Large-scale solar magnetic fields, coronal holes and high-speed solar wind streams

1980 ◽  
Vol 297 (1433) ◽  
pp. 521-529 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Solar Rotation ◽  
Coronal Holes ◽  
Rotation Period ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Solar Magnetic Fields ◽  
Interplanetary Magnetic Fields

The connection between geomagnetic disturbances recurring with the 27 day synodic solar rotation period and streams of plasma emitted from particular regions on the Sun (so-called M-regions) has been one of the long-standing problems of solar terrestrial physics. The ‘ plasma streams ’ have been identified with long-lived streams of fast solar wind, imbedded in unipolar magnetic ‘ sectors', for more than a decade. The solar sources of these streams have been identified unequivocally only within the past few years as large-scale coronal regions of open, diverging magnetic fields and abnormally low particle densities, observed as ‘coronal holes’. The temporal evolution of holes and streams seems to reflect the evolution of the large-scale solar magnetic fields; the observed spatial pattern of holes suggests a grand three-dimensional structure of solar wind flow and interplanetary magnetic fields organized by a near-equatorial neutral sheet. The conclusion that much of the solar wind comes from coronal holes implies several important modifications of our ideas regarding the physical origins of the solar wind and any theoretical models of solar wind formation.

Formation of current sheets and plasmoids within corotating/stream interaction regions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timofey Sagitov ◽  
Roman Kislov
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Coronal Hole ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Solar Rotation ◽  
Coronal Holes ◽  
Rotation Period ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Current Sheets ◽  
Interaction Regions

<p>High speed streams originating from coronal holes are long-lived plasma structures that form corotating interaction regions (CIRs) or stream interface regions (SIRs) in the solar wind. The term CIR is used for streams existing for at least one solar rotation period, and the SIR stands for streams with a shorter lifetime. Since the plasma flows from coronal holes quasi-continuously, CIRs/SIRs simultaneously expand and rotate around the Sun, approximately following the Parker spiral shape up to the Earth’s orbit.</p><p>Coronal hole streams rotate not only around the Sun but also around their own axis of simmetry, resembling a screw. This effect may occur because of the following mechanisms: (1) the existence of a difference between the solar wind speed at different sides of the stream, (2) twisting of the magnetic field frozen into the plasma, and  (3) a vortex-like motion of the edge of the mothering coronal hole at the Sun. The screw type of the rotation of a CIR/SIR can lead to centrifugal instability if CIR/SIR inner layers have a larger angular velocity than the outer. Furthermore, the rotational plasma movement and the stream distortion can twist magnetic field lines. The latter contributes to the pinch effect in accordance with a well-known criterion of Suydam instability (Newcomb, 1960, doi: 10.1016/0003-4916(60)90023-3). Owing to the presence of a cylindrical current sheet at the boundary of a coronal hole, conditions for tearing instability can also appear at the CIR/SIR boundary. Regardless of their geometry, large scale current sheets are subject to various instabilities generating plasmoids. Altogether, these effects can lead to the formation of a turbulent region within CIRs/SIRs, making them filled with current sheets and plasmoids. </p><p>We study a substructure of CIRs/SIRs, characteristics of their rotation in the solar wind, and give qualitative estimations of possible mechanisms which lead to splitting of the leading edge a coronal hole flow and consequent formation of current sheets within CIRs/SIRs.</p>

scholarly journals Dynamics of Large-Scale Magnetic Field Evolution During Solar Cycle 20

1980 ◽  
Vol 91 ◽  
pp. 25-28
Author(s):  
Patrick S. McIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Cycle ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Solar Rotation ◽  
Coronal Holes ◽  
Solar Magnetic Fields ◽  
Magnetic Pattern ◽  
Large Scale Magnetic Field ◽  
Convergence And Divergence

