Coronal holes,solar wind streams,and geomagnetic disturbances during 1978 and 1979

We have extended our long-term study of coronal holes, solar wind streams, and geomagnetic disturbances through the rising phase of sunspot cycle 21 into the era of sunspot maximum. During 1978 and 1979, coronal holes reflected the influence of differential rotation, and existed within a slowly-evolving large-scale pattern despite the relatively high level of sunspot activity. The long-lived 28.5-day pattern is not produced by a rigidly-rotating quasi-stationary structure on the Sun, but seems to be produced by a non-stationary migratory process associated with solar differential rotation. The association between coronal holes and solar wind speed enhancements at Earth continues to depend on the latitude of the holes (relative to the heliographic latitude of Earth), but even the best associations since 1976 have speeds of only 500–600 km s^-1 rather than the values of 600–700 km s^-1 that usually occurred during the declining phase of sunspot cycle 20.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Evidence for downflow following a coronal transient?

On 11 September 1973 a peculiar prominence was observed. The prominence displayed strong ( 50km s^–1) systematic motions toward and away from the observer. The unusual spectrographic appearance of the prominence might have been due to downflowing material lifted into the corona during an earlier coronal transient.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Photospheric and chromospheric oscillations in the base of coronal holes

In this paper we carry out an analysis of the spatial–temporal line-of-sight velocity variations measured in the chromospheric (H, H) and photospheric (Fei 6569 Å, Fei 4864 Å, Nii 4857 Å) lines at the base of 17 coronal holes. Time series of a duration from 43 to 120 min were recorded with the CCD line-array and the CCD matrix. Rather frequently we observed quasi-stationary upward flows with a measured velocity of up to 1 km s^–1 in the photosphere and up to 4–5 km s^–1 in the chromosphere (equivalent radial velocity of up to 3 km s^–1 and up to 12–15 km s^–1 accordingly) near dark points on the chromospheric network boundary inside polar CH. Line-of-sight velocity fluctuation spectra contain meaningful maxima in the low-frequency region clustering around the values 0.4, 0.75, and 1 mHz. Usually, the spatial localization of these maxima mutually coincides and, in our opinion, coincides with the chromospheric network boundary. Acoustic 3- and 5-min oscillations are enhanced in the coronal hole region and reach 1 km s^–1 in the photosphere and 3–4 km s^–1 in the chromosphere. These oscillations are not localized spatially and are distinguished throughout the entire region observed.     

Oscillations and waves in a sunspot

Observations have been made in H of the vertical velocity distribution in a sunspot. Over the umbra the pattern consists of structures of scale-size 2–3. The velocity distribution undergoes oscillations with a period of about 165 s and typical amplitude ±3 km s^–1, but the pattern breaks down after one or two cycles because the period of oscillation varies typically by ±20 s from place to place. Transverse waves develop in the outer 0.1 of the umbral radius and propagate outwards with a velocity of about 20 km s^–1, becoming gradually invisible by or before the outer penumbral boundary; the amplitude is about ±1 km s^–1 at the umbra-penumbra border.The penumbral waves are believed to be basically of the Alfvén type, with 3 × 10^–8 g cm^–3. The umbral oscillations presumably represent gravity waves. In both cases the fluxes are inadequate by two orders of magnitude to account for the sunspot energy deficit.     

Observations of the 24 September 1997 Coronal Flare Waves

We report coincident observations of coronal and chromospheric flare wave transients in association with a flare, large-scale coronal dimming, metric radio activity and a coronal mass ejection. The two separate eruptions occurring on 24 September 1997 originate in the same active region and display similar morphological features. The first wave transient was observed in EUV and H data, corresponding to a wave disturbance in both the chromosphere and the solar corona, ranging from 250 to approaching 1000 km s^–1 at different times and locations along the wavefront. The sharp wavefront had a similar extent and location in both the EUV and H data. The data did not show clear evidence of a driver, however. Both events display a coronal EUV dimming which is typically used as an indicator of a coronal mass ejection in the inner corona. White-light coronagraph observations indicate that the first event was accompanied by an observable coronal mass ejection while the second event did not have clear evidence of a CME. Both eruptions were accompanied by metric type II radio bursts propagating at speeds in the range of 500–750 km s^–1, and neither had accompanying interplanetary type II activity. The timing and location of the flare waves appear to indicate an origin with the flaring region, but several signatures associated with coronal mass ejections indicate that the development of the CME may occur in concert with the development of the flare wave.     

