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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.

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At least 1,369 records · Page 76
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DOE OSTI2014

Coronal heating driven by a magnetic gradient pumping mechanism in solar plasmas

The heating of the solar corona is a longstanding mystery in astrophysics. Considering that the solar magnetic field is spatially inhomogeneous with a considerable magnetic gradient from the solar surface to the corona, this work proposes a magnetic gradient pumping (MGP) mechanism to try to explain the formation of hot plasma upflows, such as hot type II spicules and hot plasma ejections. In the MGP mechanism, the magnetic gradient may drive the energetic particles to move upward from the underlying solar atmosphere and form hot upflows. These upflow energetic particles are deposited in the corona, causing it to become very hot. Rough estimations indicate that the solar corona can be heated to above 1 million degrees, and the upflow velocity is about 40 km s{sup –1} in the chromosphere and about 130 km s{sup –1} in the corona. The solar magnetic flux tubes act as pumpers to extract energetic particles from the underlying thermal photosphere, convey them, and deposit them in the corona. The deposit of these energetic particles causes the corona to become hot, and the escape of such particles from the photosphere leaves it a bit cold. This mechanism can present a natural explanation to the mystery of solar coronal heating.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electrodynamics on extrasolar giant planets

Strong ionization on close-in extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) suggests that their atmospheres may be affected by ion drag and resistive heating arising from wind-driven electrodynamics. Recent models of ion drag on these planets, however, are based on thermal ionization only and do not include the upper atmosphere above the 1 mbar level. These models are also based on simplified equations of resistive magnetohydrodynamics that are not always valid in extrasolar planet atmospheres. We show that photoionization dominates over thermal ionization over much of the dayside atmosphere above the 100 mbar level, creating an upper ionosphere dominated by ionization of H and He and a lower ionosphere dominated by ionization of metals such as Na, K, and Mg. The resulting dayside electron densities on close-in exoplanets are higher than those encountered in any planetary ionosphere of the solar system, and the conductivities are comparable to the chromosphere of the Sun. Based on these results and assumed magnetic fields, we constrain the conductivity regimes on close-in EGPs and use a generalized Ohm's law to study the basic effects of electrodynamics in their atmospheres. We find that ion drag is important above the 10 mbar level where it can also significantly alter the energy balance through resistive heating. Due to frequent collisions of the electrons and ions with the neutral atmosphere, however, ion drag is largely negligible in the lower atmosphere below the 10 mbar level for a reasonable range of planetary magnetic moments. We find that the atmospheric conductivity decreases by several orders of magnitude in the night side of tidally locked planets, leading to a potentially interesting large-scale dichotomy in electrodynamics between the day and night sides. A combined approach that relies on UV observations of the upper atmosphere, phase curve and Doppler measurements of global dynamics, and visual transit observations to probe the alkali metals can potentially be used to constrain electrodynamics in the future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Five-minute oscillation power within magnetic elements in the solar atmosphere

It has long been known that magnetic plage and sunspots are regions in which the power of acoustic waves is reduced within the photospheric layers. Recent observations now suggest that this suppression of power extends into the low chromosphere and is also present in small magnetic elements far from active regions. In this paper we investigate the observed power suppression in plage and magnetic elements, by modeling each as a collection of vertically aligned magnetic fibrils and presuming that the velocity within each fibril is the response to buffeting by incident p modes in the surrounding field-free atmosphere. We restrict our attention to modeling observations made near the solar disk center, where the line-of-sight velocity is nearly vertical and hence, only the longitudinal component of the motion within the fibril contributes. Therefore, we only consider the excitation of axisymmetric sausage waves and ignore kink oscillations as their motions are primarily horizontal. We compare the vertical motion within the fibril with the vertical motion of the incident p mode by constructing the ratio of their powers. In agreement with observational measurements we find that the total power is suppressed within strong magnetic elements for frequencies below the acoustic cut-off frequency. However, further physical effects need to be examined for understanding the observed power ratios for stronger magnetic field strengths and higher frequencies. We also find that the magnitude of the power deficit increases with the height above the photosphere at which the measurement is made. Furthermore, we argue that the area of the solar disk over which the power suppression extends increases as a function of height.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A COMPREHENSIVE STATISTICAL ASSESSMENT OF STAR-PLANET INTERACTION

