Modulational Instability of Fast Sausage Mode as One of the Possible Mechanisms for Quasiperiodic Pulsations during Solar Flares

Quasiperiodic pulsations (QPPs) are frequently observed in the entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum during solar flares, and there can be many possible mechanisms leading to this phenomenon. In the present work, we demonstrate the possibility of the generation of QPPs by a nonlinear fast sausage mode in a coronal loop. The coronal loop itself is represented by an infinitely long homogenous magnetic flux tube, which in many cases is a good approximation, and the nonlinearity of the fast sausage mode is modeled by the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NSE) with a cubic nonlinearity. We have shown that the frequency-renormalized plane wave solution, which happens to be an exact solution of the NSE, transforms into a series of quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) due to the so-called modulational instability or the Benjamin–Feir instability. Our numerical solutions show that such QPOs evolve at almost every point above a certain height along the magnetic flux tube, which represents the coronal loop. As the fast sausage mode perturbs the plasma density strongly, the density perturbations caused by the QPOs of the nonlinear fast sausage mode correspondingly modulate the radiation throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, resulting in the emergence of the corresponding QPPs. This mechanism should therefore be able to describe some of the observed QPPs.

Recurrent coronal jets observed by SDO/AIA

In this paper, we carried out multiwavelength observations of three recurring jets on 2014 November 7. The jets originated from the same region at the edge of AR 12205 and propagated along the same coronal loop. The eruptions were generated by magnetic reconnection, which is evidenced by continuous magnetic cancellation at the jet base. The projected initial velocity of jet2 is ∼402 km s−1. The accelerations in the ascending and descending phases of jet2 are not consistent, the former is considerably larger than the value of g ⊙ at the solar surface, while the latter is lower than g ⊙. There are two possible candidates of extra forces acting on jet2 during its propagation. One is the downward gas pressure from jet1 when it falls back and meets with jet2. The other is the viscous drag from the surrounding plasma during the fast propagation of jet2. As a contrast, the accelerations of jet3 in the rising and falling phases are constant, implying that the propagation of jet3 is not significantly influenced by extra forces.

Decayless Kink Oscillations Excited by Random Driving: Motion in Transitional Layer

In this article we study the plasma motion in the transitional layer of a coronal loop randomly driven at one of its footpoints in the thin-tube and thin-boundary-layer (TTTB) approximation. We introduce the average of the square of a random function with respect to time. This average can be considered as the square of the oscillation amplitude of this quantity. Then we calculate the oscillation amplitudes of the radial and azimuthal plasma displacement as well as the perturbation of the magnetic pressure. We find that the amplitudes of the plasma radial displacement and the magnetic-pressure perturbation do not change across the transitional layer. The amplitude of the plasma radial displacement is of the same order as the driver amplitude. The amplitude of the magnetic-pressure perturbation is of the order of the driver amplitude times the ratio of the loop radius to the loop length squared. The amplitude of the plasma azimuthal displacement is of the order of the driver amplitude times $\text{Re}^{1/6}$ Re 1 / 6 , where Re is the Reynolds number. It has a peak at the position in the transitional layer where the local Alfvén frequency coincides with the fundamental frequency of the loop kink oscillation. The ratio of the amplitude near this position and far from it is of the order of $\ell$ ℓ , where $\ell$ ℓ is the ratio of thickness of the transitional layer to the loop radius. We calculate the dependence of the plasma azimuthal displacement on the radial distance in the transitional layer in a particular case where the density profile in this layer is linear.

The need for new techniques to identify the high-frequency MHD waves of an oscillating coronal loop

Context. Magnetic arcades in the solar atmosphere, or coronal loops, are common structures known to host magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves and oscillations. Of particular interest are the observed properties of transverse loop oscillations, such as their frequency and mode of oscillation, which have received significant attention in recent years because of their seismological capability. Previous studies have relied on standard data analysis techniques, such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT) and wavelet transform (WT), to correctly extract periodicities and identify the MHD modes. However, the ways in which these methods can lead to artefacts requires careful investigation. Aims. We aim to assess whether these two common spectral analysis techniques in coronal seismology can successfully identify high-frequency waves from an oscillating coronal loop. Methods. We examine extreme ultraviolet images of a coronal loop observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly in the 171 Å waveband on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We perform a spectral analysis of the loop waveform and compare our observation with a basic simulation. Results. The spectral FFT and WT power of the observed loop waveform is found to reveal a significant signal with frequency ∼2.67 mHz superposed onto the dominant mode of oscillation of the loop (∼1.33 mHz), that is, the second harmonic of the loop. The simulated data show that the second harmonic is completely artificial even though both of these methods identify this mode as a real signal. This artificial harmonic, and several higher modes, are shown to arise owing to the periodic but non-uniform brightness of the loop. We further illustrate that the reconstruction of the ∼2.67 mHz component, particularly in the presence of noise, yields a false perception of oscillatory behaviour that does not otherwise exist. We suggest that additional techniques, such as a forward model of a 3D coronal arcade, are necessary to verify such high-frequency waves. Conclusions. Our findings have significant implications for coronal seismology, as we highlight the dangers of attempting to identify high-frequency MHD wave modes using these standard data analysis techniques.