Dependence of the meridional motions of sunspot groups on life spans and age of the groups,and on the phase of the solar cycle

We have analyzed data on sunspot groups compiled during 1874–1981 and investigated the following: (i) dependence of the `initial' meridional motion (v <sub>ini</sub>()) of sunspot groups on the life span () of the groups in the range 2–12 days, (ii) dependence of the meridional motion (v(t)) of sunspot groups of life spans 10–12 days on the age (t) of the spot groups, and (iii) variations in the mean meridional motion of spot groups of life span 2–12 days during the solar cycle. In each of the latitude intervals 0°–10°, 10°–20° and 20°–30°, the values of both v <sub>ini</sub>() and v(t) often differ significantly from zero. In the latitude interval 20°–30°, the forms of v <sub>ini</sub>() and v(t) are largely systematic and mutually similar in both the north and south hemispheres. The form of v(t) suggests existence of periodic variation in the solar meridional motion with period of 4 days and amplitude 10–20 m s<sup>–1</sup>. Using the anchoring depths of magnetic structures for spot groups of different and testimated earlier, (Javaraiah and Gokhale, 1997), we suggest that the forms of v <sub>ini</sub>() and v(t) may represent radial variation of meridional flow in the Sun's convection zone, rather than temporal variation of the flow. The meridional flows (v <sub>e</sub>(t)) determined from the data during the last few days (i.e., age t: 10–12 days) of spot groups of life spans of 10–12 days are found to have magnitudes (10–20 m s<sup>–1</sup>) and directions (poleward) similar to the those of the surface meridional plasma flows determined from the Dopplergrams and magnetograms. The mean meridional velocity of sunspot groups living 2–12 days seems to vary during the solar cycle. The velocity is not significantly different from zero during the rising phase of the cycle and there is a suggestion of equatorward motion (a few m s<sup>–1</sup>at lower latitudes and 10 m s<sup>–1</sup>at higher latitudes) during the declining phase (last few years) of the cycle. The variation during the odd numbered cycles seems to anticorrelate with the variation during the even numbered cycles, suggesting existence of 22-year periodicity in the solar meridional flow. The amplitude of the anticorrelation seems to be depending on latitude and the cycle phase. In the latitude interval 20°–30° the `surface plasma meridional motion', v _e(t), is found to be poleward during maximum years (v _e(t) 20 m s^–1at 4th year) and equatorward during ending years of the cycle (v _e(t) –17 m s^–1at 10th year).     

A pictorial comparison of interplanetary magnetic field polarity,solar wind speed,and geomagnetic disturbance index during the sunspot cycle

Observations of interplanetary magnetic field polarity, solar wind speed, and geomagnetic disturbance index (C9) during the years 1962–1975 are compared in a 27-day pictorial format that emphasizes their associated variations during the sunspot cycle. This display accentuates graphically several recently reported features of solar wind streams including the fact that the streams were faster, wider, and longer-lived during 1962–1964 and 1973–1975 in the declining phase of the sunspot cycle than during intervening years (Bame et al., 1976; Gosling et al., 1976). The display reveals strikingly that these high-speed streams were associated with the major, recurrent patterns of geomagnetic activity that are characteristic of the declining phase of the sunspot cycle. Finally, the display shows that during 1962–1975 the association between long-lived solar wind streams and recurrent geomagnetic disturbances was modulated by the annual variation (Burch, 1973) of the response of the geomagnetic field to solar wind conditions. The phase of this annual variation depends on the polarity of the interplanetary magnetic field in the sense that negative sectors of the interplanetary field have their greatest geomagnetic effect in northern hemisphere spring, and positive sectors have their greatest effect in the fall. During 1965–1972 when the solar wind streams were relatively slow (500 km s^-1), the annual variation strongly influenced the visibility of the corresponding geomagnetic disturbance patterns.Visiting Scientist, Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Arizona.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Extreme ultraviolet spectra of solar active regions and their analysis

