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At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

STUDY OF THE RECURRING DIMMING REGION DETECTED AT AR 11305 USING THE CORONAL DIMMING TRACKER (CoDiT)

We present a new approach to coronal dimming detection using the COronal DImming Tracker tool (CODIT), which was found to be successful in locating and tracking multiple dimming regions. This tool, an extension of a previously developed coronal hole tracking software, allows us to study the properties and the spatial evolution of dimming regions at high temporal and spatial cadence from the time of their appearance to their disappearance. We use Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly 193 A wavelength observations and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager magnetograms to study dimmings. As a demonstration of the detection technique we analyzed six recurrences of a dimming observed near AR 11305 between 2011 September 29 and October 2. The dimming repeatedly appeared and formed in a similar way, first expanding then shrinking and occasionally stabilizing in the same location until the next eruption. The dimming areas were studied in conjunction with the corresponding flare magnitudes and coronal mass ejection (CME) masses. These properties were found to follow a similar trend during the observation period, which is consistent with the idea that the magnitude of the eruption and the CME mass affect the relative sizes of the consecutive dimmings. We also present a hypothesis to explain the evolution of the recurrent single dimming through interchange reconnection. This process would accommodate the relocation of quasi-open magnetic field lines and hence allow the CME flux rope footpoint (the dimming) to expand into quiet-Sun regions. By relating the properties of dimmings, flares, and CMEs we improve our understanding of the magnetic field reconfiguration caused by reconnection.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

NONLINEAR FORCE-FREE MAGNETIC FIELD FITTING TO CORONAL LOOPS WITH AND WITHOUT STEREOSCOPY

We developed a new nonlinear force-free magnetic field (NLFFF) forward-fitting algorithm based on an analytical approximation of force-free and divergence-free NLFFF solutions, which requires as input a line-of-sight magnetogram and traced two-dimensional (2D) loop coordinates of coronal loops only, in contrast to stereoscopically triangulated three-dimensional loop coordinates used in previous studies. Test results of simulated magnetic configurations and from four active regions observed with STEREO demonstrate that NLFFF solutions can be fitted with equal accuracy with or without stereoscopy, which relinquishes the necessity of STEREO data for magnetic modeling of active regions (on the solar disk). The 2D loop tracing method achieves a 2D misalignment of {mu}{sub 2} = 2. Degree-Sign 7 {+-} 1. Degree-Sign 3 between the model field lines and observed loops, and an accuracy of Almost-Equal-To 1.0% for the magnetic energy or free magnetic energy ratio. The three times higher spatial resolution of TRACE or SDO/AIA (compared with STEREO) also yields a proportionally smaller misalignment angle between model fit and observations. Visual/manual loop tracings are found to produce more accurate magnetic model fits than automated tracing algorithms. The computation time of the new forward-fitting code amounts to a few minutes per active region.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

TRANSIENT BRIGHTENINGS ASSOCIATED WITH FLUX CANCELLATION ALONG A FILAMENT CHANNEL

Filament channels coincide with large-scale polarity inversion lines of the photospheric magnetic field, where flux cancellation continually takes place. High-cadence Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) images recorded in He II 30.4 nm and Fe IX 17.1 nm during 2010 August 22 reveal numerous transient brightenings occurring along the edge of a filament channel within a decaying active region, where SDO line-of-sight magnetograms show strong opposite-polarity flux in close contact. The brightenings are elongated along the direction of the filament channel, with linear extents of several arcseconds, and typically last a few minutes; they sometimes have the form of multiple two-sided ejections with speeds on the order of 100 km s{sup -1}. Remarkably, some of the brightenings rapidly develop into larger scale events, forming sheetlike structures that are eventually torn apart by the diverging flows in the filament channel and ejected in opposite directions. We interpret the brightenings as resulting from reconnections among filament-channel field lines having one footpoint located in the region of canceling flux. In some cases, the flow patterns that develop in the channel may bring successive horizontal loops together and cause a cascade to larger scales.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DOUBLE POWER-LAW DISTRIBUTION OF MAGNETIC ENERGY IN THE SOLAR CORONA OVER AN ACTIVE REGION

