scholarly journals What Seismic Minimum Reveals about Solar Magnetism below the Surface

2022 ◽  
Vol 924 (1) ◽  
pp. L20
Author(s):  
Kiran Jain ◽  
Niket Jain ◽  
Sushanta C. Tripathy ◽  
Mausumi Dikpati
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
Solar Interior ◽  
Solar Cycles ◽  
Surface Shear ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Global Oscillation Network Group ◽  
Primary Driver

Abstract The Sun’s magnetic field varies on multiple timescales. Observations show that the minimum between cycles 24 and 25 was the second consecutive minimum that was deeper and wider than several earlier minima. Since the active regions observed at the Sun’s surface are manifestations of the magnetic field generated in the interior, it is crucial to investigate/understand the dynamics below the surface. In this context, we report by probing the solar interior with helioseismic techniques applied to long-term oscillations data from the Global Oscillation Network Group, that the seismic minima in deeper layers have been occurring about a year earlier than that at the surface for the last two consecutive solar cycles. Our findings also demonstrate a decrease in strong magnetic fields at the base of the convection zone, the primary driver of the surface magnetic activity. We conclude that the magnetic fields located in the core and near-surface shear layers, in addition to the tachocline fields, play an important role in modifying the oscillation frequencies. This further strengthens the existence of a relic magnetic field in the Sun’s core.

scholarly journals Magnetic fields and dynamics of the Sun's interior

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 147-158
Author(s):  
Alexander G. Kosovichev
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Physical Mechanism ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
Solar Interior ◽  
Global Dynamics ◽  
The Sun ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Solar Magnetic Activity ◽  
Key Questions

AbstractAdvances in helioseismology provide new knowledge about the origin of solar magnetic activity. The key questions addressed by helioseismology are: what is the physical mechanism of the solar dynamo, how deep inside the Sun are the magnetic fields generated, how are they transported to the surface and form sunspots? Direct helioseismic signatures of the internal magnetic fields are weak and difficult to detect. Therefore, most of the information comes from observations of dynamical effects caused by the magnetic fields. I review results of recent helioseismic observations of the magnetohydrodynamics of the solar interior on various scales, including global dynamics associated with the dynamo processes, and formation of sunspots and active regions.

scholarly journals Global Evolution of Photospheric Magnetic Fields

1990 ◽  
Vol 138 ◽  
pp. 281-295
Author(s):  
V. I. Makarov ◽  
K. R. Sivaraman
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
Field Pattern ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Coronal Emission ◽  
Global Magnetic Field ◽  
Global Modes

The main features concerning the evolution of the large scale photospheric magnetic fields derived from synoptic maps as well as from H-alpha synoptic charts are reviewed. The significance of a variety of observations that indicate the presence of a high latitude component as a counterpart to the sunspot phenomenon at lower latitudes is reviewed. It is argued that these two components describe the global magnetic field on the sun. It is demonstrated that this scenario is able to link many phenomena observed on the sun (coronal emission, ephemeral active regions, geomagnetic activity, torsional oscillations, polar faculae and global modes in the magnetic field pattern) with the global magnetic activity.

Radio Measurements of Coronal Magnetic Fields

1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 21-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Gelfreikh
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Solar Corona ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Coronal Magnetic Field ◽  
Transverse Magnetic ◽  
Radio Sources ◽  
Radio Waves ◽  
Solar Active Regions

AbstractA review of methods of measuring magnetic fields in the solar corona using spectral-polarization observations at microwaves with high spatial resolution is presented. The methods are based on the theory of thermal bremsstrahlung, thermal cyclotron emission, propagation of radio waves in quasi-transverse magnetic field and Faraday rotation of the plane of polarization. The most explicit program of measurements of magnetic fields in the atmosphere of solar active regions has been carried out using radio observations performed on the large reflector radio telescope of the Russian Academy of Sciences — RATAN-600. This proved possible due to good wavelength coverage, multichannel spectrographs observations and high sensitivity to polarization of the instrument. Besides direct measurements of the strength of the magnetic fields in some cases the peculiar parameters of radio sources, such as very steep spectra and high brightness temperatures provide some information on a very complicated local structure of the coronal magnetic field. Of special interest are the results found from combined RATAN-600 and large antennas of aperture synthesis (VLA and WSRT), the latter giving more detailed information on twodimensional structure of radio sources. The bulk of the data obtained allows us to investigate themagnetospheresof the solar active regions as the space in the solar corona where the structures and physical processes are controlled both by the photospheric/underphotospheric currents and surrounding “quiet” corona.