The evolution of large-scale solar magnetic fields has been studied for a complete solar cycle using the atlas of H-alpha synoptic charts for 1964-1974. The results include: a unique magnetic pattern coinciding with major coronal holes; variations in the rate of solar rotation through the solar cycle; discovery of convergence and divergence among long-lived magnetic patterns; periodic discontinuities in the organization of large-scale magnetic fields; and a new cause for coronal transients.

scholarly journals High-Rate Precipitation Occurrence Modulated by Solar Wind High-Speed Streams

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1186
Author(s):  
Paul Prikryl ◽  
Vojto Rušin ◽  
Emil A. Prikryl
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Solar Rotation ◽  
Coronal Holes ◽  
Rotation Period ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Precipitation Occurrence

Extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall causing floods and flash floods continue to present difficult challenges in forecasting. Using gridded daily precipitation datasets in conjunction with solar wind data it is shown that high-rate precipitation occurrence is modulated by solar wind high-speed streams. Superposed epoch analysis shows a statistical increase in the occurrence of high-rate precipitation following arrivals of high-speed streams from coronal holes, including their recurrence with the solar rotation period of 27 days. These results are consistent with the observed tendency of heavy rainfall leading to floods and flash floods in Japan, Australia, and continental United States to follow arrivals of high-speed streams. A possible role of the solar wind–magnetosphere–ionosphere–atmosphere coupling in weather as mediated by globally propagating aurorally excited atmospheric gravity waves triggering conditional moist instabilities leading to convection in the troposphere that has been proposed in previous publications is highlighted.

scholarly journals Heavy rainfall, floods, and flash floods influenced by high-speed solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere–ionosphere–atmosphere system

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 769-793
Author(s):  
Paul Prikryl ◽  
Vojto Rušin ◽  
Emil A. Prikryl ◽  
Pavel Šťastný ◽  
Maroš Turňa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Cross Correlation ◽  
Daily Precipitation ◽  
Solar Rotation ◽  
Coronal Holes ◽  
Rotation Period ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Atmosphere System

Abstract. Heavy rainfall events causing floods and flash floods are examined in the context of solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere–ionosphere–atmosphere system. The superposed epoch (SPE) analyses of solar wind variables have shown the tendency of severe weather to follow arrivals of high-speed streams from solar coronal holes. Precipitation data sets based on rain gauge and satellite sensor measurements are used to examine the relationship between the solar wind high-speed streams and daily precipitation rates over several midlatitude regions. The SPE analysis results show an increase in the occurrence of high precipitation rates following arrivals of high-speed streams, including recurrence with a solar rotation period of 27 d. The cross-correlation analysis applied to the SPE averages of the green (Fe XIV; 530.3 nm) corona intensity observed by ground-based coronagraphs, solar wind parameters, and daily precipitation rates show correlation peaks at lags spaced by solar rotation period. When the SPE analysis is limited to years around the solar minimum (2008–2009), which was dominated by recurrent coronal holes separated by ∼ 120∘ in heliographic longitude, significant cross-correlation peaks are found at lags spaced by 9 d. These results are further demonstrated by cases of heavy rainfall, floods and flash floods in Europe, Japan, and the USA, highlighting the role of solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere–ionosphere–atmosphere system in severe weather, mediated by aurorally excited atmospheric gravity waves.

scholarly journals Spectral analysis of auroral geomagnetic activity during various solar cycles between 1960 and 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 1159-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Benjamin Kotzé
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Analysis ◽  
Geomagnetic Activity ◽  
Solar Minimum ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Solar Rotation ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Coronal Holes ◽  
Rotation Period ◽  
Period Change ◽  
Solar Cycles

