Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Magnetogram”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

DISPERSAL OF G-BAND BRIGHT POINTS AT DIFFERENT LONGITUDINAL MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTHS

G-band bright points (GBPs) are thought to be the foot-points of magnetic flux tubes. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relation between the diffusion regimes of GBPs and the associated longitudinal magnetic field strengths. Two high resolution observations of different magnetized environments were acquired with the Hinode/Solar Optical Telescope. Each observation was recorded simultaneously with G-band filtergrams and Narrow-band Filter Imager (NFI) Stokes I and V images. GBPs are identified and tracked automatically, and then categorized into several groups by their longitudinal magnetic field strengths, which are extracted from the calibrated NFI magnetograms using a point-by-point method. The Lagrangian approach and the distribution of diffusion indices approach are adopted separately to explore the diffusion regime of GBPs for each group. It is found that the values of diffusion index and diffusion coefficient both decrease exponentially with the increasing longitudinal magnetic field strengths whichever approach is used. The empirical formulas deduced from the fitting equations are proposed to describe these relations. Stronger elements tend to diffuse more slowly than weak elements, independently of the magnetic flux of the surrounding medium. This may be because the magnetic energy of stronger elements is not negligible compared with the kinetic energy of the gas, and therefore the flows cannot perturb them so easily.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Photospheric electric fields and energy fluxes in the eruptive active region NOAA 11158

How much electromagnetic energy crosses the photosphere in evolving solar active regions (ARs)? With the advent of high-cadence vector magnetic field observations, addressing this fundamental question has become tractable. In this paper, we apply the “PTD-Doppler-FLCT-Ideal” (PDFI) electric field inversion technique of Kazachenko et al. to a 6-day vector magnetogram and Doppler velocity sequence from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory to find the electric field and Poynting flux evolution in NOAA 11158, which produced an X2.2 flare early on 2011 February 15. We find photospheric electric fields ranging up to 2 V cm{sup −1}. The Poynting fluxes range from [−0.6 to 2.3] × 10{sup 10} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}, mostly positive, with the largest contribution to the energy budget in the range of [10{sup 9}−10{sup 10}] erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}. Integrating the instantaneous energy flux over space and time, we find that the total magnetic energy accumulated above the photosphere from the initial emergence to the moment before the X2.2 flare to be E=10.6×10{sup 32} erg, which is partitioned as 2.0×10{sup 32}erg and 8.6×10{sup 32} erg, respectively, between free and potential energies. Those estimates are consistent with estimates from preflare nonlinear force-free field extrapolations and the Minimum Current Corona estimates, in spite of our very different approach. This study of photospheric electric fields demonstrates the potential of the PDFI approach for estimating Poynting fluxes and opens the door to more quantitative studies of the solar photosphere and more realistic data-driven simulations of coronal magnetic field evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ACTIVITY ANALYSES FOR SOLAR-TYPE STARS OBSERVED WITH KEPLER. I. PROXIES OF MAGNETIC ACTIVITY

Light curves of solar-type stars often show gradual fluctuations due to rotational modulation by magnetic features (starspots and faculae) on stellar surfaces. Two quantitative measures of modulated light curves are employed as the proxies of magnetic activity for solar-type stars observed with Kepler telescope. The first is named autocorrelation index i{sub AC}, which describes the degree of periodicity of the light curve; the second is the effective fluctuation range of the light curve R{sub eff}, which reflects the depth of rotational modulation. The two measures are complementary and depict different aspects of magnetic activities on solar-type stars. By using the two proxies i{sub AC} and R{sub eff}, we analyzed activity properties of two carefully selected solar-type stars observed with Kepler (Kepler ID: 9766237 and 10864581), which have distinct rotational periods (14.7 versus 6.0 days). We also applied the two measures to the Sun for a comparative study. The result shows that both the measures can reveal cyclic activity variations (referred to as i{sub AC}-cycle and R{sub eff}-cycle) on the two Kepler stars and the Sun. For the Kepler star with the faster rotation rate, i{sub AC}-cycle and R{sub eff}-cycle are in the same phase, while for the Sun (slower rotator), they are in the opposite phase. By comparing the solar light curve with simultaneous photospheric magnetograms, it is identified that the magnetic feature that causes the periodic light curve during solar minima is the faculae of the enhanced network region, which can also be a candidate of magnetic features that dominate the periodic light curves on the two Kepler stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

UBIQUITOUS ROTATING NETWORK MAGNETIC FIELDS AND EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET CYCLONES IN THE QUIET SUN

