Dynamics of Magnetic Bright Points in an Active Region

A high-quality 80-minute time series of a part of a sunspots moat (18 ″ × 23 ″) in the G-band (4308.64 Å) has been analysed to measure the horizontal velocities of Magnetic Bright Points (MBPs). The observations were carried out in June 2004 at the new 1-meter Swedish Solar Telescope in La Palma. Spatial resolution was estimated to be 0.17 ″ or 125 km on the Sun, and images were taken in a frame selection mode in a 20-seconds interval. Individual feature tracking of MBPs with manual selection and automated tracking has been performed. The intensity of MBPs increases with size. The mean value in a MBP-velocity histogram was found to be 1.11 km s ^?1 and it shows good accordance with an abnormal granulation-velocity histogram. MBP velocity histograms as presented here can be taken as an input for coronal heating models in an active region. However, MBPs move slower in an active region than in the network (presumably because of the higher active region magnetic flux) and hence, a process that includes dissipation of MHD waves through fast MBP motions (>2 km s ^?1) may not alone explain the observed properties of the corona.     

Sunspot Bright Points

We used the flux-calibrated images from the Broad-band Filter Imager and Stokes Polarimeter data obtained with the Solar Optical Telescope onboard the Hinode spacecraft to study the properties of bright points in and around sunspots. The selected bright points are smaller in diameter than 150 km with contrasts exceeding about 3 % in the ratio of sunspot images obtained with the G-band (430.5 nm) and Ca ii H (396.85 nm) filters. The bright points are classified as umbral dot, peripheral umbral dot, penumbral grains, and G-band bright point depending on their location. The bright points are preferentially located around the penumbral boundary and in the fast decaying parts of the umbra. The color temperature of the bright points is in the range of 4600 K to 6600 K with cooler ones located in the central part of the umbra. The temperature increases as a function of distance from the center outward. The G-band, CN-band (388.35 nm), and Ca ii H fluxes of the bright points as a function of their blue-band (450.55 nm) brightness increase continuously in a nonlinear fashion unlike their red (668.4 nm) and green (555.05 nm) counterparts. This is consistent with a model in which the localized heating of the flux tube depletes the molecular concentration, resulting in the reduced opacity that leads to the exposition of deeper and hotter layers. The light curve of the bright points shows that the enhanced brightness at these locations lasts for about 15 to 60 min with the least contrast for the points outside the sunspot. The umbral dots near the penumbral boundary are associated with elongated filamentary structures. The spectropolarimeter observations show that the filling factor decreases as the G-band brightness increases. We discuss the results using the model in which the G-band bright points are produced in the cluster of flux tubes that a sunspot consists of.     

Nine Years Of Euv Bright Points

We discuss early results derived from an algorithm that automates the detection, cataloging, and analysis of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) “bright points” (BP) from 9 years of data acquired by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The algorithm relies upon the computation of a map of “intensity significance”; this then contains the location of the EUV BPs. By mapping the location of BPs in each image and linking them through long sequences of EIT images we can describe the temporal and spatial variations of the 1.3× 10⁸ EUV BPs observed by SOHO to date. We suggest that there is a considerable amount of physical information about the solar coronal plasma that can be readily gleamed from the BP detection database. In this paper we discuss only a small portion of the possible correlations, but we point to the possibility of BP lifetime distributions that are well described by modified power-laws; the components of which vary with the different temperature filters and with time over the present solar cycle. Dedicated to the memory of John (Ian) Hamilton (1938–2004).     

The Energy Supply to X-ray Bright Points

X-ray bright points (XBPs) are usually assumed to be isolated structures in the solar atmosphere that are powered exclusively by magnetic reconnection. We analyse a large XBP that does not satisfy this assumption. The XBP is observed to be connected to an active region approximately 280000 km away by a magnetic loop. We find that the soft X-ray intensity and thermal energy of the XBP are very sensitive to the existence of the magnetic loop. Both the intensity and energy decrease significantly at the times when the loop disappears, indicating that the loop is a medium for energy transfer from the active region to the XBP. We deduce that the mechanism for the energy transfer is most likely to be Alfvén or fast-mode magnetoacoustic waves created by photospheric motions in the active region. These waves can dissipate energy at the density gradient between the XBP and the loop via phase mixing or resonant absorption.     

太阳大气中的光球亮点

首先是对太阳光球亮点近年来研究工作的总结。光球亮点是一种发生在太阳光球上宁静区域的的小尺度和短寿命增亮现象,平均直径在100～300knm之间,平均寿命约为几分钟。光球亮点的研究对于光球辐射和磁场性质的认识具有重要意义。过去的观测显示,绝大多数光球亮点的产生和演化与磁场,特别是光球上的小尺度磁场的演化密切相关,比如,两个同极性磁场的合并,或者反极性磁场的对消,或者一个同极性磁场的分裂,均可以促使光球亮点产生或消失。基于这样的观测结果,统计研究了2722个光球亮点(1600A)与光球上偶极磁元的关系,发现大约有1/3的光球亮点出现在偶极磁元中心附近。     

Formation of Network Bright Points by granule compression

Network Bright Points (NBPs) are tiny, subarcsecond, bright features, visible in high-resolution filtergrams taken in white light as well as in photospheric and chromospheric absorption lines. They form the photospheric network and are associated with kilogauss, concentrated magnetic fields. Their behaviour is studied in a 3-hour, high-resolution granulation movie recorded at the Pic-du-Midi Observatory and processed at Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory. The movie shows the important role played by granules. It appears that NBPs are formed in dark spaces when surrounding granules converge to fill this space. The formation is a fast phenomenon which lasts only 4 min. The lifetime of NBPs is 18 min on the average. About 15% of them split when they are squeezed between two expanding granules. Some consequences concerning the strength of the magnetic field during the formation of NBPs are discussed.     

Orientation of X-Ray Bright Points in the Quiet Sun

Thanks to the high-resolution images from the X-ray telescope (XRT) aboard the Hinode satellite, X-ray bright points (XBPs) in the quiet region of the Sun are resolved and can be seen to have complex loop-like structures. We measure the orientation of such loop structures for 488 XBPs picked up in 26 snapshot X-ray images near the disk center. The distribution of the orientation is slightly but clearly biased to the east – west direction: the random distribution is rejected with a significance level of 1% by the χ ²-test. The distribution is similar to the orientation distribution for the bipolar magnetic fields. The XBP orientation is, however, much more random than that of the bipolar magnetic fields with similar size. 24% of the XBPs are due to emerging bipoles, while the remaining 76% are due to chance encounters of opposite polarities.     

Spatial Distribution and Temporal Evolution of Coronal Bright Points

Solar Physics - We present a statistical study of the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of coronal bright points (BPs) by analyzing a continuous set of observations of a quiet-Sun region...     

日冕亮点的观测特征和供能机制

该文通过综述相关研究成果,对日冕亮点的观测特征和供能机制进行了总结和评论.日冕亮点是发生在过渡区和低日冕的小尺度局地增亮现象,经常在X射线和极紫外波段观测到,其寿命在5～40 h之间.日冕亮点的产生和演化与双极磁场的相互作用紧密相关.对于日冕亮点的供能机制,目前主要存在三种观点:(1)磁场对消的观点,当不同极性的磁场区域相互靠近时,局地发生磁重联,并在重联区域加热等离子体,从而导致X射线和极紫外辐射的增强;(2)分隔线重联,与日冕亮点相联系的磁场结构可以形成分隔线重联位形,沿分隔线的快速磁场重联导致过渡区和日冕局地的等离子体被加热,从而产生日冕亮点;(3)光球水平运动所诱发的电流片为亮点提供了能量来源.近期研究表明,三种机制可能同时作用,为亮点提供所需的能量.     

Multi-wavelength study of Network Bright Points near the limb*

We analyze the morphology of network bright points (NBPs), their relation to fine dark mottles and their temporal variations, using observations of a quiet region near the polar solar limb, obtained during the solar minimum. For our analysis we used an image-processing method for the selection and identification of NBPs. Further we constructed 'maximum power frequency' maps computing the power spectrum for each pixel of a field and selecting the frequency of maximum spectral power as the most representative oscillating frequency for this pixel. The morphological analysis of our data indicates that the enhancement of NBPs is part of a complicated process that is responsible for the formation of mottles. The analysis of the lifetimes of NBPs indicates that although the general patterns of NBPs remain constant for time intervals larger than an hour, the lifetime of individual bright points is of the order of 16 min. Furthermore, our results indicate an association of the lifetime of NBPs with that of mottles. From the analysis of temporal variations we confirm that the power of NBPs is smaller than the corresponding power for intra-network points at both the 3-min and the 5-min oscillating modes and in both the Mg b₁–0.4 Å and the continuum. Our analysis revealed enhanced power in the 7-min range, which is theoretically considered a candidate frequency for transverse waves related to NBPs at the base of the chromosphere (Kalkofen, 1997). However, we consider more likely that this period is related to the evolution of individual NBPs.     

Application of Non-linear Analysis to Intensity Oscillations of the Chromospheric Bright Points

We have applied several nonlinear techniques to the intensity oscillations of the chromospheric bright points observed at the Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) of the Sacramento Peak Observatory. A 35-min time sequence obtained in the Caii H line over a quiet region at the center of the solar disk under high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution has been used. A relatively new approach is used to detect the hidden periodicity and to extract the associated periodic component(s) from an apparently irregular time series. The unique feature of this approach is that the constituent component(s) can be non-sinusoidal in nature. The periodicity analysis shows that time series of intensity oscillations of most of the bright points can be composed of two non-sinusoidal periodic components with periodicity varying between 2.4 min and 5.8 min. With the help of a multivariate embedding technique, globally significant spatial nonlinear correlation is found. The identification of the nonlinear interaction between bright points is performed by using the methods of dynamical phase synchronization and the similarity index. The analysis indicates that bright points are interconnected in the sense that some bright points are more active and can influence the other relatively passive bright points.     

Automatic Method for Identifying Photospheric Bright Points and Granules Observed by Sunrise

In this study, we propose methods for the automatic detection of photospheric features (bright points and granules) from ultra-violet (UV) radiation, using a feature-based classifier. The methods use quiet-Sun observations at 214 nm and 525 nm images taken by Sunrise on 9 June 2009. The function of region growing and mean shift procedure are applied to segment the bright points (BPs) and granules, respectively. Zernike moments of each region are computed. The Zernike moments of BPs, granules, and other features are distinctive enough to be separated using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The size distribution of BPs can be fitted with a power-law slope ?1.5. The peak value of granule sizes is found to be about 0.5 arcsec². The mean value of the filling factor of BPs is 0.01, and for granules it is 0.51. There is a critical scale for granules so that small granules with sizes smaller than 2.5 arcsec² cover a wide range of brightness, while the brightness of large granules approaches unity. The mean value of BP brightness fluctuations is estimated to be 1.2, while for granules it is 0.22. Mean values of the horizontal velocities of an individual BP and an individual BP within the network were found to be 1.6 km?s^?1 and 0.9 km?s^?1, respectively. We conclude that the effect of individual BPs in releasing energy to the photosphere and maybe the upper layers is stronger than what the individual BPs release into the network.     

Diagnostics of Coronal Bright Points using IRIS,AIA, and HMI Observations

We perform the detailed imaging and spectroscopic analysis of two coronal bright points (CBPs). These CBPs are dominated by bright dots or elongated bright features. Their rapid temporal variations lead to a continuous change in their overall morphology at chromospheric and transition-region (TR) temperatures. A 3D potential magnetic field extrapolation predicts the dominance of magnetic loops in the extent of both CBPs, which are clearly visible at the Si iv 1393.75 Å line formation temperature. