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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

An active role for magnetic fields in solar flares

Observations of photospheric magnetic fields are reviewed to determine whether changes in such fields can be related to flare activity, assuming that magnetic fields play an active role in providing flare energy. An intimate relation between emerging fields and bright flare knots is noted, and it is shown that the activation and eruption of an H-alpha filament is indicative of a major disruption of a magnetic field just prior to a flare. Observations of twisting motions in a filament just before a flare are discussed, erupting untwisting filaments are taken as unambiguous evidence for restructuring of the magnetic fields associated with flares, and it is argued that magnetic-field changes in the midst of most flares are obvious. It is concluded that successive brightenings in a family of loops may be evidence for the spread of a magnetic-field reconnection point from one field concentration to another and that flares may well take place in regions of field-line reconnection. This latter conclusion is illustrated using an empirical flare model that involves field-line reconnection, filament activation, and emerging magnetic flux.

Rust, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Numerical simulation of solar coronal magnetic fields

Many aspects of solar activity are believed to be due to the stressing of the coronal magnetic field by footpoint motions at the photosphere. The results are presented of a fully spectral numerical simulation which is the first 3-D time dependent simulation of footpoint stressing in a geometry appropriate for the corona. An arcade is considered that is initially current-free and impose a smooth footpoint motion that produces a twist in the field of approx 2 pi. The footprints were fixed and the evolution was followed until the field relaxes to another current-free state. No evidence was seen for any instability, either ideal or resistive and no evidence for current sheet formation. The most striking feature of the evolution is that in response to photospheric motions, the field expands rapidly upward to minimize the stress. The expansion has two important effects. First, it suppresses the development of dips in the field that could support dense, cool material. For the motions assumed, the magnetic field does not develop a geometry suitable for prominence formation. Second, the expansion inhibits ideal instabilities such as kinking. The results indicate that simple stearing of a single arcade is unlikely to lead to solar activity such as flares or prominences. Effects are discussed that might possibly lead to such activity.

Dahlburg, Russell B.↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Structure and Dynamics of the Solar Corona and Inner Heliosphere

This report covers technical progress during the second quarter of the first year of NASA Sun-Earth Connections Theory Program (SECTP) contract 'The Structure and Dynamics of the Solar Corona and Inner Heliosphere,' NAS5-99188, between NASA and Science Applications International Corporation. and covers the period November 16, 1999 to February 15, 2000. Under this contract SAIC and the University of California, Irvine (UCI) have conducted research into theoretical modeling of active regions, the solar corona, and the inner heliosphere, using the MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) model. The topics studied include: the effect of emerging flux on the stability of helmet streamers, coronal loops and streamers, the solar magnetic field, the solar wind, and open magnetic field lines.

Mikic, Zoran↗
NASA NTRS2024

Disentangling the Entangled Linkages of Magnetic Helicity

Magnetic helicity, H, measures magnetic linkages in a volume. The early theoretical development of helicity focused on magnetically closed systems in V bounded by ∂V. For magnetically closed systems, V ∈ R -3 = V + V∗, no magnetic flux threads the boundary, n̂ · B|∂V = 0. Berger & Field (1984) and Finn & Antonsen (1985) extended the definition of helicity to relative helicity, H, for magnetically open systems where magnetic flux may thread the boundary. Berger (1999, 2003) expressed this relative helicity as two gauge invariant terms that describe the self helicity of magnetic field that closes inside V and the mutual helicity between the magnetic field that threads the boundary ∂V and the magnetic field that closes inside V. The total magnetic field that permeates V entangles magnetic fields that are produced by current sources J in V with magnetic fields that are produced by current sources J∗ in V∗. Building on this fact, we extend Berger’s expressions for relative magnetic helicity to eight gauge invariant quantities that simultaneously characterize both of these self and mutual helicities and attribute their origins to currents J in V and/or J∗ in V∗, thereby disentangling the domain of origin for these entangled linkages. We arrange these eight terms into novel expressions for internal and external helicity (self) and internal-external helicity (mutual) based on their domain of origin. The implications of these linkages for interpreting magnetic energy is discussed and new boundary observables are proposed for tracking the evolution of the field that threads the boundary.

