between the area evolution and the evolution of the signed magnetic flux or signed magnetic flux density enclosed in the projected coronal hole area. From this we conclude that the magnetic flux within the extracted coronal hole boundaries is not the main cause for its area evolution. We derive coronal hole area change rates (growth and decay) of (14.2 ± 15.0)×108 km2 per day showing a reasonable anti-correlation (ccPearson = −0.48) to the solar activity, approximated by the sunspot number. The change rates of the signed mean magnetic flux density (27.3 ± 32.2 mG day−1) and the signed magnetic flux (30.3 ± 31.5 1018 Mx day−1) were also found to be dependent on solar activity (ccPearson = 0.50 and ccPearson = 0.69 respectively) rather than on the individual coronal hole evolutions. Further we find that the relation between coronal hole area and high-speed stream peak velocity is valid for each coronal hole over its evolution, but we see significant variations in the slopes of the regression lines.


Solar Physics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 296 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan G. Heinemann ◽  
Manuela Temmer ◽  
Stefan J. Hofmeister ◽  
Aleksandar Stojakovic ◽  
Laurent Gizon ◽  
...  

AbstractGlobal magnetic field models use as input synoptic data, which usually show “aging effects” as the longitudinal $360^{\circ }$ 360 ∘ information is not obtained simultaneously. Especially during times of increased solar activity, the evolution of the magnetic field may yield large uncertainties. A significant source of uncertainty is the Sun’s magnetic field on the side of the Sun invisible to the observer. Various methods have been used to complete the picture: synoptic charts, flux-transport models, and far side helioseismology. In this study, we present a new method to estimate the far-side open flux within coronal holes using STEREO EUV observations. First, we correlate the structure of the photospheric magnetic field as observed with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (HMI/SDO) with features in the transition region. From the 304 Å intensity distribution, which we found to be specific to coronal holes, we derive an empirical estimate for the open flux. Then we use a large sample of 313 SDO coronal hole observations to verify this relation. Finally, we perform a cross-instrument calibration from SDO to STEREO data to enable the estimation of the open flux at solar longitudes not visible from Earth. We find that the properties of strong unipolar magnetic elements in the photosphere, which determine the coronal hole’s open flux, can be approximated by open fields in the transition region. We find that structures below a threshold of $78\%$ 78 % (STEREO) or $94\%$ 94 % (SDO) of the solar disk median intensity as seen in 304 Å filtergrams are reasonably well correlated with the mean magnetic flux density of coronal holes (cc$_{\mathrm{sp}} = 0.59$ = sp 0.59 ). Using the area covered by these structures ($A_{\mathrm{OF}}$ A OF ) and the area of the coronal hole ($A_{\mathrm{CH}}$ A CH ), we model the open magnetic flux of a coronal hole as $|\Phi _{\mathrm{CH}}| = 0.25 A_{\mathrm{CH}}~\mathrm{exp}(0.032 A_{\mathrm{OF}})$ | Φ CH | = 0.25 A CH exp ( 0.032 A OF ) with an estimated uncertainty of 40 to $60\%$ 60 % .


2019 ◽  
Vol 629 ◽  
pp. A22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan J. Hofmeister ◽  
Dominik Utz ◽  
Stephan G. Heinemann ◽  
Astrid Veronig ◽  
Manuela Temmer

