ORFEES - a radio spectrograph for the study of solar radio bursts and space weather applications

Radio bursts are sensitive tracers of non-thermal electron populations in the solar corona. They are produced by electron beams and shock waves propagating through the corona and the Heliosphere, and by trapped electron populations in coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and in quiescent active regions. Combining space borne and ground-based radio spectrographs allows one to track disturbances all the way between the low corona, near or at the sites of particle acceleration, and the spacecraft. Radio observations are therefore a significant tool in probing the solar origin of heliospheric disturbances, which is a central research topic as witnessed by the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions. The full scientific return of these projects needs vigorous ground-based support, which at radio wavelengths covers altitudes up to about a solar radius above the photosphere. Besides research in solar and heliospheric physics, monitoring solar radio bursts also supports space weather services. On occasion radio bursts can themselves be a space weather hazard. The Nan\c{c}ay radio astronomy station in central France has a long tradition of monitoring radio emission at decimetre-to-metre wavelengths. This article describes the radio spectrograph ORFEES ({\it Observations Radiospectrographiques pour FEDOME et l'Etude des Eruptions Solaires}). It observes the whole-Sun flux density between 144 and 1004 MHz, which pertains to regions between the low corona and about half a solar radius above the photosphere. ORFEES is the result of a partnership between Observatoire de Paris and the French Air Force, which operates the experimental space weather service FEDOME. The primary use of the instrument at Paris Observatory is the astrophysical observation. Low-resolution data with rapid availability are presently produced for the French Air Force. Similar information can be made available to a broader range of space-weather service providers. This article gives an overview of the instrument design and the access to the data, and shows a few illustrative observations.

The structure of the Milky Way based on unWISE 3.4 μm integrated photometry

ABSTRACT We present a detailed analysis of the Galaxy structure using an unWISE wide-field image at $3.4\,\mu$m. We perform a 3D photometric decomposition of the Milky Way taking into account (i) the projection of the Galaxy on the celestial sphere and (ii) that the observer is located within the Galaxy at the solar radius. We consider a large set of photometric models starting with a pure disc model and ending with a complex model that consists of thin and thick discs plus a boxy-peanut-shaped bulge. In our final model, we incorporate many observed features of the Milky Way, such as the disc flaring and warping, several overdensities in the plane, and the dust extinction. The model of the bulge with the corresponding X-shape structure is obtained from N-body simulations of a Milky Way-like galaxy. This allows us to retrieve the parameters of the aforementioned stellar components, estimate their contribution to the total Galaxy luminosity, and constrain the position angle of the bar. The mass of the thick disc in our models is estimated to be 0.4–1.3 of that for the thin disc. The results of our decomposition can be directly compared to those obtained for external galaxies via multicomponent photometric decomposition.

Deriving plasma parameters of large coronal magnetic loops using J-burst observation from LOFAR

<p>Solar type J radio bursts are the signatures of electron beams travelling along closed magnetic loops in the solar corona. Type J bursts provide diagnostics for observing and understanding coronal loops geometry and electron beams dynamics. Due to the observational limitations, large loops around 1 solar radius in height are ill-defined. Whilst J-bursts at meter-wavelengths are well suited for the analysis of coronal loops at these solar altitudes, applying standard empirical solar plasma density distributions have limitations as they are designed for flux tubes extending into the solar wind and do not capture the curvature of such coronal loops.</p><p>We analysed over 20 type J bursts observed by the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) on the 10th of April 2019. Using a reference height, we derived the ambient plasma density models that varied along the ascending leg of coronal loops, and also with solar altitude. By estimating the density scale height, we inferred physical parameters of large coronal magnetic loops, roughly 0.7 to 1.5 solar radii above the photosphere. These coronal loops had temperatures around 2 MK and pressures around  5 dyn cm<sup>-2</sup> . We then inferred the minimum magnetic field strength of these closed loops to be around 0.3 G. These large coronal loops' plasma conditions are significantly different to smaller coronal loops and loops that extend out into the solar wind.</p>

CHOICE OF CONDITIONS FOR MHD SIMULATIONS ABOVE THE ACTIVE REGION, ALLOWING THE STUDY OF THE SOLAR FLARE MECHANISM

Primordial release of solar flare energy high in corona (at altitudes 1/40 - 1/20 of the solar radius) is explained by release of the magnetic energy of the current sheet. The observed manifestations of the flare are explained by the electrodynamical model of a solar flare proposed by I. M. Podgorny. To study the flare mechanism is necessary to perform MHD simulations above a real active region (AR). MHD simulation in the solar corona in the real scale of time can only be carried out thanks to parallel calculations using CUDA technology. Methods have been developed for stabilizing numerical instabilities that arise near the boundary of the computational domain. Methods are applicable for low viscosities in the main part of the domain, for which the flare energy is effectively accumulated near the singularities of the magnetic field. Singular lines of the magnetic field, near which the field can have a rather complex configuration, coincide or are located near the observed positions of the flare.

Aluminium-enriched metal-poor stars buried in the inner Galaxy

Stars with higher levels of aluminium and nitrogen enrichment are often key pieces in the chemical makeup of multiple populations in almost all globular clusters (GCs). There is also compelling observational evidence that some Galactic components could be partially built from dissipated GCs. The identification of such stars among metal-poor field stars may therefore provide insight into the composite nature of the Milky Way (MW) bulge and inner stellar halo, and could also reveal other chemical peculiarities. Here, based on APOGEE spectra, we report the discovery of 29 mildly metal-poor ([Fe/H] ≲ −0.7) stars with stellar atmospheres strongly enriched in aluminium (Al-rich stars: [Al/Fe] ≳ +0.5), well above the typical Galactic levels, located within the solar radius toward the bulge region, which lies in highly eccentric orbits (e ≳ 0.6). We find many similarities for almost all of the chemical species measured in this work with the chemical patterns of GCs, and therefore we propose that they have likely been dynamically ejected into the bulge and inner halo from GCs formed in situ and/or GCs formed in different progenitors of known merger events experienced by the MW, such as the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus and/or Sequoia.