Analytical mathematics↗
NASA NTRS2014

Behavior of Particle Depots in Molten Silicon During Float-Zone Growth in Strong Magnetic Fields

Solar cells made from directionally solidified silicon cover 57% of the photovoltaic industry's market [1]. One major issue during directional solidification of silicon is the precipitation of foreign phase particles. These particles, mainly SiC and Si3N4, are precipitated from the dissolved crucible coating, which is made of silicon nitride, and the dissolution of carbon monoxide from the furnace atmosphere. Due to their hardness and size of several hundred micrometers, those particles can lead to severe problems during the wire sawing process for wafering the ingots. Additionally, SiC particles can act as a shunt, short circuiting the solar cell. Even if the particles are too small to disturb the wafering process, they can lead to a grit structure of silicon micro grains and serve as sources for dislocations. All of this lowers the yield of solar cells and reduces the performance of cells and modules. We studied the behaviour of SiC particle depots during float-zone growth under an oxide skin, and strong static magnetic fields. For high field strengths of 3T and above and an oxide layer on the sample surface, convection is sufficiently suppressed to create a diffusive like regime, with strongly dampened convection [2, 3]. To investigate the difference between atomically rough phase boundaries and facetted growth, samples with [100] and [111] orientation were processed.

Jauss, T.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Helicity of Photospheric Magnetic Fields in Solar Cycle 21

Recent analyses of photospheric vector magnetic fields observed during solar cycle 22 have indicated a hemispherical selection rule for magnetic helicity with a predominance of negative (positive) helicity in the northern (southern) hemisphere. Using the extensive data base from the Marshall Space Flight Center's solar vector magnetograph, we have begun a study to derive the helicity for active regions observed during solar cycle 21 and confirm the hemispherical helicity rule for a different solar cycle. In this poster paper, we will present our initial results for several active regions observed in 1980 near the peak of cycle 21, as well as results from analyses designed to test quantitatively the methods used in calculating the helicity.

Hagyard, Mona J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Dynamical evolution of a solar coronal magnetic field arcade

Calculations of the long-term dynamical evolution of a solar coronal magnetic field arcade which is subjected to shearing photospheric flows are presented. The evolution is obtained by numerical solution of a subset of the resistive magnetohydrodynamic equations. For a simplified model of the bipolar magnetic field observed in the solar corona, it is found that photospheric flow produces a slow evolution of the magnetic field, with a buildup of magnetic energy. For certain photospheric shear profiles, the field configuration produced is linearly unstable to an ideal magnetohydrodynamic mode when the shear exceeds a critical value. The nonlinear evolution of this instability shows the spontaneous formation of current sheets. Reconnection of the magnetic field produces a rapid release of magnetic energy. The major fraction of the energy is dissipated resistively, while a small fraction is converted into kinetic energy of an ejected plasmoid. The relevance of these results to two-ribbon flares is discussed.

Mikic, Z.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Magnetic field merging in the solar wind

Magnetic field merging in the solar wind is discussed in terms of steady-state merging, which involves a steady flow field, and of spontaneous merging, which involves an instability such as the tearing instability. Spontaneous merging is found to be more effective than steady-state merging.

Schindler, K.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Oscillating dynamo in the presence of a fossil magnetic field - The solar cycle

Hydromagnetic dynamo generation of oscillating magnetic fields in the presence of an external, ambient magnetic field introduces a marked polarity asymmetry between the two halves of the magnetic cycle. The principle of oscillating dynamo interaction with external fields is developed, and a tentative application to the sun is described. In the sun a dipole moment associated with the stable fluid beneath the convection zone would produce an asymmetrical solar cycle.

Levy, E. H.↗
NASA NTRS2003

CMEs, the Tail of the Solar Wind Magnetic Field Distribution, and 11-yr Cosmic Ray Modulation at 1 AU

Using a recent classification of the solar wind at 1 AU into its principal components (slow solar wind, high-speed streams, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) for 1972-2000, we show that the monthly-averaged galactic cosmic ray intensity is anti-correlated with the percentage of time that the Earth is imbedded in CME flows. We suggest that this correlation results primarily from a CME related change in the tail of the distribution function of hourly-averaged values of the solar wind magnetic field (B) between solar minimum and solar maximum. The number of high-B (square proper subset 10 nT) values increases by a factor of approx. 3 from minimum to maximum (from 5% of all hours to 17%), with about two-thirds of this increase due to CMEs. On an hour-to-hour basis, average changes of cosmic ray intensity at Earth become negative for solar wind magnetic field values square proper subset 10 nT.

Cliver, E. W.↗