Extreme ultraviolet spectra of several active regions are presented and analyzed. Spectral intensities of 3 active regions observed with the NRL Skylab XUV spectroheliograph (170–630 Å) are derived. From this data density sensitive line ratios of Mg viii, Si x, S xii, Fe ix, Fe x, Fe xi, Fe xii, Fe xiii, Fe xiv, and Fe xv are examined and typically yield, to within a factor of 2, electron pressures of 1 dyne cm^–2 (n _e T = 6 × 10¹⁵ cm^–3 K). The differential emission measure of the brightest 35 × 35 portion of an active region is obtained between 1.4 × 10⁴ K and 5 × 10⁶ K from HCO OSO-VI XUV (280–1370 Å) spectra published by Dupree et al. (1973). Stigmatic EUV spectra (1170–1710 Å) obtained by the NRL High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) are also presented. Doppler velocities as a function of position along the slit are derived in an active region plage and sunspot. The velocities are based on an absolute wavelength scale derived from neutral chromospheric lines and are accurate to ±2 km s^–1. Downflows at 10⁵ K are found throughout the plage with typical velocities of 10 km s^–1. In the sunspot, downflows are typically 5 to 20 km s^–1 over the umbra and zero over the penumbra. In addition localized 90 and 150 km s^–1 downflows are found in the umbra in the same 1 × 1 resolution elements which contain the lower velocity downflows. Spectral intensities and velocities in a typical plage 1 resolution element are derived. The velocities are greatest ( 10 km s^–1) at 10⁵ K with lower velocities at higher and lower temperatures. The differential emission measure between 1.3 × 10⁴ K and 2 × 10⁶ K is derived and is found to be comparable to that derived from the OSO-VI data. An electron pressure of 1.4 dynes cm^–2 (n _e T = 1.0 × 10¹⁶ cm^–3 K) is determined from pressure sensitive line ratios of Si iii, O iv, and N iv. From the data presented it is shown that convection plays a major role in determining the structure and dynamics of the active region transition zone and corona.     

EUV Spectroscopic Observations of Spray Ejecta from an X2 Flare

An X2.3 class flare was reported on 10 April 2001 in AR 9415. A halo coronal mass ejection (CME) was associated with this flare. The Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), which was running in its daily synoptic mode, recorded a very high-velocity ejection of plasma associated with this activity. The spatial scanning and spectral capabilities of CDS allow the measurement of both transverse and line-of-sight velocities. Components of the plasma, as seen in emission from Ov at around 2.5×10⁵ K, reached transverse velocities in excess of 800 km s^–1. The nature of the spectral line profiles suggests that a rotational motion of ±350 km s^–1 was superimposed upon the general outward expansion of approximately 150 km s^–1. The ejection detected using CDS was found to have a constant acceleration and is thought to be a spray of plasma with a helical structure driven by the magnetic topology.     