Abstract. In this paper we use wavelets and Lomb–Scargle spectral analysis techniques to investigate the changing pattern of the different harmonics of the 27-day solar rotation period of the AE (auroral electrojet) index during various phases of different solar cycles between 1960 and 2014. Previous investigations have revealed that the solar minimum of cycles 23–24 exhibited strong 13.5- and 9.0-day recurrence in geomagnetic data in comparison to the usual dominant 27.0-day synodic solar rotation period. Daily mean AE indices are utilized to show how several harmonics of the 27-day recurrent period change during every solar cycle subject to a 95 % confidence rule by performing a wavelet analysis of each individual year's AE indices. Results show that particularly during the solar minimum of 23–24 during 2008 the 27-day period is no longer detectable above the 95 % confidence level. During this interval geomagnetic activity is now dominated by the second (13.5-day) and third (9.0-day) harmonics. A Pearson correlation analysis between AE and various spherical harmonic coefficients describing the solar magnetic field during each Carrington rotation period confirms that the solar dynamo has been dominated by an unusual combination of sectorial harmonic structure during 23–24, which can be responsible for the observed anomalously low solar activity. These findings clearly show that, during the unusual low-activity interval of 2008, auroral geomagnetic activity was predominantly driven by high-speed solar wind streams originating from multiple low-latitude coronal holes distributed at regular solar longitude intervals.

scholarly journals Coronal Structure and Solar Wind

1980 ◽  
Vol 91 ◽  
pp. 73-78
Author(s):  
J. N. Tandon
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Coronal Holes ◽  
Solar Magnetic Fields ◽  
Coronal Structure ◽  
Active Centers ◽  
Hydromagnetic Wave ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Open Magnetic Field ◽  
Coronal Structures

Recent observations of large scale coronal structures and solar wind have been studied. The intercorrelation of the two have been qualitatively explained through the focussing of solar-ion streams taking account of the local and general solar magnetic fields. This explains the association of coronal holes with weak, diverging open magnetic field lines and envisages the transfer of hydromagnetic wave energy from nearby active centers to account for the enhanced outflow of solar wind associated with coronal holes.

Investigation of the coronal heating through phase relation of solar activity indexes

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Li ◽  
J. C. Xu ◽  
Z. Q. Yin ◽  
J. L. Xie ◽  
W. Feng
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Solar Activity ◽  
Phase Relation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Solar Rotation ◽  
Rotation Period ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
Coronal Heating ◽  
Small Scale

Abstract The coronal heating problem is a long-standing perplexing issue. In this study, 13 solar activity indexes are used to investigate their phase relation with the sunspot number (SSN). Only three of them are found to statistically significantly lag the SSN (large-scale magnetic activity) by about one solar rotation period; the three indexes are total solar irradiance (TSI), the modified coronal index, and the solar wind velocity; the former two indexes may represent the long-term variation of energy quantity of the heated photosphere and corona, respectively. The Mount Wilson Sunspot Index (MWSI) and the Magnetic Plage Strength Index (MPSI), which reflect the large- and small-scale magnetic field activities, respectively, are also utilised to investigate their phase relations with the three indexes. The three indexes are found to be much more intimately related to MPSI than to MWSI, and MWSI statistically significantly leads TSI by about one rotation period. The heated corona is found to pulse perfectly in step with the small-scale magnetic activity rather than the large-scale magnetic activity; furthermore, combined with observations, our statistical evidence should thus attribute coronal heating firmly to small-scale magnetic activity phenomena, such as spicules, micro-flares, nano-flares, and others. The photosphere and the corona are synchronously heated, which should seemingly prefer magnetic reconnection heating to wave heating. In the long term, such a coronal heating way is inferred effective. Statistically, it is also small-scale magnetic activity phenomena that produce TSI enhancement. Coronal heating and solar wind acceleration are found to be synchronous, as standard models require.

scholarly journals Mesoscale Structure in the Solar Wind

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. M. Viall ◽  
C. E. DeForest ◽  
L. Kepko
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Coronal Holes ◽  
Solar Wind Plasma ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Remote Imaging ◽  
Mesoscale Structures ◽  
Kinetic Effects