We present Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) observations of EUV cyclones in the quiet Sun. These cyclones are rooted in the rotating network magnetic fields (RNFs). Such cyclones can last several to more than 10 hr and, at the later phase, they are found to be associated with EUV brightenings (microflares) and even EUV waves. SDO Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) observations show a ubiquitous presence of RNFs. Using HMI line-of-sight magnetograms on 2010 July 8, we find 388 RNFs in an area of 800 x 980 arcsec{sup 2} near the disk center where no active region is present. The sense of rotation shows a weak hemisphere preference. The unsigned magnetic flux of the RNFs is about 4.0 x 10{sup 21} Mx, or 78% of the total network flux. These observational phenomena at small scale reported in this Letter are consistent with those at large scale in active regions. The ubiquitous RNFs and EUV cyclones over the quiet Sun may suggest an effective way to heat the corona.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

RESPONSE OF THE PHOTOSPHERIC MAGNETIC FIELD TO THE X2.2 FLARE ON 2011 FEBRUARY 15

It is well known that the long-term evolution of the photospheric magnetic field plays an important role in building up free energy to power solar eruptions. Observations, despite being controversial, have also revealed a rapid and permanent variation of the photospheric magnetic field in response to the coronal magnetic field restructuring during the eruption. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument (HMI) on board the newly launched Solar Dynamics Observatory produces seeing-free full-disk vector magnetograms at consistently high resolution and high cadence, which finally makes possible an unambiguous and comprehensive study of this important back-reaction process. In this study, we present a near disk-center, GOES-class X2.2 flare, which occurred in NOAA AR 11158 on 2011 February 15. Using the magnetic field measurements made by HMI, we obtained the first solid evidence of a rapid (in about 30 minutes) and irreversible enhancement in the horizontal magnetic field at the flaring magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL) by a magnitude of {approx}30%. It is also shown that the photospheric field becomes more sheared and more inclined. This field evolution is unequivocally associated with the flare occurrence in this sigmoidal active region, with the enhancement area located in between the two chromospheric flare ribbons and the initial conjugate hard X-ray footpoints. These results strongly corroborate our previous conjecture that the photospheric magnetic field near the PIL must become more horizontal after eruptions, which could be related to the newly formed low-lying fields resulting from the tether-cutting reconnection.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

PRECURSOR OF SUNSPOT PENUMBRAL FORMATION DISCOVERED WITH HINODE SOLAR OPTICAL TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS

We present observations of a precursory signature that would be helpful for understanding the formation process of sunspot penumbrae. The Hinode Solar Optical Telescope successfully captured the entire evolution of a sunspot from the pore to a large well-developed sunspot with penumbra in an emerging flux region appearing in NOAA Active Region 11039. We found an annular zone (width 3''-5'') surrounding the umbra (pore) in Ca II H images before the penumbra formed around the umbra. The penumbra developed as if to fill the annular zone. The annular zone shows weak magnetogram signals, meaning less magnetic flux or highly inclined fields there. Pre-existing ambient magnetic field islands were distributed at the outer edge of the annular zone and did not come into the zone. There are no strong systematic flow patterns in the zone, but we occasionally observed small magnetic flux patches streaming out. The observations indicate that the annular zone is different from the sunspot moat flow region and that it represents the structure in the chromosphere. We conclude that the annular zone reflects the formation of a magnetic canopy overlying the region surrounding the umbra at the chromospheric level, long before the formation of the penumbra at the photospheric level. The magnetic field structure in the chromosphere needs to be considered in the formation process of the penumbrae.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

EVOLUTION OF RELATIVE MAGNETIC HELICITY AND CURRENT HELICITY IN NOAA ACTIVE REGION 11158

Both magnetic and current helicities are crucial ingredients for describing the complexity of active-region magnetic structure. In this Letter, we present the temporal evolution of these helicities contained in NOAA active region 11158 during five days from 2011 February 12 to 16. The photospheric vector magnetograms of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory were used as the boundary conditions for the coronal field extrapolation under the assumption of nonlinear force-free field, from which we calculated both relative magnetic helicity and current helicity. We construct a time-altitude diagram in which altitude distribution of the magnitude of current helicity density is displayed as a function of time. This diagram clearly shows a pattern of upwardly propagating current helicity density over two days prior to the X2.2 flare on February 15 with an average propagation speed of {approx}36 m s{sup -1}. The propagation is synchronous with the emergence of magnetic flux into the photosphere, and indicative of a gradual energy buildup for the X2.2 flare. The time profile of the relative magnetic helicity shows a monotonically increasing trend most of the time, but a pattern of increasing and decreasing magnetic helicity above the monotonic variation appears prior to each of two major flares, M6.6 and X2.2, respectively. The physics underlying this bump pattern is not fully understood. However, the fact that this pattern is apparent in the magnetic helicity evolution but not in the magnetic flux evolution makes it a useful indicator in forecasting major flares.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