In this study, we investigate in detail the photospheric magnetic structure of 98 coronal holes using line-of-sight magnetograms of SDO/HMI, and for a subset of 42 coronal holes using HINODE/SOT G-band filtergrams. We divided the magnetic field maps into magnetic elements and quiet coronal hole regions by applying a threshold at ±25 G. We find that the number of magnetic bright points in magnetic elements is well correlated with the area of the magnetic elements (cc = 0.83 ± 0.01). Further, the magnetic flux of the individual magnetic elements inside coronal holes is related to their area by a power law with an exponent of 1.261 ± 0.004 (cc = 0.984 ± 0.001). Relating the magnetic elements to the overall structure of coronal holes, we find that on average (69 ± 8)% of the overall unbalanced magnetic flux of the coronal holes arises from long-lived magnetic elements with lifetimes > 40 h. About (22 ± 4)% of the unbalanced magnetic flux arises from a very weak background magnetic field in the quiet coronal hole regions with a mean magnetic field density of about 0.2−1.2 G. This background magnetic field is correlated to the flux of the magnetic elements with lifetimes of > 40 h (cc = 0.88 ± 0.02). The remaining flux arises from magnetic elements with lifetimes < 40 h. By relating the properties of the magnetic elements to the overall properties of the coronal holes, we find that the unbalanced magnetic flux of the coronal holes is completely determined by the total area that the long-lived magnetic elements cover (cc = 0.994 ± 0.001).


2020 ◽  
Vol 1548 ◽  
pp. 012004
Author(s):  
E Asvestari ◽  
S G Heinemann ◽  
M Temmer ◽  
J Pomoell ◽  
E Kilpua ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S354) ◽  
pp. 157-159
Author(s):  
Chia-Hsien Lin ◽  
Guan-Han Huang ◽  
Lou-Chuang Lee

AbstractThe objective of this study is to investigate the solar-cycle variation of the areas of solar open magnetic flux regions at different latitudes. The data used in this study are the radial-field synoptic maps from Wilcox Solar Observatory from May 1970 to December 2014, which covers 3.5 solar cycles. Our results reveal a pole-to-pole trans-equatorial migration pattern for both inward and outward open magnetic fluxes. The pattern consists of the open flux regions migrating across the equator, the regions generated at low latitude and migrating poleward, and the regions locally generated at polar regions. The results also indicate the destruction of open flux regions during the migration from pole to equator, and at low latitude regions. The results have been published in Scientific Reports (Huang et al.2017)


1976 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 41-43
Author(s):  
William J. Wagner

From May 1972 to October 1973, daily measures were obtained of EUV coronal hole areas appearing at the central meridian. Autocorrelations of these coronal hole area time series provide synodic rotation periods which indicate an almost rigid rotation by such features for lag lengths as short as one rotation. The rotation periods of coronal holes at high latitudes best compare with inferred interplanetary field rotation periods.


2020 ◽  
Vol 643 ◽  
pp. A19
Author(s):  
Maria S. Madjarska ◽  
Klaus Galsgaard ◽  
Duncan H. Mackay ◽  
Kostadinka Koleva ◽  
Momchil Dechev

Context. We report on the third part of a series of studies on eruptions associated with small-scale loop complexes named coronal bright points (CBPs). Aims. A single case study of a CBP in an equatorial coronal hole with an exceptionally large size is investigated to expand on our understanding of the formation of mini-filaments, their destabilisation, and the origin of the eruption triggering the formation of jet-like features recorded in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray emission. We aim to explore the nature of the so-called micro-flares in CBPs associated with jets in coronal holes and mini coronal mass ejections in the quiet Sun. Methods. Co-observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory as well as GONG Hα images are used together with a non-linear force free field (NLFFF) relaxation approach, where the latter is based on a time series of HMI line-of-sight magnetograms. Results. A mini-filament (MF) that formed beneath the CBP arcade about 3−4 h before the eruption is seen in the Hα and EUV AIA images to lift up and erupt triggering the formation of an X-ray jet. No significant photospheric magnetic flux concentration displacement (convergence) is observed and neither is magnetic flux cancellation between the two main magnetic polarities forming the CBP in the time period leading to MF lift-off. The CBP micro-flare is associated with three flare kernels that formed shortly after the MF lift-off. No observational signature is found for magnetic reconnection beneath the erupting MF. The applied NLFFF modelling successfully reproduces both the CBP loop complex as well as the magnetic flux rope that hosts the MF during the build-up to the eruption. Conclusions. The applied NLFFF modelling is able to clearly show that an initial potential field can be evolved into a non-potential magnetic field configuration that contains free magnetic energy in the region that observationally hosts the eruption. The comparison of the magnetic field structure shows that the magnetic NLFFF model contains many of the features that can explain the different observational signatures found in the evolution and eruption of the CBP. In the future, it may eventually indicate the location of destabilisation that results in the eruptions of flux ropes.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 393-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Nichols ◽  
S. W. H. Cowley ◽  
D. J. McComas