We investigate whether magnetic interaction between close-in giant planets and their host stars produce observable statistical enhancements in stellar coronal or chromospheric activity. New Chandra observations of 12 nearby (d < 60 pc) planet-hosting solar analogs are combined with archival Chandra, XMM-Newton, and ROSAT coverage of 11 similar stars to construct a sample inoculated against inherent stellar class and planet-detection biases. Survival analysis and Bayesian regression methods (incorporating both measurements errors and X-ray upper limits; 13/23 stars have secure detections) are used to test whether ''hot Jupiter'' hosts are systematically more X-ray luminous than comparable stars with more distant or smaller planets. No significant correlations are present between common proxies for interaction strength (M {sub P}/a {sup 2} or 1/a) versus coronal activity (L {sub X} or L {sub X}/L {sub bol}). In contrast, a sample of 198 FGK main-sequence stars does show a significant (∼99% confidence) increase in X-ray luminosity with M {sub P}/a {sup 2}. While selection biases are incontrovertibly present within the main-sequence sample, we demonstrate that the effect is primarily driven by a handful of extreme hot-Jupiter systems with M {sub P}/a {sup 2} > 450 M {sub Jup} AU{sup –2}, which here are all X-ray luminous but to a degree commensurate with their Ca II H and K activity, in contrast to presented magnetic star-planet interaction scenarios that predict enhancements relatively larger in L {sub X}. We discuss these results in the context of cumulative tidal spin-up of stars hosting close-in gas giants (potentially followed by planetary infall and destruction). We also test our main-sequence sample for correlations between planetary properties and UV luminosity or Ca II H and K emission, and find no significant dependence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Joint high temperature observation of a small C6.5 solar flare with IRIS/EIS/AIA

We present the observation of a C6.5 class flare on 2014 February 3, obtained with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on board HINODE. We follow the details of the impulsive phase with IRIS and the gradual decay phase with both IRIS and EIS. The IRIS Slit-Jaw Imager and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) are used to precisely co-align the two sets of spectroscopic observations. Of particular interest is the Fe xxi 1354.08 Å spectral line, which is the highest temperature emission (∼10 MK) observed in the IRIS wavelength range. We show the evolution of the Fe xxi profiles during the impulsive phase of the flare at the same ribbon location with a 75 s temporal cadence. Totally blueshifted (∼82 km s{sup −1}) profiles are found at the very early phase of the flare and gradually decrease in about 6 minutes. This result is consistent with 1D model predictions during chromospheric evaporation in flares. The blueshifted components also exhibit large non-thermal broadening, which decreases simultaneously with the blueshifted velocity. After the evaporation first occurs, the Fe xxi intensity progressively moves from the footpoints to the top of the hot flare loops seen in the AIA 131 Å images, where the emission is observed to be at rest and thermal. Emission measure estimates from IRIS/EIS/AIA observations during the gradual phase show isothermal loop top structures cooling from about 13.5 to 12 MK with electron densities of the order of ∼5−6×10{sup 10} cm{sup −3}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPIC DIAGNOSTICS ON THE FORMATION OF TWO MAGNETIC FLUX ROPES REVEALED BY SDO/AIA AND IRIS

Helical magnetic flux rope (MFR) is a fundamental structure of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and has been discovered recently to exist as a sigmoidal channel structure prior to its eruption in the EUV high-temperature passbands of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). However, when and where the MFR is built up are still elusive. In this paper, we investigate two MFRs (MFR1 and MFR2) in detail, whose eruptions produced two energetic solar flares and CMEs on 2014 April 18 and 2014 September 10, respectively. The AIA EUV images reveal that for a long time prior to their eruption, both MFR1 and MFR2 are under formation, which is probably through magnetic reconnection between two groups of sheared arcades driven by the shearing and converging flows in the photosphere near the polarity inversion line. At the footpoints of the MFR1, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph Si iv, C ii, and Mg ii lines exhibit weak to moderate redshifts and a non-thermal broadening in the pre-flare phase. However, a relatively large blueshift and an extremely strong non-thermal broadening are found at the formation site of the MFR2. These spectral features consolidate the proposition that the reconnection plays an important role in the formation of MFRs. For the MFR1, the reconnection outflow may propagate along its legs, penetrating into the transition region and the chromosphere at the footpoints. For the MFR2, the reconnection probably takes place in the lower atmosphere and results in the strong blueshift and non-thermal broadening for the Mg ii, C ii, and Si iv lines.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