Structures in the solar wind result from two basic mechanisms: structures injected or imposed directly by the Sun, and structures formed through processing en route as the solar wind advects outward and fills the heliosphere. On the largest scales, solar structures directly impose heliospheric structures, such as coronal holes imposing high speed streams of solar wind. Transient solar processes can inject large-scale structure directly into the heliosphere as well, such as coronal mass ejections. At the smallest, kinetic scales, the solar wind plasma continually evolves, converting energy into heat, and all structure at these scales is formed en route. “Mesoscale” structures, with scales at 1 AU in the approximate spatial range of 5–10,000 Mm and temporal range of 10 s–7 h, lie in the orders of magnitude gap between the two size-scale extremes. Structures of this size regime are created through both mechanisms. Competition between the imposed and injected structures with turbulent and other evolution leads to complex structuring and dynamics. The goal is to understand this interplay and to determine which type of mesoscale structures dominate the solar wind under which conditions. However, the mesoscale regime is also the region of observation space that is grossly under-sampled. The sparse in situ measurements that currently exist are only able to measure individual instances of discrete structures, and are not capable of following their evolution or spatial extent. Remote imaging has captured global and large scale features and their evolution, but does not yet have the sensitivity to measure most mesoscale structures and their evolution. Similarly, simulations cannot model the global system while simultaneously resolving kinetic effects. It is important to understand the source and evolution of solar wind mesoscale structures because they contain information on how the Sun forms the solar wind, and constrains the physics of turbulent processes. Mesoscale structures also comprise the ground state of space weather, continually buffeting planetary magnetospheres. In this paper we describe the current understanding of the formation and evolution mechanisms of mesoscale structures in the solar wind, their characteristics, implications, and future steps for research progress on this topic.

Statistical analysis of flow direction and its variations in different types of solar wind streams

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasiia Moskaleva ◽  
Maria Riazantseva ◽  
Yuri Yermolaev ◽  
Irina Lodkina
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Solar Physics ◽  
Coronal Holes ◽  
Statistical Distributions ◽  
Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections ◽  
Solar Wind Interaction ◽  
Plasma Parameters

<p>The efficiency of the solar wind interaction with the Earth's magnetosphere is determined not only by the values of solar wind parameters, but also by the direction of its flow.  As a rule, the slow quiet and uniform solar wind extends radially, but at the same time there are different large-scale solar wind streams, that differ in the values of the plasma parameters and in the flow direction. The most significant changes of solar wind flow direction can be observed in areas of stream interaction, for example Sheath (compression regions before the fast interplanetary coronal mass ejections) and CIR (corotating interaction regions, that are predate high-speed flows from coronal holes) [1]. In the present study, using plasma measurements on the WIND spacecraft, the statistical distributions of the values and fluctuations of flow direction angles in the solar wind were analyzed.  The angles variations were considered on temporal scales from several ten seconds to an hour. The statistical distributions in the quiet solar wind and in various large-scale solar wind streams using the catalog of large-scale solar wind phenomena from the ftp://ftp.iki.rssi.ru/pub/omni/catalog were compared [2].</p><p>At the result of this work, it was shown , that maximum values of modules longitude (φ) and latitude (θ) angles, and of their variations are observed for Sheath and CIR regions, the probability of large deviations from the radial direction (>5 degrees)  also increases. Meanwhile the dependence on the solar wind type reduces with decreasing scale. The relation of the values and fluctuations of the direction angles on the values of the plasma parameters in the solar wind were also analyzed.<br><br>The work was supported by the RFBR, grant № 19-02-00177а.</p><p>1.Yermolaev Y. I., Lodkina I. G., Nikolaeva N. S., Yermolaev M. Y. 2017, Solar Physics, <strong>292 (12),</strong>193, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-017-1205-1<br>2. Yermolaev, Yu.I., Nikolaeva, N.S., Lodkina, I.G., Yermolaev, M.Yu.: 2009, Catalog of large-scale solar wind phenomena during 1976 – 2000. Cosm. Res. <strong>47</strong>(2),81;Eng.transl.Kosm.Issled.<strong>47</strong>(2),99, https://doi.org/10.1134/S0010952509020014</p>

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