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
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Magnetic Flux ◽  
Ultra Violet ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Energy Storage And Conversion ◽  
The Sun ◽  
X Rays ◽  
The Magnetic Field

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.

scholarly journals Nonlinear force-free modeling of magnetic fields in flare-productive active regions

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S320) ◽  
pp. 167-174
Author(s):  
M. S. Wheatland ◽  
S. A. Gilchrist
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Boundary Data ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Free Field ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Coronal Magnetic Field ◽  
Nonlinear Force ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
Force Free Field

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.

scholarly journals Observations of magnetic and kinetic helicity proxies

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S294) ◽  
pp. 13-24
Author(s):  
Hongqi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Velocity Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Solar Atmosphere ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Solar Dynamo ◽  
Magnetic Helicity ◽  
Vector Magnetograms ◽  
Topological Configuration ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe helicity is important to present the basic topological configuration of magnetic field in solar atmosphere. The distribution of magnetic helicity in solar atmosphere is presented by means of the observational (vector) magnetograms. As the kinetic helicity in the solar subatmosphere can be inferred from the velocity field based on the technique of the helioseismology and used to compare with the magnetic helicity in the solar atmosphere, the observational helicities provide the important chance for the confirmation on the generation of magnetic fields in the subatmosphere and solar dynamo models also. In this paper, we present the observational magnetic and kinetic helicity in solar active regions and corresponding questions, except the relationship with solar eruptive phenomena.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of low-degree solar p modes to active and ephemeral regions: frequency shifts back to the Maunder minimum

2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (1) ◽  
pp. L86-L90 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J Chaplin ◽  
Rachel Howe ◽  
Sarbani Basu ◽  
Yvonne Elsworth ◽  
Timothy W Milbourne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Region ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Activity Cycle ◽  
Maunder Minimum ◽  
Field Frequency ◽  
Frequency Shifts ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Low Degree

ABSTRACT We explore the sensitivity of the frequencies of low-degree solar p modes to near-surface magnetic flux on different spatial scales and strengths, specifically to active regions with strong magnetic fields and ephemeral regions with weak magnetic fields. We also use model reconstructions from the literature to calculate average frequency offsets back to the end of the Maunder minimum. We find that the p-mode frequencies are at least 3 times less sensitive (at 95  per cent confidence) to the ephemeral-region field than they are to the active-region field. Frequency shifts between activity cycle minima and maxima are controlled predominantly by the change of active region flux. Frequency shifts at cycle minima (with respect to a magnetically quiet Sun) are determined largely by the ephemeral flux, and are estimated to have been $0.1\, \rm \mu Hz$ or less over the last few minima. We conclude that at epochs of cycle minimum, frequency shifts due to near-surface magnetic activity are negligible compared to the offsets between observed and model frequencies that arise from inaccurate modelling of the near-surface layers (the so-called surface term). The implication is that this will be the case for other Sun-like stars with similar activity, which has implications for asteroseismic modelling of stars.

Chaotic modulation of the solar cycle

1994 ◽  
Vol 348 (1688) ◽  
pp. 445-447 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cycle ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
Maunder Minimum ◽  
Magnetic Cycle ◽  
Sunspot Minimum ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
Oriented Parallel

The Sun’s magnetic activity varies cyclically, with a well-defined mean period of about 11 years. At the beginning of a new cycle, spots appear at latitudes around ±30°; then the zones of activity expand and drift towards the equator, where they die away as the new cycle starts again at higher latitudes. Active regions are typically oriented parallel to the equator, with oppositely directed magnetic fields in leading and following regions. The sense of these fields is opposite in the two hemispheres and reverses at sunspot minimum. So the magnetic cycle has a 22-year period, with waves of activity that drift towards the equator. Sunspot records show that there was a dearth of spots in the late 17th century - the Maunder minimum - which can also be detected in proxy records.

scholarly journals Solar and Stellar Dynamo Waves Under Asymptotic Investigation

1998 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 415-418
Author(s):  
Kirill M. Kuzanyan
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
Dynamo Model ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Asymptotic Investigation ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Dynamo Wave ◽  
The Magnetic Field

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.

scholarly journals Oscillatory convection in strong magnetic fields and origin of active regions

1968 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 127-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. I. Syrovatsky ◽  
Y. D. Zhugzhda
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Oscillatory Convection ◽  
Strong Magnetic Fields ◽  
Various Boundary Conditions ◽  
Convective Cells ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
Polytropic Atmosphere

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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