Detection of Periodic Oscillations in Sunspot-Associated Radio Sources

Using microwave observations made with the Nobeyama radioheliograph (=1.76 cm), we have studied temporal variations of sunspot-associated sources in the circularly polarized component. For all three cases of well-developed and rather stable sunspots we found nearly harmonic oscillations with periods in a range of 120–220 s. In one case of an unstable and quickly devolving active region, the fluctuations appear to be irregular with no dominant period. Sunspot-associated solar radio sources are known to be generated by cyclotron radiation of thermal electrons in magnetic tubes of sunspots at the level of the lower solar corona or chromosphere–corona transition region (CCTR). At the wavelength of 1.76 cm, the polarized emission arises in a layer where the magnetic field is B=2000 G (assuming the emission generated at the third harmonic of electron gyrofrequency). We suggest that the observed effect is a manifestation of the well-known 3-min oscillations observed in the chromosphere and photosphere above sunspots. The observed effects are believed to be a result of resonance oscillation of MHD waves inside a magnetic tube. Radio observations of this phenomenon open a new tool for studying regions of reflection of MHD waves near CCTR level. The method is very sensitive both to the height of the CCTR and magnetic fields above sunspots. Thus, detection of oscillations of the height of the transition region even with an amplitude of a few km are possible. The use of a spectrum of one of the observed sources obtained with the radio telescope RATAN-600 allows us to conclude that oscillations in magnetic field strength of about 4 G could be responsible for the effect and are reliably registered. The appearance of the famous 5-min oscillations in the solar atmosphere was also registered in some spectra of radio oscillations.     

The measurement of magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere above sunspots using gyroresonance emission

An analysis of the local sources (LS) structure of the S-component of solar radio emission confirms the presence of a core component which is characterized by strong circular polarization and a steep growing spectrum at shorter centimeter wavelengths. These details coincide in position with the sunspots' umbra and their height above the photosphere does not generally exceed about 2000 km. Gyroresonance emission of thermal electrons of the corona is generally accepted as being responsible for this type of emission. The spectral and polarization observations of LS made with RATAN-600 using high resolution in the wavelength range 2.0–4.0 cm, allow us to measure the maximum magnetic fields of the corresponding sunspots at the height of the chromosphere-corona transition region (CCTR). This method is based on determining the short wavelength limit of gyroresonance emission of the LS and relating it to the third harmonic of gyrofrequency.An analysis of a large number of sunspots and their LS (core component) has shown a good correlation between radio magnetic fields near the CCTR and optical photospheric ones. The magnetic field in CCTR above a sunspot is found only 10 to 20% lower than in the photosphere. The resulting gradient of the field strength is not less than 0.25 G km^–1. This result seems to contradict the lower values of magnetic fields generally found above sunspots using the chromospheric H line. Some possible ways of overcoming this difficulty are proposed.     

Magnetic fields of sunspots based on combined optical and radio observations

In the present paper we present the results of measurement of magnetic fields in some sunspots at different heights in the solar atmosphere, based on simultaneous optical and radio measurements. The optical measurements were made by traditional photographic spectral observations of Zeeman splitting in a number of spectral lines originating at different heights in the solar photosphere and chromosphere. Radio observations of the spectra and polarization of the sunspot - associated sources were made in the wavelength range of 2–4 cm using large reflector-type radio telescope RATAN-600. The magnetic field penetrating the hot regions of the solar atmosphere were found from the shortest wavelength of generation of thermal cyclotron emission (presumably in the third harmonic of electron gyrofrequency). For all the eight cases under consideration we have found that magnetic field first drops with height, increases from the photosphere to lower chromosphere, and then decreases again as we proceed to higher chromosphere and chromosphere-corona transition region. Radio measurements were found to be well correlated with optical measurements of magnetic fields for the same sunspot. An alternative interpretation implies that different lines used for magnetic field measurements refer to different locations on the solar surface. If this is the case, then the inversion in vertical gradients of magnetic fields may not exist above the sunspots. Possible sources of systematic and random errors are also discussed.     

Transition region above sunspots inferred from microwave observations

We report the results of spectral-polarization observations of the active region NOAA 10848 made with the RATAN-600 radio telescope. High spectral resolution (1%) of observations allowed obtaining detailed temperature height profiles for the sources located above the sunspots in the transition region from the chromosphere to the corona. The resulting vertical profiles indicate that the transition region above the sunspots may extend over a considerable height interval and be characterized by a gradual increase of temperature—a pattern that is inconsistent with model atmospheres having a sharp temperature increase in the transition region.     

On the comparison of radio-astronomical measurements of the height structure of magnetic field with results of model approximations

The results of microwave observations of the polarized emission of active regionsmade with the RATAN-600 radio telescope are used to develop the method for determining the structure of the magnetic field of these regions at coronal heights. About 1000-G-strong magnetic fields are observed in the solar atmosphere at rather high altitudes (from 10 to 25 Mm). This result is confirmed fairly well by the ultraviolet observations of magnetic loops, it is consistent with earlier radio-astronomical observations of the magnetic field at the height of the transition region, and it corresponds as well, if interpreted in terms of the dipole magnetic field model, to the vertical gradients of the photospheric magnetic field.     

CHANGES IN SUNSPOT AND FLOCCULAR SOURCES OF RADIO EMISSION PRECEDING AN IMPORTANCE 2N FLARE ON 23 AUGUST 1988

Based on observations from the Siberian solar radio telescope, and invoking data from other observatories, we investigate preflare changes in the sunspot and floccular sources of radio emission and the development of an importance 2N flare in the chromosphere and corona in the active region on August 23, 1988.It has been ascertained that preflare changes became observable six hours prior to the flare onset and manifested themselves in intense flux fluctuations above the sunspot and in an enhancement of the source emission flux above the flocculus.It is shown that the flare onset is associated with a newly emerged magnetic flux in the form of a pore near the filament and with the appearance of radio sources above the filament. The flare was accompanied by type III radio bursts and a noise storm at meter wavelengths. Coronal mass ejection parameters are estimated from type III burst observations.     

Magnetic Field Strengths and Structures from Radio Observations of Solar Active Regions

Radio observations of some active regions (ARs) obtained with the Nobeyama radioheliograph at λ=1.76cm are used for estimating the magnetic field strength in the upper chromosphere, based on thermal bremsstrahlung. The results are compared with the magnetic field strength in the photosphere from observations with the Solar Magnetic Field Telescope (SMFT) at Huairou Solar Observing Station of Beijing Astronomical Observatory. The difference in the magnetic field strength between the two layers seems reasonable. The solar radio maps of active regions obtained with the Nobeyama radioheliograph, both in total intensity (I-map) and in circular polarizations (V-map), are compared with the optical magnetograms obtained with the SMFT. The comparison between the radio map in circular polarization and the longitudinal photospheric magnetogram of a plage region suggest that the radio map in circular polarization is a kind of magnetogram of the upper chromosphere. The comparison of the radio map in total intensity with the photospheric vector magnetogram of an AR shows that the radio map in total intensity gives indications of magnetic loops in the corona, thus we have a method of defining the coronal magnetic structure from the radio I-maps at λ=1.76 cm. Analysing the I-maps, we identified three components: (a) a compact bright source; (b) a narrow elongated structure connecting two main magnetic islands of opposite polarities (observed in both the optical and radio magnetograms); (c) a wide, diffuse, weak component that corresponds to a wide structure in the solar active region which shows in most cases an S or a reversed S contour, which is probably due to the differential rotation of the Sun. The last two components suggest coronal loops on different spatial scales above the neutral line of the longitudinal photospheric magnetic field.     

Observations of the longitudinal magnetic field in the transition region and photosphere of a sunspot

The Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter on the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft has observed for the first time the longitudinal component of the magnetic field by means of the Zeeman effect in the transition region above a sunspot. The data presented here were obtained on three days in one sunspot, have spatial resolutions of 10 arc sec and 3 arc sec, and yield maximum field strengths greater than 1000 G above the umbrae in the spot. The method of analysis, including a line-width calibration feature used during some of the observations, is described in some detail in an appendix; the line width is required for the determination of the longitudinal magnetic field from the observed circular polarization.The transition region data for one day are compared with photospheric magnetograms from the Marshall Space Flight Center. Vertical gradients of the magnetic field are computed from the two sets of data; the maximum gradients of 0.41 to 0.62 G km^–1 occur above the umbra and agree with or are smaller than values observed previously in the photosphere and low chromosphere.     

Physical properties of the quiet solar chromosphere–corona transition region

The physical properties of the quiet solar chromosphere–corona transition region are studied. Here the structure of the solar atmosphere is governed by the interaction of magnetic fields above the photosphere. Magnetic fields are concentrated into thin tubes inside which the field strength is great. We have studied how the plasma temperature, density, and velocity distributions change along a magnetic tube with one end in the chromosphere and the other one in the corona, depend on the plasma velocity at the chromospheric boundary of the transition region. Two limiting cases are considered: horizontally and vertically oriented magnetic tubes. For various plasma densities we have determined the ranges of plasma velocities at the chromospheric boundary of the transition region for which no shock waves arise in the transition region. The downward plasma flows at the base of the transition region are shown to be most favorable for the excitation of shock waves in it. For all the considered variants of the transition region we show that the thermal energy transfer along magnetic tubes can be well described in the approximation of classical collisional electron heat conduction up to very high velocities at its base. The calculated extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission agrees well with the present-day space observations of the Sun.     

Magnetic Field Diagnostics and Spatio-Temporal Variability of the Solar Transition Region

Magnetic field diagnostics of the transition region from the chromosphere to the corona faces us with the problem that one has to apply extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) spectro-polarimetry. While for the coronal diagnostics techniques already exist in the form of infrared coronagraphy above the limb and radio observations on the disk, one has to investigate EUV observations for the transition region. However, so far the success of such observations has been limited, but various current projects aim to obtain spectro-polarimetric data in the extreme UV in the near future. Therefore it is timely to study the polarimetric signals we can expect from these observations through realistic forward modeling. We employ a 3D magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) forward model of the solar corona and synthesize the Stokes I and Stokes V profiles of C?iv (1548 Å). A signal well above 0.001 in Stokes V can be expected even if one integrates for several minutes to reach the required signal-to-noise ratio, and despite the rapidly changing intensity in the model (just as in observations). This variability of the intensity is often used as an argument against transition region magnetic diagnostics, which requires exposure times of minutes. However, the magnetic field is evolving much slower than the intensity, and therefore the degree of (circular) polarization remains rather constant when one integrates in time. Our study shows that it is possible to measure the transition region magnetic field if a polarimetric accuracy on the order of 0.001 can be reached, which we can expect from planned instrumentation.     

Magnetic field and electric current structure in the chromosphere

Three dimensional vector magnetic field structure throughout the chromosphere above an active region is deduced by combining high resolution H filtergrams with a simultaneous digital magnetogram. An analog model of the field is made with 400 metal wires representing fieldlines which are assumed to outline the H structure. The height extent of the field is determined from vertical field gradient observations around sunspots, from observed fibril heights and from an assumption that the sources of the field should be largely local. After digitization the magnetic field H matrix is retrieved. Electric current densities j are computed from j=curl H. The currents (typically 10 mA m^–2) flow in patterns not similar to observed features and not parallel to magnetic fields. Lorentz forces are computed from {ie0323-01}. The force structures correspond to observed solar features and a series of observed dynamics may be expected: downward motion in bipolar areas in lower chromosphere, an outflow of the outer chromosphere into the corona with radially outward flow above bipolar plage regions (where coronal streamers are observed) and motions of arch filament systems. Observed current structure and magnitude agree well with previous vector magnetograph observations but disagree with theoretical current-free or force-free concepts. A dynamic chromosphere with electromagnetic forces in action is thus inferred from observations.     

A model of the chromosphere and transition zone. Radio and UV emission of these layers

A model of the chromosphere and transition zone for quiet regions of the Sun is given.The height dependence of temperature and density are different for the borders of the supergranules and for their inner parts. The difference is caused by the enhanced mechanical energy flux at the places of strengthened magnetic field.The average dependence of density on height is given by eclipse data, the corresponding values for temperatures are obtained by a trial and error method using calculation of solar radio emission for different wavelengths and comparison with observations.The adopted model is consistent with observational data on the solar visual, radio and UV emission. This model also accounts for the brightness distribution on spectroheliograms taken in H wings, K₂₃₂ Caii and in several UV spectral lines.     

太阳大气磁精细结构的射电探讨

太阳大气磁场的研究对于太阳大气物理及太阳活动研究是十分重要的。目前探测光球以外的日够以球，过渡区磁场的几乎唯一办法，是在紧密联系其他频说段取得的信息基础上使用射电观测。根据在微波，米波段有关辐射机制和传播过程，介绍了推导磁场讯息的基本射电方法。     

Coronal Magnetography of Solar Active Region 8365 with the SSRT and NoRH Radio Heliographs

Microwave maps of solar active region NOAA 8365 are used to derive the coronal magnetograms of this region. The technique is based on the fact that the circular polarization of a radio source is modified when microwaves pass through the coronal magnetic field transverse to the line of sight. The observations were taken with the Siberian Solar Radio Telescope (SSRT) on October 21 – 23 and with the Nobeyama Radio Heliograph (NoRH) on October 22 – 24, 1998. The known theory of wave mode coupling in quasi-transverse (QT) region is employed to evaluate the coronal magnetograms in the range of 10 – 30 G at the wavelength 5.2 cm and 50 – 110 G at 1.76 cm, taking the product of electron density and the scale of coronal field divergence to be constant of 10¹⁸ cm^–2. The height of the QT-region is estimated from the force-free field extrapolations as 6.2 × 10⁹ cm for the 20 G and 2.3 × 10⁹ cm for 85 G levels. We find that on large spatial scale, the coronal magnetograms derived from the radio observations show similarity with the magnetic fields extrapolated from the photosphere.     

Measurement of the full Stokes vector of He I 10830 Å

First observations of the full Stokes vector in the upper chromosphere are presented. The He I 10830 Å line, which has been shown to give reliable measurements of the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field vector, has been used for this purpose. It is shown that the difference between the appearance of chromospheric and photospheric magnetic structures observed close to the solar limb is largely due to the difference in height to which they refer and projection effects. The observations do suggest, however, that the magnetic field above sunspot penumbrae is somewhat more vertical in the chromosphere than in the photosphere.The National Optical Astronomy Obervatories are operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation     

Magnetic field of solar prominences: The procedure of radio observations

The first successful radio astronomical results of measurements of the magnetic field of solar prominences are presented. The accuracy of polarization and magnetic field observations is 3 · · 10⁻⁴ and 2 G, respectively. The observations were made by the 22-meter radio telescope of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory at wavelengths of 8 and 13.5 mm. It has been found that the value of the magnetic fields coincides with the optical one (from 7 to 30 G), but the image of radio polarization differs from the intensity.     

Solar rotation as determined from OSO-4 EUV spectroheliograms

Spectroheliograms obtained in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lines and the Lyman continuum are used to determine the rotation rate of the solar chromosphere, transition region, and corona. A cross-correlation analysis of the observations indicates the presence of differential rotation through the chromosphere and transition region. The rotation rate does not vary with height. The average sidereal rotation rate is given by (deg day^–1) = 13.46 - 2.99 sin² B where B is the solar latitude. This rate agrees with spectroscopic determinations of the photospheric rotation rate, but is slower by 1 deg day^–1) = 13.46 - 2.99 sin² than rates determined from the apparent motion of photospheric magnetic fields and from the brightest points of active regions observed in the EUV. The corona does not clearly show differential rotation as do the chromosphere and transition region.     

Mapping the magnetosphere of PSR B1055−52

We present a geometric study of the radio and γ-ray pulsar B1055−52 based on recent observations at the Parkes radio telescope. We conclude that the pulsar's magnetic axis is inclined at an angle of 75° to its rotation axis and that both its radio main pulse and interpulse are emitted at the same height above their respective poles. This height is unlikely to be higher or much lower than 700 km, a typical value for radio pulsars.
It is argued that the radio interpulse arises from emission formed on open fieldlines close to the magnetic axis which do not pass through the magnetosphere's null (zero-charge) surface. However, the main pulse emission must originate from fieldlines lying well outside the polar cap boundary beyond the null surface, and farther away from the magnetic axis than those of the outer gap region where the single γ-ray peak is generated. This casts doubt on the common assumption that all pulsars have closed, quiescent, corotating regions stretching to the light cylinder.     

A model for active region emission at centimeter wavelengths

We present multi-frequency observations and model computations of the microwave emission of a solar active region. The radio observations were obtained with the RATAN-600 at several wavelengths between 0.8 and 31.6 cm and with the VLA at 6 and 20 cm. The active region was also observed in the EUV O Iv lines by the HRTS instrument aboard the Space Shuttle Spacelab-2 mission. These lines are formed in the chromosphere-corona transition region and their intensity ratio is sensitive to pressure. Photospheric magnetograms provided both the longitudinal and the transverse component of the magnetic field. The microwave observations were checked against model computations taking into account both the free-free and the gyro-resonance emission mechanisms and using the pressure data from the O IV lines. The magnetic field was computed through constant- force-free extrapolations of the longitudinal photospheric field. We computed both the flux from 2 to 20 cm and the spatial structure of the microwave emission at 6 and 20 cm. The comparison of the computed and observed flux spectra allowed us to estimate the magnetic field strength at the base of the transition region and in the low corona, as well as the values of the conductive flux and the height of the base of the transition region. The model maps at 6 cm and 20 cm showed that was not constant above the active region; the same conclusion was reached on the basis of the photospheric observations. The use of pressure measurements allowed us to identify microwave structures which were determined by pressure enhancements. At 6 cm the computations confirmed the fact that the magnetic field is the principal factor that determines the structure of sunspot-associated sources and showed that the effect of pressure variations was small. Pressure variations were more important at 20 cm, where the peak of the emission was associated with the sunspot and a diffuse component was associated with the plage which had an average pressure higher by a factor of 1.54 than the sunspot.     

Coronal magnetic fields from microwave polarization observations

The solar active region (AR) 7530 was observed at 6 cm on July 3 and 4, 1993 with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, using a multi-channel receiver with very narrow bandwidth. We compare the radio data with Yohkoh SXT observations and with the magnetic field extrapolated from the Marshall vector magnetograms in the force-free and current-free approximations. The comparison with soft X-rays shows that, although a general agreement exists between the shape of the radio intensity map and the X-ray loops, the brightness temperature, T _b, obtained using the parameters derived from the SXT is much lower than that observed. The comparison with the extrapolated photospheric fields shows instead that they account very well for the observed T _b above the main sunspots, if gyroresonance emission is assumed. In the observation of July 4 an inversion and strong suppression of the circular polarization was clearly present above different portions of the AR, which indicates that particular relationships exist between the electron density and the magnetic field in the region where the corresponding lines of sight cross the field quasi-perpendicularly. The extrapolated magnetic field at a much higher level ( 10¹⁰ cm), satisfies the constraints required by the wave propagation theory all over the AR. However, a rather low electron density is derived.