In this paper, we study the magnetic energy (ME) structure contained in the solar corona over the active region NOAA 11158. The time period is chosen as from 0:00 to 06:00 UT on 2011 February 15, during which an X-class flare occurred. The nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) and the potential field extrapolation are carried out to model the coronal magnetic field over this active region, using high-quality photospheric vector magnetograms observed by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory as boundary conditions. We find that the volume distribution for the density of the ME (B {sup 2}/8{pi}) and the ohmic dissipation power (ODP, j {sup 2}/{sigma}), in which j is the electric current density (c/4{pi}{nabla} Multiplication-Sign B) and {sigma} is the conductivity in the corona, can be readily fitted by a broken-down double-power law. The turn-over density for the spectrum of the ME and ODP is found to be fixed at {approx}1.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} erg cm{sup -3} and {approx}2.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -15} W cm{sup -3} (assuming {sigma} = 10{sup 5} {Omega}{sup -1} m{sup -1}), respectively. Compared with their first power-law spectra (fitted below the corresponding turn-over value) which remain unchanged, the second power-law spectra (fitted above the corresponding turn-over value) for the NLFFF's ME and ODP show flare-associated changes. The potential field remains steady. These results indicate that a magnetic field with energy density larger than the turn-over energy density plays a dominant role in powering the flare.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Ca II 854.2 nm BISECTORS AND CIRCUMFACULAR REGIONS

Active regions appear bright in Ca II 854.2 nm line core intensity while the surrounding areas, referred to as circumfacular regions, are darker than the active region or the quiet Sun. We use Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun Vector Spectromagnetograph Ca II 854.2 nm data (photospheric and chromospheric full disk magnetograms as well as high spectral resolution Stokes I and V profiles) to study the connection between magnetic canopies, circumfacular regions, and Ca II 854.2 nm bisector amplitudes (spans). The line bisector amplitude is reduced in circumfacular regions, where the 3 minute period power in chromospheric H{alpha} intensity oscillations is also reduced relative to the surrounding quiet Sun. The latter is consistent with magnetic canopies in circumfacular regions suppressing upward propagating steepening acoustic waves. Our results provide further strong evidence for shock waves as the cause of the inverse C-shaped bisector and explain the observed solar cycle variation of the shape and amplitude of Sun-as-a-star Ca II 854.2 nm bisectors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

MAGNETIC ENERGY PARTITION BETWEEN THE CORONAL MASS EJECTION AND FLARE FROM AR 11283

On 2011 September 6, an X-class flare and a halo coronal mass ejection (CME) were observed from Earth erupting from the same active region AR 11283. The magnetic energy partition between them has been investigated. SDO/HMI vector magnetograms were used to obtain the coronal magnetic field using the nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) extrapolation method. The free magnetic energies before and after the flare were calculated to estimate the released energy available to power the flare and the CME. For the flare energetics, thermal and nonthermal energies were derived using the RHESSI and GOES data. To obtain the radiative output, SDO/EVE data in the 0.1-37 nm waveband were utilized. We have reconstructed the three-dimensional (3D) periphery of the CME from the coronagraph images observed by STEREO-A, B, and SOHO. The mass calculations were then based on a more precise Thomson-scattering geometry. The subsequent estimate of the kinetic and potential energies of the CME took advantage of the more accurate mass, and the height and speed in a 3D frame. The released free magnetic energy resulting from the NLFFF model is about 6.4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 31} erg, which has a possible upper limit of 1.8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 32} erg. The thermal and nonthermal energies are lower than the radiative output of 2.2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 31} erg from SDO/EVE for this event. The total radiation covering the whole solar spectrum is probably a few times larger. The sum of the kinetic and potential energy of the CME could go up to 6.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 31} erg. Therefore, the free energy is able to power the flare and the CME in AR 11283. Within the uncertainty, the flare and the CME may consume a similar amount of free energy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

OBSERVATIONS AND MODELING OF THE EMERGING EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET LOOPS IN THE QUIET SUN AS SEEN WITH THE SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY

We used data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to study coronal loops at small scales, emerging in the quiet Sun. With HMI line-of-sight magnetograms, we derive the integrated and unsigned photospheric magnetic flux at the loop footpoints in the photosphere. These loops are bright in the EUV channels of AIA. Using the six AIA EUV filters, we construct the differential emission measure (DEM) in the temperature range 5.7-6.5 in log T (K) for several hours of observations. The observed DEMs have a peak distribution around log T Almost-Equal-To 6.3, falling rapidly at higher temperatures. For log T < 6.3, DEMs are comparable to their peak values within an order of magnitude. The emission-weighted temperature is calculated, and its time variations are compared with those of magnetic flux. We present two possibilities for explaining the observed DEMs and temperatures variations. (1) Assuming that the observed loops are composed of a hundred thin strands with certain radius and length, we tested three time-dependent heating models and compared the resulting DEMs and temperatures with the observed quantities. This modeling used enthalpy-based thermal evolution of loops (EBTEL), a zero-dimensional (0D) hydrodynamic code. The comparisons suggest that a medium-frequency heating model with a population of different heating amplitudes can roughly reproduce the observations. (2) We also consider a loop model with steady heating and non-uniform cross-section of the loop along its length, and find that this model can also reproduce the observed DEMs, provided the loop expansion factor {gamma} {approx} 5-10. More observational constraints are required to better understand the nature of coronal heating in the short emerging loops on the quiet Sun.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Fe XII STALKS AND THE ORIGIN OF THE AXIAL FIELD IN FILAMENT CHANNELS

Employing Fe XII images and line-of-sight magnetograms, we deduce the direction of the axial field in high-latitude filament channels from the orientation of the adjacent stalklike structures. Throughout the rising phase of the current solar cycle 24, filament channels poleward of latitude 30 Degree-Sign overwhelmingly obeyed the hemispheric chirality rule, being dextral (sinistral) in the northern (southern) hemisphere, corresponding to negative (positive) helicity. During the deep minimum of 2007-2009, the orientation of the Fe XII stalks was often difficult to determine, but no obvious violations of the rule were found. Although the hemispheric trend was still present during the maximum and early declining phase of cycle 23 (2000-2003), several high-latitude exceptions were identified at that time. From the observation that dextral (sinistral) filament channels form through the decay of active regions whose Fe XII features show a counterclockwise (clockwise) whorl, we conclude that the axial field direction is determined by the intrinsic helicity of the active regions. In contrast, generation of the axial field component by the photospheric differential rotation is difficult to reconcile with the observed chirality of polar crown and circular filament channels, and with the presence of filament channels along the equator. The main role of differential rotation in filament channel formation is to expedite the cancellation of flux and thus the removal of the transverse field component. We propose further that, rather than being ejected into the heliosphere, the axial field is eventually resubmerged by flux cancellation as the adjacent unipolar regions become increasingly mixed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

BRIGHT POINTS: MULTITHERMAL ANALYSIS AS A TEST OF STEADY HEATING MODELS

X-ray bright points are small, million-degree features in the solar atmosphere composed of short coronal loops. They are magnetically driven structures associated with photospheric magnetic bipoles. Their relatively small size and simple structure suggest they are ideal candidates for comparisons with coronal heating models. In this paper, we present the analysis of 12 bright points using data from the EUV Imaging Spectrometer on Hinode and the Michelson Doppler Imager on Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Using the spectroscopy data, we construct differential emission measure (DEM) curves, calculate the electron density, and find DEM-weighted temperatures. In addition, we determine the most likely ionization balance. Using the magnetic field observations, we complete potential field extrapolations of the magnetograms and estimate the loop lengths. Using this information, we construct models assuming the bright points are formed of hundreds of strands, each heated steadily and uniformly. We formulate the models so that the observed emission measure distribution is matched within a few percent. We then compare the densities determined from the models, (1.4-5.0) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 9}, to those calculated from spectral data, (0.6-2.0) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 9}. We find the majority of bright points do not agree with steady uniform heating models; instead they are underdense relative to their expected density by a factor of 0.16-0.82.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

MOVING MAGNETIC FEATURES AROUND AR 10930 FROM HIGH-RESOLUTION DATA OBSERVED BY HINODE/SOT

We investigate the origin, configuration, and evolution of moving magnetic features (MMFs) in the moat and penumbra regions of NOAA AR 10930 using Hinode/SOT filtergrams and magnetograms. We differentiate MMFs into four types in terms of the location of first appearance and the source of initial flux. The main results are summed up as follows: (1) 50% of the MMFs are produced from or within the penumbra, while 50% are produced within the moat. The MMFs formed in the penumbra normally move outward along radial directions. The MMFs formed in the moat have more dispersed directions of motion. The average speed of most MMFs decreases radially. (2) About 63% of moat fluxes are input by flux emergences. Newly emerged MMFs are normally smaller in size. In their rise phase, they gain flux by adding newly emerging flux or merging other elements, and in the decline phase they lose flux by flux cancellation or fragmentation. The MMFs that are fragments separated from penumbra or other magnetic elements usually have larger flux and longer lifetime. They start their decay process once they are formed. Frequent merging and flux cancellation between MMFs are the dominant factors in MMFs' evolution. (3) Cancellations between opposite-polarity magnetic elements are responsible for most of the low chromospheric bright points. Bipole emergence and MMFs' severance from the penumbra also produce bright points. Elongated or horn-shaped micro-filaments may appear during the separation or cancellation process between magnetic elements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

COMBINING PARTICLE ACCELERATION AND CORONAL HEATING VIA DATA-CONSTRAINED CALCULATIONS OF NANOFLARES IN CORONAL LOOPS

We model nanoflare heating of extrapolated active-region coronal loops via the acceleration of electrons and protons in Harris-type current sheets. The kinetic energy of the accelerated particles is estimated using semi-analytical and test-particle-tracing approaches. Vector magnetograms and photospheric Doppler velocity maps of NOAA active region 09114, recorded by the Imaging Vector Magnetograph, were used for this analysis. A current-free field extrapolation of the active-region corona was first constructed. The corresponding Poynting fluxes at the footpoints of 5000 extrapolated coronal loops were then calculated. Assuming that reconnecting current sheets develop along these loops, we utilized previous results to estimate the kinetic energy gain of the accelerated particles. We related this energy to nanoflare heating and macroscopic loop characteristics. Kinetic energies of 0.1-8 keV (for electrons) and 0.3-470 keV (for protons) were found to cause heating rates ranging from 10{sup -6} to 1 erg s{sup -1} cm{sup -3}. Hydrodynamic simulations show that such heating rates can sustain plasma in coronal conditions inside the loops and generate plasma thermal distributions that are consistent with active-region observations. We concluded the analysis by computing the form of X-ray spectra generated by the accelerated electrons using the thick-target approach. These spectra were found to be in agreement with observed X-ray spectra, thus supporting the plausibility of our nanoflare-heating scenario.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

KINETIC MODELING OF PARTICLE ACCELERATION IN A SOLAR NULL-POINT RECONNECTION REGION

The primary focus of this paper is on the particle acceleration mechanism in solar coronal three-dimensional reconnection null-point regions. Starting from a potential field extrapolation of a Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) magnetogram taken on 2002 November 16, we first performed magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations with horizontal motions observed by SOHO applied to the photospheric boundary of the computational box. After a build-up of electric current in the fan plane of the null point, a sub-section of the evolved MHD data was used as initial and boundary conditions for a kinetic particle-in-cell model of the plasma. We find that sub-relativistic electron acceleration is mainly driven by a systematic electric field in the current sheet. A non-thermal population of electrons with a power-law distribution in energy forms in the simulated pre-flare phase, featuring a power-law index of about -1.78. This work provides a first step toward bridging the gap between macroscopic scales on the order of hundreds of Mm and kinetic scales on the order of centimeter in the solar corona, and explains how to achieve such a cross-scale coupling by utilizing either physical modifications or (equivalent) modifications of the constants of nature. With their exceptionally high resolution-up to 135 billion particles and 3.5 billion grid cells of size 17.5 km-these simulations offer a new opportunity to study particle acceleration in solar-like settings.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