Vertical stellar density distribution in a non-isothermal galactic disc

ABSTRACT The vertical density distribution of stars in a galactic disc is traditionally obtained by assuming an isothermal vertical velocity dispersion of stars. Recent observations from SDSS, LAMOST, RAVE, Gaia etc. show that this dispersion increases with height from the mid-plane. Here, we study the dynamical effect of such non-isothermal dispersion on the self-consistent vertical density distribution for the thin disc stars in the Galaxy, obtained by solving together the Poisson equation and the equation of hydrostatic equilibrium. We find that in the non-isothermal case the mid-plane density is lower and the scale height is higher than the corresponding values for the isothermal distribution, due to higher vertical pressure, hence the distribution is vertically more extended. The change is $\sim \! 35 {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ at the solar radius for a stars-alone disc for the typical observed linear gradient of +6.7 km s−1 kpc−1 and becomes even higher with increasing radii and increasing gradients explored. The distribution shows a wing at high z, in agreement with observations, and is fitted well by a double $\operatorname{sech}^{2}$, which could be mis-interpreted as the existence of a second, thicker disc, specially in external galaxies. We also consider a more realistic disc consisting of gravitationally coupled stars and gas in the field of dark matter halo. The results show the same trend but the effect of non-isothermal dispersion is reduced due to the opposite, constraining effect of the gas and halo gravity. Further, the non-isothermal dispersion lowers the theoretical estimate of the total mid-plane density i.e. Oort limit value, by 16 per cent.

FEATURES OF THE INITIAL STAGE OF FORMATION OF FAST CORONAL MASS EJECTION ON FEBRUARY 25, 2014

We have analyzed the fast coronal mass ejection (CME) that occurred on February 25, 2014. The analysis is based on images taken in the 131, 211, 304, and 1700 Å UV channels of the SDO/AIA instrument and from observations obtained in the Hα line (6562.8 Å) with the telescopes of the Teide and Big Bear Observatories. The February 25, 2014 CME is associated with the ejection and subsequent explosive expansion of the magnetic flux rope, which appeared near the solar surface presumably due to the tether-cutting magnetic reconnection. The impulse of full pressure (thermal plus magnetic) resulting from such an “explosion” acts on the overlying coronal arcades, causing them to merge and form an accelerated moving frontal structure of the CME. This pressure impulse also generates a blast collisional shock wave ahead of the CME, whose velocity decreases rapidly with distance. At large distances R>7R₀ (R₀ is the solar radius) from the center of the Sun in front of the CME, a shock wave of another type is formed — a “piston” collisional shock wave whose velocity varies little with distance. At R≥15R₀, there is a transition from a collisional to a collisionless shock wave.

FEATURES OF THE INITIAL STAGE OF FORMATION OF FAST CORONAL MASS EJECTION ON FEBRUARY 25, 2014

We have analyzed the fast coronal mass ejection (CME) that occurred on February 25, 2014. The analysis is based on images taken in the 131, 211, 304, and 1700 Å UV channels of the SDO/AIA instrument and from observations obtained in the Hα line (6562.8 Å) with the telescopes of the Teide and Big Bear Observatories. The February 25, 2014 CME is associated with the ejection and subsequent explosive expansion of the magnetic flux rope, which appeared near the solar surface presumably due to the tether-cutting magnetic reconnection. The impulse of full pressure (thermal plus magnetic) resulting from such an “explosion” acts on the overlying coronal arcades, causing them to merge and form an accelerated moving frontal structure of the CME. This pressure impulse also generates a blast collisional shock wave ahead of the CME, whose velocity decreases rapidly with distance. At large distances R>7R₀ (R₀ is the solar radius) from the center of the Sun in front of the CME, a shock wave of another type is formed — a “piston” collisional shock wave whose velocity varies little with distance. At R≥15R₀, there is a transition from a collisional to a collisionless shock wave.

The globular cluster system of the Auriga simulations

ABSTRACT We investigate whether the galaxy and star formation model used for the Auriga simulations can produce a realistic globular cluster (GC) population. We compare statistics of GC candidate star particles in the Auriga haloes with catalogues of the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) GC populations. We find that the Auriga simulations do produce sufficient stellar mass for GC candidates at radii and metallicities that are typical for the MW GC system (GCS). We also find varying mass ratios of the simulated GC candidates relative to the observed mass in the MW and M31 GCSs for different bins of galactocentric radius metallicity (rgal–[Fe/H]). Overall, the Auriga simulations produce GC candidates with higher metallicities than the MW and M31 GCS and they are found at larger radii than observed. The Auriga simulations would require bound cluster formation efficiencies higher than 10 per cent for the metal-poor GC candidates, and those within the Solar radius should experience negligible destruction rates to be consistent with observations. GC candidates in the outer halo, on the other hand, should either have low formation efficiencies, or experience high mass-loss for the Auriga simulations to produce a GCS that is consistent with that of the MW or M31. Finally, the scatter in the metallicity as well as in the radial distribution between different Auriga runs is considerably smaller than the differences between that of the MW and M31 GCSs. The Auriga model is unlikely to give rise to a GCS that can be consistent with both galaxies.