CHIRALITY OF HIGH-LATITUDE FILAMENTS OVER SOLAR CYCLE 23

A non-potential quasi-static evolution model coupling the Sun's photospheric and coronal magnetic fields is applied to the problem of filament chirality at high latitudes. For the first time, we run a continuous 15 year simulation, using bipolar active regions determined from US National Solar Observatory, Kitt Peak magnetograms between 1996 and 2011. Using this simulation, we are able to address the outstanding question of whether magnetic helicity transport from active latitudes can overcome the effect of differential rotation at higher latitudes. Acting alone, differential rotation would produce high-latitude filaments with opposite chirality to the majority type in each hemisphere. We find that differential rotation can indeed lead to opposite chirality at high latitudes, but only for around 5 years of the solar cycle following the polar field reversal. At other times, including the rising phase, transport of magnetic helicity from lower latitudes overcomes the effect of in situ differential rotation, producing the majority chirality even on the polar crowns at polar field reversal. These simulation predictions will allow for future testing of the non-potential coronal model. The results indicate the importance of long-term memory and helicity transport from active latitudes when modeling the structure and topology of the coronal magnetic field at higher latitudes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SUDDEN CHANGE OF THE LORENTZ FORCE AND THE MAGNITUDE OF ASSOCIATED FLARES

The rapid and irreversible change of photospheric magnetic fields associated with flares has been confirmed by many recent studies. These studies showed that the photospheric magnetic fields respond to coronal field restructuring and turn to a more horizontal state near the magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL) after eruptions. Recent theoretical work has shown that the change in the Lorentz force associated with a magnetic eruption will lead to such a field configuration at the photosphere. The Helioseismic Magnetic Imager has been providing unprecedented full-disk vector magnetograms covering the rising phase of the solar cycle 24. In this study, we analyze 18 flares in four active regions, with GOES X-ray class ranging from C4.7 to X5.4. We find that there are permanent and rapid changes of magnetic field around the flaring PIL, the most notable of which is the increase of the transverse magnetic field. The changes of fields integrated over the area and the derived change of Lorentz force both show a strong correlation with flare magnitude. It is the first time that such magnetic field changes have been observed even for C-class flares. Furthermore, for seven events with associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs), we use an estimate of the impulse provided by the Lorentz force, plus the observed CME velocity, to estimate the CME mass. We find that if the timescale of the back reaction is short, i.e., in the order of 10 s, the derived values of CME mass ({approx}10{sup 15} g) generally agree with those reported in literature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN INTERNETWORK MAGNETIC ELEMENTS AND SUPERGRANULAR FLOWS

The advection of internetwork magnetic elements by supergranular convective flows is investigated using high spatial resolution, high cadence, and high signal-to-noise ratio Na I D1 magnetograms obtained with the Hinode satellite. The observations show that magnetic elements appear everywhere across the quiet Sun surface. We calculate the proper motion of these magnetic elements with the aid of a feature tracking algorithm. The results indicate that magnetic elements appearing in the interior of supergranules tend to drift toward the supergranular boundaries with a non-constant velocity. The azimuthally averaged radial velocities of the magnetic elements and of the supergranular flow, calculated from a local correlation tracking technique applied to Dopplergrams, are very similar. This suggests that, in the long term, surface magnetic elements are advected by supergranular flows, although on short timescales their very chaotic motions are driven mostly by granular flows and other processes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DIFFUSION OF SOLAR MAGNETIC ELEMENTS UP TO SUPERGRANULAR SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL SCALES

The study of spatial and temporal scales on which small magnetic structures (magnetic elements) are organized in the quiet Sun may be approached by determining how they are transported on the solar photosphere by convective motions. The process involved is diffusion. Taking advantage of Hinode high spatial resolution magnetograms of a quiet-Sun region at the disk center, we tracked 20,145 magnetic elements. The large field of view ({approx}50 Mm) and the long duration of the observations (over 25 hr without interruption at a cadence of 90 s) allowed us to investigate the turbulent flows at unprecedented large spatial and temporal scales. In the field of view an entire supergranule is clearly recognizable. The magnetic element displacement spectrum shows a double-regime behavior: superdiffusive ({gamma} = 1.34 {+-} 0.02) up to granular spatial scales ({approx}1500 km) and slightly superdiffusive ({gamma} = 1.20 {+-} 0.05) up to supergranular scales.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