USING CORONAL CELLS TO INFER THE MAGNETIC FIELD STRUCTURE AND CHIRALITY OF FILAMENT CHANNELS

Coronal cells are visible at temperatures of {approx}1.2 MK in Fe XII coronal images obtained from the Solar Dynamics Observatory and Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory spacecraft. We show that near a filament channel, the plumelike tails of these cells bend horizontally in opposite directions on the two sides of the channel like fibrils in the chromosphere. Because the cells are rooted in magnetic flux concentrations of majority polarity, these observations can be used with photospheric magnetograms to infer the direction of the horizontal field in filament channels and the chirality of the associated magnetic field. This method is similar to the procedure for inferring the direction of the magnetic field and the chirality of the fibril pattern in filament channels from H{alpha} observations. However, the coronal cell observations are easier to use and provide clear inferences of the horizontal field direction for heights up to {approx}50 Mm into the corona.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

MODELING STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS THROUGH DIRECT NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF 3D-MHD TURBULENCE

Statistical properties of the Sun's photospheric turbulent magnetic field, especially those of the active regions (ARs), have been studied using the line-of-sight data from magnetograms taken by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and several other instruments. This includes structure functions and their exponents, flatness curves, and correlation functions. In these works, the dependence of structure function exponents ({zeta}{sub p}) of the order of the structure functions (p) was modeled using a non-intermittent K41 model. It is now well known that the ARs are highly turbulent and are associated with strong intermittent events. In this paper, we compare some of the observations from Abramenko et al. with the log-Poisson model used for modeling intermittent MHD turbulent flows. Next, we analyze the structure function data obtained from the direct numerical simulations (DNS) of homogeneous, incompressible 3D-MHD turbulence in three cases: sustained by forcing, freely decaying, and a flow initially driven and later allowed to decay (case 3). The respective DNS replicate the properties seen in the plots of {zeta}{sub p} against p of ARs. We also reproduce the trends and changes observed in intermittency in flatness and correlation functions of ARs. It is suggested from this analysis that an AR in the onset phase of a flare can be treated as a forced 3D-MHD turbulent system in its simplest form and that the flaring stage is representative of decaying 3D-MHD turbulence. It is also inferred that significant changes in intermittency from the initial onset phase of a flare to its final peak flaring phase are related to the time taken by the system to reach the initial onset phase.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

SOLAR MAGNETIC TRACKING. IV. THE DEATH OF MAGNETIC FEATURES

The removal of magnetic flux from the quiet-Sun photosphere is important for maintaining the statistical steady state of the magnetic field there, for determining the magnetic flux budget of the Sun, and for estimating the rate of energy injected into the upper solar atmosphere. Magnetic feature death is a measurable proxy for the removal of detectable flux, either by cancellation (submerging or rising loops, or reconnection in the photosphere) or by dispersal of flux. We used the SWAMIS feature tracking code to understand how nearly 2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} magnetic features die in an hour-long sequence of Hinode/SOT/NFI magnetograms of a region of the quiet Sun. Of the feature deaths that remove visible magnetic flux from the photosphere, the vast majority do so by a process that merely disperses the previously detected flux so that it is too small and too weak to be detected, rather than completely eliminating it. The behavior of the ensemble average of these dispersals is not consistent with a model of simple planar diffusion, suggesting that the dispersal is constrained by the evolving photospheric velocity field. We introduce the concept of the partial lifetime of magnetic features, and show that the partial lifetime due to Cancellation of magnetic flux, 22 hr, is three times slower than previous measurements of the flux turnover time. This indicates that prior feature-based estimates of the flux replacement time may be too short, in contrast with the tendency for this quantity to decrease as resolution and instrumentation have improved. This suggests that dispersal of flux to smaller scales is more important for the replacement of magnetic fields in the quiet Sun than observed bipolar cancellation. We conclude that processes on spatial scales smaller than those visible to Hinode dominate the processes of flux emergence and cancellation, and therefore also the quantity of magnetic flux that threads the photosphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