WAVE DAMPING OBSERVED IN UPWARDLY PROPAGATING SAUSAGE-MODE OSCILLATIONS CONTAINED WITHIN A MAGNETIC PORE

We present observational evidence of compressible MHD wave modes propagating from the solar photosphere through to the base of the transition region in a solar magnetic pore. High cadence images were obtained simultaneously across four wavelength bands using the Dunn Solar Telescope. Employing Fourier and wavelet techniques, sausage-mode oscillations displaying significant power were detected in both intensity and area fluctuations. The intensity and area fluctuations exhibit a range of periods from 181 to 412 s, with an average period ∼290 s, consistent with the global p-mode spectrum. Intensity and area oscillations present in adjacent bandpasses were found to be out of phase with one another, displaying phase angles of 6.°12, 5.°82, and 15.°97 between the 4170 Å continuum–G-band, G-band–Na i D{sub 1}, and Na i D{sub 1}–Ca ii K heights, respectively, reiterating the presence of upwardly propagating sausage-mode waves. A phase relationship of ∼0° between same-bandpass emission and area perturbations of the pore best categorizes the waves as belonging to the “slow” regime of a dispersion diagram. Theoretical calculations reveal that the waves are surface modes, with initial photospheric energies in excess of 35,000 W m{sup −2}. The wave energetics indicate a substantial decrease in energy with atmospheric height, confirming that magnetic pores are able to transport waves that exhibit appreciable energy damping, which may release considerable energy into the local chromospheric plasma.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

IMAGING AND SPECTRAL OBSERVATIONS OF QUASI-PERIODIC PULSATIONS IN A SOLAR FLARE

We explore the quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) in a solar flare observed by Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, Solar Dynamics Observatory, Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) on 2014 September 10. QPPs are identified as the regular and periodic peaks on the rapidly varying components, which are the light curves after removing the slowly varying components. The QPPs display only three peaks at the beginning on the hard X-ray emissions, but 10 peaks on the chromospheric and coronal line emissions, and more than seven peaks (each peak corresponds to a type III burst on the dynamic spectra) at the radio emissions. A uniform quasi-period of about 4 minutes is detected among them. AIA imaging observations exhibit that the 4-minute QPPs originate from the flare ribbon and tend to appear on the ribbon front. IRIS spectral observations show that each peak of the QPPs tends to a broad line width and a red Doppler velocity at C i, O iv, Si iv, and Fe xxi lines. Our findings indicate that the QPPs are produced by the non-thermal electrons that are accelerated by the induced quasi-periodic magnetic reconnections in this flare.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THE KAPTEYN MOVING GROUP IS NOT TIDAL DEBRIS FROM ω CENTAURI

The Kapteyn moving group has been postulated as tidal debris from ω Centauri. If true, members of the group should show some of the chemical abundance patterns known for stars in the cluster. We present an optical and near-infrared high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopic study of 14 stars of the Kapteyn group, plus 10 additional stars (the ω Cen group) that, while not listed as members of the Kapteyn group as originally defined, have nevertheless been associated dynamically with ω Centauri. Abundances for Na, O, Mg, Al, Ca, and Ba were derived from the optical spectra, while the strength of the chromospheric He i 10830 Å line is studied as a possible helium abundance indicator. The resulting Na–O and Mg–Al patterns for stars of the combined Kapteyn and ω Cen group samples do not resemble those of ω Centauri, and are not different from those of field stars of the Galactic halo. The distribution of equivalent widths of the He i 10830 Å line is consistent with that found among non-active field stars. Therefore, no evidence is found for second-generation stars within our samples, which most likely rules out a globular-cluster origin. Moreover, no hint of the unique barium overabundance at the metal-rich end, well established for ω Centauri stars, is seen among stars of the combined samples. Because this specific Ba pattern is present in ω Centauri irrespective of stellar generation, this would rule out the possibility that our entire sample might be composed of only first-generation stars from the cluster. Finally, for the stars of the Kapteyn group, the possibility of an origin in the hypothetical parent galaxy of ω Centauri is disfavored by the different run of α-elements with metallicity between our targets and stars from present-day dwarf galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