The solar coronal mass ejection of 20–21 November, 1973

The coronal transient event of 20–21 November is unusual in that its appearance is distinctly non-loop-like; rather, the transient resembles a confined ray or fan-like volume. Studies of the distribution of the coronal material with time indicate that this is a mass ejection event, involving about 1 × 10¹⁵ g of material from the lower corona. Analysis of the polarization signal of the event suggests that the event is associated with chromospheric activity in a region near longitude E68. The observed properties (distributions in brightness and polarization) of the transient are compared with the properties of a well-studied event of typical loop-like appearance, but rotated to simulate an edge-on appearance; the differences suggest that the 20–21 November event is not such an edge-on, loop-like transient, but rather is most simply described as an axisymmetric-cylindrical or conical volume, the boundaries of which remain constant over the events' lifetime. On this basis, the variation of the transient spatial density with height and the variation of density with time can be specified rather more certainly than for previously-studied coronal mass ejection events. Densities are found to range from 3 × 10^–16 g cm^–3 at 2.1 R heliocentric height early in the event to 1 × 10^–18 g cm^–3 at 4.0 R late in the event. Typical temporal variations of the ejected material (at a given heliocentric height) are found to be on the order of 10^–18 g cm^–3 s^–1. The mass and momentum balance in the event have been estimated from the observed parameters, employing a multiparameter approach. We find that a model with modest mass flux typified by material speed u ₀ 50 km s^–1 and a near balance between the event's pressure gradient force and gravity — with possibly a small hydromagnetic wave contribution to the total pressure — is consistent with the observations. The kinetic energy of the event, determined from the motion of the center of mass of the ejected material, is only about 10²⁶ ergs, and thus is the smallest for any solar mass ejection studied to date.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Explosive events in the solar transition zone

The properties of explosive events in the solar transition zone are presented by means of detailed examples and statistical analyses. These events are observed as regions of exceptionally high velocity ( 100 km s^–1) in profiles of Civ, formed at 10⁵ K, observed with the High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS). The following average properties have been determined from observations obtained during the third rocket flight of the HRTS: full width at half maximum extent along the slit - 1.6 × 10³ km; maximum velocity - 110 km s^–1; peak emission measure - 4 × 10⁴¹ cm^–3; lifetime - 60 s; birthrate - 4 × 10^–21 cm^–2 s^–1 in a coronal hole and 1 × 10^–20 cm^–2 s^–1 in the quiet Sun; mass - 6 × 10⁸ g; and, kinetic energy - 6 × 10²² erg. The 6 examples show that there are considerable variations from these average parameters in individual events. Although small, the events show considerable spatial structure and are not point-like objects. A spatial separation is often detected between the positions of the red and blue shifted components and consequently the profile cannot be explained by turbulence alone. Mass motions in the events appear to be isotropic because the maximum observed velocity does not show any correlation with heliographic latitude. Apparent motions of the 100 km s^–1 plasmas during their 60 s lifetime should be detected but none are seen. The spatial frequency of occurrence shows a maximum near latitudes of 40–50°, but otherwise their sites seem to be randomly distributed. There is enough mass in the explosive events that they could make a substantial contribution to the solar wind. It is hard to explain the heating of typical quiet structures by the release of energy in explosive events.     

The limb flare of August 11, 1972

A limb flare is described that occurred above a complex and very active sunspot. Four stages can be distinguished: the flash-phase, the spray-phase, the surge-phase and the loop-phase. Each of them had a duration that was longer than that of the preceding one. In the spray ascending speeds up to 745 km s^–1 and accelerations up to 1.3 km s^-2 were recorded. The loop-phase has been observed in the coronal lines 5303 and 5694 Å. The yellow line, being very weak before the flare, became extremely strong in the loop and surpassed five times the intensity of the green line. X-ray bursts and ionospheric disturbances of long duration demonstrate that not only the flare itself but also the loop was a source of X-rays. Most of the radio-bursts can be ascribed to specific features in the H-records of the event.Astronomishe Mitteilungen der Eidgenössischen Sternwarte Zürich Nr. 318.     

An expanding circumstellar cloud of Zeta Aurigae

Strong absorption satellite lines of CaI 6572 were found on spectrograms taken on three successive days just after the fourth contact of the 1971–72 eclipse of Zeta Aurigae. The radial velocities of the satellite lines are –88 km s^–1, –74 km s^–1, and –180 km^–1, respectively, relative to the K-type primary star (K4 Ib). These absorptions should be due to a circumstellar cloud in which the column density of neutral calcium atoms is 1×10¹⁷ cm^–2 and the turbulent velocities come to 20–50 km s^–1. It is suggested that the cloud may be formed by the rocket-effect of the Lyman quanta of the B-type component (B6 V). We estimate the density in the cloud to be 2×10¹¹ atoms cm^–3 fors=10R _K and 2×10¹⁰ atoms cm^–3 fors=10² R _K, wheres denotes the distance of the cloud from the K star andR _K the K star's radius. The mass loss rate of the K-type component is also estimated to be about 10^–7 M yr^–1, assuming that the expansion of the K star occurs isotropically.     