Abstract. We make the first quantitative estimates of the magnetopause reconnection rate at Jupiter using extended in situ data sets, building on simple order of magnitude estimates made some thirty years ago by Brice and Ionannidis (1970) and Kennel and Coroniti (1975, 1977). The jovian low-latitude magnetopause (open flux production) reconnection voltage is estimated using the Jackman et al. (2004) algorithm, validated at Earth, previously applied to Saturn, and here adapted to Jupiter. The high-latitude (lobe) magnetopause reconnection voltage is similarly calculated using the related Gérard et al. (2005) algorithm, also previously used for Saturn. We employ data from the Ulysses spacecraft obtained during periods when it was located near 5AU and within 5° of the ecliptic plane (January to June 1992, January to August 1998, and April to October 2004), along with data from the Cassini spacecraft obtained during the Jupiter flyby in 2000/2001. We include the effect of magnetospheric compression through dynamic pressure modulation, and also examine the effect of variations in the direction of Jupiter's magnetic axis throughout the jovian day and year. The intervals of data considered represent different phases in the solar cycle, such that we are also able to examine solar cycle dependency. The overall average low-latitude reconnection voltage is estimated to be ~230 kV, such that the average amount of open flux created over one solar rotation is ~500 GWb. We thus estimate the average time to replenish Jupiter's magnetotail, which contains ~300-500 GWb of open flux, to be ~15-25 days, corresponding to a tail length of ~3.8-6.5 AU. The average high-latitude reconnection voltage is estimated to be ~130 kV, associated with lobe "stirring". Within these averages, however, the estimated voltages undergo considerable variation. Generally, the low-latitude reconnection voltage exhibits a "background" of ~100 kV that is punctuated by one or two significant enhancement events during each solar rotation, in which the voltage is elevated to ~1-3 MV. The high-latitude voltages are estimated to be about a half of these values. We note that the peak values of order a few MV are comparable to the potential drop due to sub-corotating plasma flows in the equatorial magnetosphere between ~20 RJ and the magnetopause, such that during these periods magnetopause reconnection may have a significant effect on the otherwise rotationally dominated magnetosphere. Despite such variations during each solar rotation, however, the total amount of open flux produced during each solar rotation varies typically by less than ~30% on either side of the overall average for that epoch. The averages over individual data epochs vary over the solar cycle from ~600 GWb per solar rotation at solar maximum to ~400 GWb at solar minimum. In addition we show that the IMF sector with positive clock angle is favoured for reconnection when the jovian spin axis clock angle is also positive, and vice versa, although this effect represents a first order correction to the voltage, which is primarily modulated by IMF strength and direction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (2) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Vishal Upendran ◽  
Durgesh Tripathi

Abstract Coronal holes (CHs) have subdued intensity and net blueshifts when compared to the quiet Sun (QS) at coronal temperatures. At transition region temperatures, such differences are obtained for regions with identical absolute photospheric magnetic flux density (∣B∣). In this work, we use spectroscopic measurements of the C ii 1334 Å line from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, formed at chromospheric temperatures, to investigate the intensity, Doppler shift, line width, skew, and excess kurtosis variations with ∣B∣. We find the intensity, Doppler shift, and linewidths to increase with ∣B∣ for CHs and QS. The CHs show deficit in intensity and excess total widths over QS for regions with identical ∣B∣. For pixels with only upflows, CHs show excess upflows over QS, while for pixels with only downflows, CHs show excess downflows over QS that cease to exist at ∣B∣ ≤ 40. Finally, the spectral profiles are found to be more skewed and flatter than a Gaussian, with no difference between CHs and QS. These results are important in understanding the heating of the atmosphere in CH and QS, including solar wind formation, and provide further constraints on the modeling of the solar atmosphere.


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