UV spectra, bombs, and the solar atmosphere

A recent analysis of UV data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reports plasma “bombs” with temperatures near 8 × 10{sup 4} K within the solar photosphere. This is a curious result, first because most bomb plasma pressures p (the largest reported case exceeds 10{sup 3} dyn cm{sup −2}) fall well below photospheric pressures (>7×10{sup 3}), and second, UV radiation cannot easily escape from the photosphere. In the present paper the IRIS data is independently analyzed. I find that the bombs arise from plasma originally at pressures between ≤ 80 and 800 dyne cm{sup −2} before explosion, i.e., between ≥ 850 and 550 km above τ{sub 500}=1. This places the phenomenon’s origin in the low-mid chromosphere or above. I suggest that bomb spectra are more compatible with Alfvénic turbulence than with bi-directional reconnection jets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

The epsilon Eridani system resolved by millimeter interferometry

We present observations of ϵ Eridani from the Submillimeter Array (SMA) at 1.3 mm and from the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 7 mm that reach an angular resolution of ∼4″ (13 AU). These first millimeter interferometer observations of ϵ Eridani, which hosts the closest debris disk to the Sun, reveal two distinct emission components: (1) the well-known outer dust belt, which, although patchy, is clearly resolved in the radial direction, and (2) an unresolved source coincident with the position of the star. We use direct model-fitting of the millimeter visibilities to constrain the basic properties of these two components. A simple Gaussian shape for the outer belt fit to the SMA data results in a radial location of 64.4{sub −3.0}{sup +2.4} AU and FWHM of 20.2{sub −8.2}{sup +6.0} AU (fractional width ΔR/R = 0.3). Similar results are obtained taking a power law radial emission profile for the belt, though the power law index cannot be usefully constrained. Within the noise obtained (0.2 mJy beam{sup −1}), these data are consistent with an axisymmetric belt model and show no significant azimuthal structure that might be introduced by unseen planets in the system. These data also limit any stellocentric offset of the belt to <9 AU, which disfavors the presence of giant planets on highly eccentric (>0.1) and wide (10's of AU) orbits. The flux density of the unresolved central component exceeds predictions for the stellar photosphere at these long wavelengths, by a marginally significant amount at 1.3 mm but by a factor of a few at 7 mm (with brightness temperature 13000 ± 1600 K for a source size of the optical stellar radius). We attribute this excess emission to ionized plasma from a stellar corona or chromosphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

RESONANT ABSORPTION OF TRANSVERSE OSCILLATIONS AND ASSOCIATED HEATING IN A SOLAR PROMINENCE. I. OBSERVATIONAL ASPECTS

Transverse magnetohydrodynamic waves have been shown to be ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere and can, in principle, carry sufficient energy to generate and maintain the Sun’s million-degree outer atmosphere or corona. However, direct evidence of the dissipation process of these waves and subsequent heating has not yet been directly observed. Here we report on high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution observations of a solar prominence that show a compelling signature of so-called resonant absorption, a long hypothesized mechanism to efficiently convert and dissipate transverse wave energy into heat. Aside from coherence in the transverse direction, our observations show telltale phase differences around 180° between transverse motions in the plane-of-sky and line-of-sight velocities of the oscillating fine structures or threads, and also suggest significant heating from chromospheric to higher temperatures. Comparison with advanced numerical simulations support a scenario in which transverse oscillations trigger a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) at the boundaries of oscillating threads via resonant absorption. This instability leads to numerous thin current sheets in which wave energy is dissipated and plasma is heated. Our results provide direct evidence for wave-related heating in action, one of the candidate coronal heating mechanisms.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

SPECTROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS OF AN EVOLVING FLARE RIBBON SUBSTRUCTURE SUGGESTING ORIGIN IN CURRENT SHEET WAVES

We present imaging and spectroscopic observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph of the evolution of the flare ribbon in the SOL2014-04-18T13:03 M-class flare event, at high spatial resolution and time cadence. These observations reveal small-scale substructure within the ribbon, which manifests as coherent quasi-periodic oscillations in both position and Doppler velocities. We consider various alternative explanations for these oscillations, including modulation of chromospheric evaporation flows. Among these, we find the best support for some form of wave localized to the coronal current sheet, such as a tearing mode or Kelvin–Helmholtz instability.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of the black hole Swift J1753.5–0127