PREDICTION OF TYPE II SOLAR RADIO BURSTS BY THREE-DIMENSIONAL MHD CORONAL MASS EJECTION AND KINETIC RADIO EMISSION SIMULATIONS

Type II solar radio bursts are the primary radio emissions generated by shocks and they are linked with impending space weather events at Earth. We simulate type II bursts by combining elaborate three-dimensional MHD simulations of realistic coronal mass ejections (CMEs) at the Sun with an analytic kinetic radiation theory developed recently. The modeling includes initialization with solar magnetic and active region fields reconstructed from magnetograms of the Sun, a flux rope of the initial CME dimensioned with STEREO spacecraft observations, and a solar wind driven with averaged empirical data. We demonstrate impressive accuracy in time, frequency, and intensity for the CME and type II burst observed on 2011 February 15. This implies real understanding of the physical processes involved regarding the radio emission excitation by shocks and supports the near-term development of a capability to predict and track these events for space weather prediction.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

MAGNETIC NONPOTENTIALITY IN PHOTOSPHERIC ACTIVE REGIONS AS A PREDICTOR OF SOLAR FLARES

Based on several magnetic nonpotentiality parameters obtained from the vector photospheric active region magnetograms obtained with the Solar Magnetic Field Telescope at the Huairou Solar Observing Station over two solar cycles, a machine learning model has been constructed to predict the occurrence of flares in the corresponding active region within a certain time window. The Support Vector Classifier, a widely used general classifier, is applied to build and test the prediction models. Several classical verification measures are adopted to assess the quality of the predictions. We investigate different flare levels within various time windows, and thus it is possible to estimate the rough classes and erupting times of flares for particular active regions. Several combinations of predictors have been tested in the experiments. The True Skill Statistics are higher than 0.36 in 97% of cases and the Heidke Skill Scores range from 0.23 to 0.48. The predictors derived from longitudinal magnetic fields do perform well, however, they are less sensitive in predicting large flares. Employing the nonpotentiality predictors from vector fields improves the performance of predicting large flares of magnitude {>=}M5.0 and {>=}X1.0.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

SUDDEN PHOTOSPHERIC MOTION AND SUNSPOT ROTATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE X2.2 FLARE ON 2011 FEBRUARY 15

The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager provides 45 s cadence intensity images and 720 s cadence vector magnetograms. These unprecedented high-cadence and high-resolution data give us a unique opportunity to study the change of photospheric flows and sunspot rotations associated with flares. By using the differential affine velocity estimator method and the Fourier local correlation tracking method separately, we calculate velocity and vorticity of photospheric flows in the flaring NOAA AR 11158, and investigate their temporal evolution around the X2.2 flare on 2011 February 15. It is found that the shear flow around the flaring magnetic polarity inversion line exhibits a sudden decrease, and both of the two main sunspots undergo a sudden change in rotational motion during the impulsive phase of the flare. These results are discussed in the context of the Lorentz-force change that was proposed by Hudson et al. and Fisher et al. This mechanism can explain the connections between the rapid and irreversible photospheric vector magnetic field change and the observed short-term motions associated with the flare. In particular, the torque provided by the horizontal Lorentz force change agrees with what is required for the measured angular acceleration.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

EVOLUTION OF A MAGNETIC FLUX ROPE AND ITS OVERLYING ARCADE BASED ON NONLINEAR FORCE-FREE FIELD EXTRAPOLATIONS

Dynamic phenomena indicative of slipping reconnection and magnetic implosion were found in a time series of nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) extrapolations for the active region 11515, which underwent significant changes in the photospheric fields and produced five C-class flares and one M-class flare over five hours on 2012 July 2. NLFFF extrapolation was performed for the uninterrupted 5 hour period from the 12 minute cadence vector magnetograms of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory. According to the time-dependent NLFFF model, there was an elongated, highly sheared magnetic flux rope structure that aligns well with an Hα filament. This long filament splits sideways into two shorter segments, which further separate from each other over time at a speed of 1-4 km s{sup –1}, much faster than that of the footpoint motion of the magnetic field. During the separation, the magnetic arcade arching over the initial flux rope significantly decreases in height from ∼4.5 Mm to less than 0.5 Mm. We discuss the reality of this modeled magnetic restructuring by relating it to the observations of the magnetic cancellation, flares, a filament eruption, a penumbra formation, and magnetic flows around the magnetic polarity inversion line.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

