关于"太阳线性无力场评注和快速傅氏分析法的应用"的评论

“太阳线性无力场评注和快速傅氏分析法的应用”一文对太阳线性无力场的工作做了一些评注,在此基础上对快速傅立叶方法的应用提出了改进的计算方法．该文的某些观点值得商榷,有必要对其中存在的问题予以澄清．另外,对该文关于快速傅氏分析法的工作从理论的角度提出看法．     

Comments on “Comments on Solar Linear Force-Free Field and Application of FFT Analysis”

The paper “Comments on Solar Linear Force-free Field and Application of FFT Analysis”^[19] made some comments on certain solar linear force-free field works and accordingly proposed an improved method of fast Fourier transform (FFT). Some viewpoints of this paper are worthy of reconsideration and it is necessary to clarify certain questions existing in it. We would also like to make some comments on its proposed method from the theoretical point of view.     

Nonlinear Force-Free Reconstruction of the Global Solar Magnetic Field: Methodology

We present a novel numerical method that allows the calculation of nonlinear force-free magnetostatic solutions above a boundary surface on which only the distribution of the normal magnetic field component is given. The method relies on the theory of force-free electrodynamics and applies directly to the reconstruction of the solar coronal magnetic field for a given distribution of the photospheric radial field component. The method works as follows: we start with any initial magnetostatic global field configuration (e.g. zero, dipole), and along the boundary surface we create an evolving distribution of tangential (horizontal) electric fields that, via Faraday’s equation, give rise to a respective normal-field distribution approaching asymptotically the target distribution. At the same time, these electric fields are used as boundary condition to numerically evolve the resulting electromagnetic field above the boundary surface, modeled as a thin ideal plasma with non-reflecting, perfectly absorbing outer boundaries. The simulation relaxes to a nonlinear force-free configuration that satisfies the given normal-field distribution on the boundary. This is different from existing methods relying on a fixed boundary condition – the boundary evolves toward the a priori given one, at the same time evolving the three-dimensional field solution above it. Moreover, this is the first time that a nonlinear force-free solution is reached by using only the normal field component on the boundary. This solution is not unique, but it depends on the initial magnetic field configuration and on the evolutionary course along the boundary surface. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the formalism of force-free electrodynamics, used very successfully in other astrophysical contexts, is applied to the global solar magnetic field.     

On the Shape of Force-Free Field Lines in the Solar Corona

This paper studies the shape parameters of looped field lines in a linear force-free magnetic field. Loop structures with a sufficient amount of kinking are generally seen to form S or inverse S (Z) shapes in the corona (as viewed in projection). For a single field line, we can ask how much the field line is kinked (as measured by the writhe), and how much neighbouring flux twists about the line (as measured by the twist number). The magnetic helicity of a flux element surrounding the field line can be decomposed into these two quantities. We find that the twist helicity contribution dominates the writhe helicity contribution, for field lines of significant aspect ratio, even when their structure is highly kinked. These calculations shed light on some popular assumptions of the field. First, we show that the writhe of field lines of significant aspect ratio (the apex height divided by the footpoint width) can sometimes be of opposite sign to the helicity. Secondly, we demonstrate the possibility of field line structures which could be interpreted as Z-shaped, but which have a helicity value sign expected of an S-shaped structure. These results suggest that caution should be exercised in using two-dimensional images to draw conclusions on the helicity value of field lines and flux tubes.     

A Non-Linear Force-Free Field Model for the Evolving Magnetic Structure of Solar Filaments

In this paper the effect of a small magnetic element approaching the main body of a solar filament is considered through non-linear force-free field modeling. The filament is represented by a series of magnetic dips. Once the dips are calculated, a simple hydrostatic atmosphere model is applied to determine which structures have sufficient column mass depth to be visible in Hα. Two orientations of the bipole are considered, either parallel or anti-parallel to the overlying arcade. The magnetic polarity that lies closest to the filament is then advected towards the filament. Initially for both the dominant and minority polarity advected elements, right/left bearing barbs are produced for dextral/sinsitral filaments. The production of barbs due to dominant polarity elements is a new feature. In later stages the filament breaks into two dipped sections and takes a highly irregular, non-symmetrical form with multiple pillars. The two sections are connected by field lines with double dips even though the twist of the field is less than one turn. Reconnection is not found to play a key role in the break up of the filament. The non-linear force-free fields produce very different results to extrapolated linear-force free fields. For the cases considered here the linear force-free field does not produce the break up of the filament nor the production of barbs as a result of dominant polarity elements.     

Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Force-Free Field Reconstruction of Solar Active Region 11158 by Direct Boundary Integral Equation

A three-dimensional coronal magnetic field is reconstructed for the NOAA active region 11158 on 14 February 2011. A GPU-accelerated direct boundary integral equation (DBIE) method is implemented which is approximately 1000 times faster than the original DBIE used on solar non-linear force-free field modeling. Using the SDO/HMI vector magnetogram as the bottom boundary condition, the reconstructed magnetic field lines are compared with the projected EUV loop structures as observed in the front-view (SDO/AIA) and the side-view (STEREO-A/B) images for the first time; they show very good agreement three-dimensionally. A quantitative comparison with some stereoscopically reconstructed coronal loops shows that the average misalignment angles in our model are at the same order as the state-of-the-art results obtained from reconstructed coronal loops. It is found that the observed coronal loop structures can be grouped into a number of closed and open field structures with some central bright coronal loop features around the polarity inversion line. The reconstructed highly sheared magnetic field lines agree very well with the low-lying sigmoidal filament along the polarity inversion line. This central low-lying magnetic field loop system must have played a key role in powering the flare. It should be noted that while a strand-like coronal feature along the polarity inversion line may be related to the filament, one cannot simply interpret all the coronal bright features along the polarity inversion line as manifestation of the filament without any stereoscopic information.     

Comparison of Nonlinear Force-Free Field and Potential Field in the Quiet Sun

In this paper, a potential field extrapolation and three nonlinear force-free (NLFF) field extrapolations (optimization, direct boundary integral (DBIE), and approximate vertical integration (AVI) methods) are used to study the spatial configuration of magnetic field in the quiet Sun. It is found that differences in the computed field strengths among the three NLFF and potential fields exist in the low layers. However, they tend to disappear as the height increases, and the differences are of the order of 0.1 gauss when the height exceeds ≈ 2000 km above the photosphere. The difference in azimuth angles between each NLFF field model and the potential field is as follows: for the optimization field, it decreases evidently as the height increases; for the DBIE field, it almost stays constant and shows no significant change as the height increases; for the AVI field, it increases slowly as the height increases. Our analysis shows that the reconstructed NLFF fields deviate significantly from the potential field in the quiet Sun.     

Magnetic Energy of Force-Free Fields with Detached Field Lines

Using an axisymmetrical ideal MHD model in spherical coordinates, we present a numerical study of magnetic configurations characterized by a levitating flux rope embedded in a bipolar background field whose normal field at the solar surface is the same or very close to that of a central dipole. The characteristic plasma β (the ratio between gas pressure and magnetic pressure) is taken to be sosmall (β= 10^-4) that the magnetic field is close to being force-free. The system as a whole is then let evolve quasi-statically with a slow increase of either the annular magnetic flux or the axial magnetic flux of the rope, and the total magneticenergy of the system grows accordingly. It is found that there exists an energy threshold: the flux rope sticks to the solar surface in equilibrium if the magneticenergy of the system is below the threshold, whereas it loses equilibrium if the threshold is exceeded. The energy threshold is found to be larger than that of thecorresponding fully-open magnetic field by a factor of nearly 1.08 irrespective as towhether the background field is completely closed or partly open, or whether the magnetic energy is enhanced by an increase of annular or axial flux of the rope.This gives an example showing that a force-free magnetic field may have an energy larger than the corresponding open field energy if part of the field lines is allowed tobe detached from the solar surface. The implication of such a conclusion in coronal mass ejections is briefly discussed and some comments are made on the maximum energy of force-free magnetic fields.     

Study on Two Methods for Nonlinear Force-Free Extrapolation Based on Semi-Analytical Field

In this paper, two semi-analytical solutions of force-free fields (Low and Lou, Astrophys. J. 352, 343, 1990) have been used to test two nonlinear force-free extrapolation methods. One is the boundary integral equation (BIE) method developed by Yan and Sakurai (Solar Phys. 195, 89, 2000), and the other is the approximate vertical integration (AVI) method developed by Song et al. (Astrophys. J. 649, 1084, 2006). Some improvements have been made to the AVI method to avoid the singular points in the process of calculation. It is found that the correlation coefficients between the first semi-analytical field and extrapolated field using the BIE method, and also that obtained by the improved AVI method, are greater than 90% below a height 10 of the 64×64 lower boundary. For the second semi-analytical field, these correlation coefficients are greater than 80% below the same relative height. Although differences between the semi-analytical solutions and the extrapolated fields exist for both the BIE and AVI methods, these two methods can give reliable results for heights of about 15% of the extent of the lower boundary.