Sunspot Plumes and Flow Channels

It is well known that sunspots are dark. This statement is not correct in the sunspot atmosphere between the chromosphere and the corona, where sunspots often are brighter than their surroundings. The brightest feature in the sunspot transition region is called a sunspot plume. Not all sunspots contain a plume. We find that 20 out of 21 sunspots show a plume when one magnetic polarity dominates the sunspot region out to a distance of 50 from the sunspot. Most sunspots show downflows that exceed 25 km s^–1 in the sunspot plumes at temperatures close to 250000 K. This downflow is not maintained by inflow from the corona, but by gas at transition region temperatures, streaming in flow channels from locations well outside the sunspot. We suggest that this inflow is a necessary requirement for the sunspot plume to occur and present a working hypothesis for the origin of sunspot plumes. This paper is the first thorough spectral analysis of sunspot plumes. It is based on simultaneous observations of ten or six EUV emission lines in 42 sunspot regions with the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer – CDS on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory – SOHO. The line profiles are studied in detail with another SOHO instrument, the Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation – SUMER.     

Observed coronal temperatures at 1.37R ⊙ in the region of a helmet structure

During the total solar eclipse, 1965 May 30, a 25 cm aperturef/8.0 telescope and Fabry-Perot interferometer were operated aboard the USAF-AEC aircraft. High resolution spectra of the Fexiv emission line, 530.3 nm, were obtained. Deconvolved intensity vs wavelength profiles of the second order fringe overlay a helmet structure on the NM limb at out to 1.37R . The profiles yield coronal temperatures, absolute intensities and Doppler velocities in regions of apparently open magnetic field structure and within the closed field lines of the helmet. Together with white light intensities the observations are interpreted to provide temperatures and turbulent velocities in and around this coronal structure. Comparison is made with a model by Billings and Roberts. We suggest a model with radial flow (solar wind) velocities of 60 km s^–1 satisfies the observations in the open field line region.Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and portions of the analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo.     

A piston-driven shock in the solar corona

A solar flare that occurred on the west limb at 1981, March 25, 2038 UT generated a massive, rapidly-expanding optical coronal transient, which moved outward with an approximately constant velocity of 800 km s^–1. An associated magnetohydrodynamic shock travelled out ahead of the transient with a velocity estimated to be approximately 1000 km s^–1. The optical and radio data on the transient and shock fit well with general theories concerning piston-driven shocks and with current MHD models for propagation of such shocks through the solar corona.     

Dynamics of Blinkers

The relative Doppler and non-thermal velocities of quiet-Sun and active-region blinkers identified in Ov with CDS are calculated. Relative velocities for the corresponding chromospheric plasma below are also determined using the Hei line. Ov blinkers and the chromosphere directly below, have a preference to be more red-shifted than the normal transition region and chromospheric plasma. The ranges of these enhanced velocities, however, are no larger than the typical spread of Doppler velocities in these regions. The anticipated ranges of Doppler velocities of blinkers are 10–15 km s^–1 in the quiet Sun (10–20 km s^–1 in active regions) for Hei and 25–30 km s^–1 in the quiet Sun (20–40 km s^–1 in active regions) for Ov. Blinkers and the chromosphere below also have preferentially larger non-thermal velocities than the typical background chromosphere and transition region. Again the increase in magnitude of these non-thermal velocities is no greater than the typical ranges of non-thermal velocities. The ranges of non-thermal velocities of blinkers in both the quiet Sun and active regions are estimated to be 15–25 km s^–1 in Hei and 30–45 km s^–1 in Ov. There are more blinkers with larger Doppler and non-thermal velocities than would be expected in the whole of the chromosphere and transition region. The recently suggested mechanisms for blinkers are revisited and discussed further in light of the new results.     