MAGNETIC HELICITY AND ENERGY SPECTRA OF A SOLAR ACTIVE REGION

We compute for the first time the magnetic helicity and energy spectra of the solar active region NOAA 11158 during 2011 February 11-15 at 20° southern heliographic latitude using observational photospheric vector magnetograms. We adopt the isotropic representation of the Fourier-transformed two-point correlation tensor of the magnetic field. The sign of the magnetic helicity turns out to be predominantly positive at all wavenumbers. This sign is consistent with what is theoretically expected for the southern hemisphere. The magnetic helicity normalized to its theoretical maximum value, here referred to as relative helicity, is around 4% and strongest at intermediate wavenumbers of k ≈ 0.4 Mm{sup –1}, corresponding to a scale of 2π/k ≈ 16 Mm. The same sign and a similar value are also found for the relative current helicity evaluated in real space based on the vertical components of magnetic field and current density. The modulus of the magnetic helicity spectrum shows a k {sup –11/3} power law at large wavenumbers, which implies a k {sup –5/3} spectrum for the modulus of the current helicity. A k {sup –5/3} spectrum is also obtained for the magnetic energy. The energy spectra evaluated separately from the horizontal and vertical fields agree for wavenumbers below 3 Mm{sup –1}, corresponding to scales above 2 Mm. This gives some justification to our assumption of isotropy and places limits resulting from possible instrumental artifacts at small scales.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

FINE STRUCTURE OF FLARE RIBBONS AND EVOLUTION OF ELECTRIC CURRENTS

Emission of solar flares across the electromagnetic spectrum is often observed in the form of two expanding ribbons. The standard flare model explains flare ribbons as footpoints of magnetic arcades, emitting due to interaction of energetic particles with the chromospheric plasma. However, the physics of this interaction and properties of the accelerated particles are still unknown. We present results of multiwavelength observations of the C2.1 flare of 2013 August 15, observed with the New Solar Telescope of the Big Bear Solar Observatory, and the Solar Dynamics Observatory, GOES, and Fermi spacecraft. The observations reveal previously unresolved sub-arcsecond structure of flare ribbons in regions of strong magnetic field consisting from numerous small-scale bright knots. We observe a red-blue asymmetry of H{sub α} flare ribbons with a width as small as ∼100 km. We discuss the relationship between the ribbons and vertical electric currents estimated from vector magnetograms, and show that Joule heating can be responsible for energization of H{sub α} knots in the ribbons.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

NEW ASPECTS OF A LID-REMOVAL MECHANISM IN THE ONSET OF AN ERUPTION SEQUENCE THAT PRODUCED A LARGE SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE (SEP) EVENT

We examine a sequence of two ejective eruptions from a single active region on 2012 January 23, using magnetograms and EUV images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's (SDO) Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) and Atmospheric and Imaging Assembly (AIA), and EUV images from STEREO/EUVI. This sequence produced two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and a strong solar energetic particle event (SEP); here we focus on the magnetic onset of this important space weather episode. Cheng et al. showed that the first eruption's ({sup E}ruption 1{sup )} flux rope was apparent only in ''hotter'' AIA channels, and that it removed overlying field that allowed the second eruption ({sup E}ruption 2{sup )} to begin via ideal MHD instability; here we say that Eruption 2 began via a ''lid removal'' mechanism. We show that during Eruption 1's onset, its flux rope underwent a ''tether weakening'' (TW) reconnection with field that arched from the eruption-source active region to an adjacent active region. Standard flare loops from Eruption 1 developed over Eruption 2's flux rope and enclosed filament, but these overarching new loops were unable to confine that flux rope/filament. Eruption 1's flare loops, from both TW reconnection and standard-flare-model internal reconnection, were much cooler than Eruption 2's flare loops (GOES thermal temperatures of ∼7.5 MK and 9 MK, compared to ∼14 MK). The corresponding three sequential GOES flares were, respectively, due to TW reconnection plus earlier phase Eruption 1 tether-cutting reconnection, Eruption 1 later-phase tether-cutting reconnection, and Eruption 2 tether-cutting reconnection.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