LOW-LATITUDE CORONAL HOLES, DECAYING ACTIVE REGIONS, AND GLOBAL CORONAL MAGNETIC STRUCTURE

We study the relationship between decaying active-region magnetic fields, coronal holes, and the global coronal magnetic structure using Global Oscillations Network Group synoptic magnetograms, Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory extreme-ultraviolet synoptic maps, and coronal potential-field source-surface models. We analyze 14 decaying regions and associated coronal holes occurring between early 2007 and late 2010, 4 from cycle 23 and 10 from cycle 24. We investigate the relationship between asymmetries in active regions' positive and negative magnetic intensities, asymmetric magnetic decay rates, flux imbalances, global field structure, and coronal hole formation. Whereas new emerging active regions caused changes in the large-scale coronal field, the coronal fields of the 14 decaying active regions only opened under the condition that the global coronal structure remained almost unchanged. This was because the dominant slowly varying, low-order multipoles prevented opposing-polarity fields from opening and the remnant active-region flux preserved the regions' low-order multipole moments long after the regions had decayed. Thus, the polarity of each coronal hole necessarily matched the polar field on the side of the streamer belt where the corresponding active region decayed. For magnetically isolated active regions initially located within the streamer belt, the more intense polarity generally survived to form the hole. For non-isolated regions, flux imbalance and topological asymmetry prompted the opposite to occur in some cases.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

MAGNETIC RECONNECTION: FROM 'OPEN' EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET LOOPS TO CLOSED POST-FLARE ONES OBSERVED BY SDO

We employ Solar Dynamics Observatory observations and select three well-observed events including two flares and one extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) brightening. During the three events, the EUV loops clearly changed. One event was related to a major solar flare that took place on 2012 July 12 in active region NOAA AR 11520. 'Open' EUV loops rooted in a facula of the AR deflected to the post-flare loops and then merged with them while the flare ribbon approached the facula. Meanwhile, 'open' EUV loops rooted in a pore disappeared from top to bottom as the flare ribbon swept over the pore. The loop evolution was similar in the low-temperature channels (e.g., 171 Å) and the high-temperature channels (e.g., 94 Å). The coronal magnetic fields extrapolated from the photospheric vector magnetograms also show that the fields apparently 'open' prior to the flare become closed after it. The other two events were associated with a B1.1 flare on 2010 May 24 and an EUV brightening on 2013 January 03, respectively. During both of these two events, some 'open' loops either disappeared or darkened before the formation of new closed loops. We suggest that the observations reproduce the picture predicted by the standard magnetic reconnection model: 'open' magnetic fields become closed due to reconnection, manifesting as a transformation from 'open' EUV loops to closed post-flare ones.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

SOURCE REGIONS OF THE INTERPLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELD AND VARIABILITY IN HEAVY-ION ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION IN GRADUAL SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENTS

Gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events are those in which ions are accelerated to their observed energies by interactions with a shock driven by a fast coronal mass ejection (CME). Previous studies have shown that much of the observed event-to-event variability can be understood in terms of shock speed and evolution in the shock-normal angle. However, an equally important factor, particularly for the elemental composition, is the origin of the suprathermal seed particles upon which the shock acts. To tackle this issue, we (1) use observed solar-wind speed, magnetograms, and the potential-field source-surface model to map the Sun-L1 interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) line back to its source region on the Sun at the time of the SEP observations and (2) then look for a correlation between SEP composition (as measured by Wind and Advanced Composition Explorer at ∼2-30 MeV nucleon{sup –1}) and characteristics of the identified IMF source regions. The study is based on 24 SEP events, identified as a statistically significant increase in ∼20 MeV protons and occurring in 1998 and 2003-2006, when the rate of newly emergent solar magnetic flux and CMEs was lower than in solar-maximum years, and the field-line tracing is therefore more likely to be successful. We find that the gradual SEP Fe/O is correlated with the field strength at the IMF source, with the largest enhancements occurring when the footpoint field is strong due to the nearby presence of an active region (AR). In these cases, other elemental ratios show a strong charge-to-mass (q/M) ordering (at least on average), similar to that found in impulsive events. Such results lead us to suggest that magnetic reconnection in footpoint regions near ARs bias the heavy-ion composition of suprathermal seed ions by processes qualitatively similar to those that produce larger heavy-ion enhancements in impulsive SEP events. To address potential technical concerns about our analysis, we also discuss efforts to exclude impulsive SEP events from our event sample.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