The solar wind cycle,the sunspot cycle,and the corona

Recent theories of the solar cycle and of coronal heating strongly suggest that solar cycle variations of different quantities (i.e. sunspots, coronal green line, etc.) ought not to be expected to be in phase with one another. In agreement with this notion we note that the shape of the corona typical of a maximum eclipse occurs 1.5yr before sunspot maximum, compared with 2 yr as might be expected from Leighton's standard model. Further, we argue that the phase of the solar wind cycle can be determined from geomagnetic observations. Using this phase, a solar cycle variation of 100 km s^–1 in the solar wind velocity and 1 in the magnetic field intensity becomes apparent. In general, the solar wind cycle lags the coronal-eclipse-form cycle by 3 yr, compared with the 2 yr that might be expected from model calculations.     

Short-Term Periodicities in Solar Indices

The purpose of the present communication is to identify the short-term (few tens of months) periodicities of several solar indices (sunspot number, Caii area and K index, Lyman , 2800 MHz radio emission, coronal green-line index, solar magnetic field). The procedure used was: from the 3-month running means (3m) the 37-month running means (37m) were subtracted, and the factor (3m – 37m) was examined for several parameters. For solar indices, considerable fluctuations were seen during the ± 4 years around sunspot maxima of cycles 18–23, and virtually no fluctuations were seen in the ± 2 years around sunspot minima. The spacings between successive peaks were irregular but common for various solar indices. Assuming that there are stationary periodicities, a spectral analysis was carried out which indicated periodicities of months: 5.1–5.7, 6.2–7.0, 7.6–7.9, 8.9–9.6, 10.4–12.0, 12.8–13.4, 14.5–17.5, 22–25, 28 (QBO), 31–36 (QBO), 41–47 (QTO). The periodicities of 1.3 year (15.6 months) and 1.7 years (20.4 months) often mentioned in the literature were seen neither often nor prominently. Other periodicities occurred more often and more prominently. For the open magnetic flux estimated by Wang, Lean, and Sheeley (2000) and Wang and Sheeley (2002), it was noticed that the variations were radically different at different solar latitudes. The open flux for < 45 solar latitudes had variations very similar (parallel) to the sunspot cycle, while open flux for > 45 solar latitudes had variations anti-parallel to the sunspot cycle. The open fluxes, interplanetary magnetic field and cosmic rays, all showed periodicities similar to those of solar indices. Many peaks (but not all) matched, indicating that the open flux for < 45 solar latitudes was at least partially an adequate carrier of the solar characteristics to the interplanetary space and thence for galactic cosmic ray modulation.     

Velocity Field of a Complex Sunspot with Light Bridges

For the leading part of sunspot group NOAA 8323, which rapidly changed its complex structure, a time series of the line-of-sight (LOS) component of the velocity field was obtained. With a two-dimensional Fabry–Pérot spectrometer, the magnetically insensitive line Fei 557.6 nm was scanned. The inclination of the LOS (heliographic angle) to the vertical was =28.5°. The umbra of the observed spot was divided by a system of light bridges into several parts. The spatial and temporal velocity field also exhibits a considerable complexity: in one extended umbral area there is a downward flow of 1 km s^–1 relative to other dark sub-umbrae. At the center-side penumbra, with a line-of-sight Evershed outflow of 1.5 km s^–1, a persistent patch, somewhat darker than the average penumbra, has a LOS velocity of 1.3 km s^–1 in opposite direction, probably a downflow. At the limb-side penumbra, a photosphere-like area is interspersed, interrupting the Evershed flow which resumes with typical strength beyond this feature towards the outer penumbral boundary. Most interesting is the behavior of the light bridges, which have a slight blue shift, interrupted by short events of strong blue or red shifts which – within the time resolution of 35 s – instantly affect a considerable part of a light bridge.