We report on a multiwavelength observational campaign of the black hole (BH) X-ray binary Swift J1753.5–0127 that consists of an ESO/X-shooter spectrum supported by contemporaneous Swift/X-ray Telescope+Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) and Australia Telescope Compact Array data. Interstellar medium absorption lines in the X-shooter spectrum allow us to determine E(B−V)=0.45±0.02 along the line of sight to the source. We also report detection of emission signatures of He ii λ4686, Hα, and, for the first time, H i λ10906 and Paβ. The double-peaked morphology of these four lines is typical of the chromosphere of a rotating accretion disk. Nonetheless, the paucity of disk features points toward a low level of irradiation in the system. This is confirmed through spectral energy distribution modeling, and we find that the UVOT+X-shooter continuum mostly stems from the thermal emission of a viscous disk. We speculate that the absence of reprocessing is due to the compactness of an illumination-induced envelope that fails to reflect enough incoming hard X-ray photons back to the outer regions. The disk also marginally contributes to the Compton-dominated X-ray emission and is strongly truncated, with an inner radius about 1000 times larger than the BH's gravitational radius. A near-infrared excess is present, and we associate it with synchrotron radiation from a compact jet. However, the measured X-ray flux is significantly higher than what can be explained by the optically thin synchrotron jet component. We discuss these findings in the framework of the radio-quiet versus X-ray-bright hypothesis, favoring the presence of a residual disk, predicted by evaporation models, that contributes to the X-ray emission without enhancing the radio flux.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

SELF-ABSORPTION IN THE SOLAR TRANSITION REGION

Transient brightenings in the transition region of the Sun have been studied for decades and are usually related to magnetic reconnection. Recently, absorption features due to chromospheric lines have been identified in transition region emission lines raising the question of the thermal stratification during such reconnection events. We analyze data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph in an emerging active region. Here the spectral profiles show clear self-absorption features in the transition region lines of Si iv. While some indications existed that opacity effects might play some role in strong transition region lines, self-absorption has not been observed before. We show why previous instruments could not observe such self-absorption features, and discuss some implications of this observation for the corresponding structure of reconnection events in the atmosphere. Based on this we speculate that a range of phenomena, such as explosive events, blinkers or Ellerman bombs, are just different aspects of the same reconnection event occurring at different heights in the atmosphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF CORONAL HEATING THROUGH FOOTPOINT BRAIDING

Advanced three-dimensional (3D) radiative MHD simulations now reproduce many properties of the outer solar atmosphere. When including a domain from the convection zone into the corona, a hot chromosphere and corona are self-consistently maintained. Here we study two realistic models, with different simulated areas, magnetic field strength and topology, and numerical resolution. These are compared in order to characterize the heating in the 3D-MHD simulations which self-consistently maintains the structure of the atmosphere. We analyze the heating at both large and small scales and find that heating is episodic and highly structured in space, but occurs along loop-shaped structures, and moves along with the magnetic field. On large scales we find that the heating per particle is maximal near the transition region and that widely distributed opposite-polarity field in the photosphere leads to a greater heating scale height in the corona. On smaller scales, heating is concentrated in current sheets, the thicknesses of which are set by the numerical resolution. Some current sheets fragment in time, this process occurring more readily in the higher-resolution model leading to spatially highly intermittent heating. The large-scale heating structures are found to fade in less than about five minutes, while the smaller, local, heating shows timescales of the order of two minutes in one model and one minutes in the other, higher-resolution, model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

OBSERVED VARIABILITY OF THE SOLAR Mg II h SPECTRAL LINE

The Mg ii h and k doublet are two of the primary spectral lines observed by the Sun-pointing Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). These lines are tracers of the magnetic and thermal environment that spans from the photosphere to the upper chromosphere. We use a double-Gaussian model to fit the Mg ii h profile for a full-Sun mosaic data set taken on 2014 August 24. We use the ensemble of high-quality profile fits to conduct a statistical study on the variability of the line profile as it relates the magnetic structure, dynamics, and center-to-limb viewing angle. The average internetwork profile contains a deeply reversed core and is weakly asymmetric at h2. In the internetwork, we find a strong correlation between h3 wavelength and profile asymmetry as well as h1 width and h2 width. The average reversal depth of the h3 core is inversely related to the magnetic field. Plage and sunspots exhibit many profiles that do not contain a reversal. These profiles also occur infrequently in the internetwork. We see indications of magnetically aligned structures in plage and network in statistics associated with the line core, but these structures are not clear or extended in the internetwork. The center-to-limb variations are compared to predictions of semi-empirical model atmospheres. We measure a pronounced limb darkening in the line core that is not predicted by the model. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive measurement baseline and preliminary analysis on the observed structure and formation of the Mg ii profiles observed by IRIS.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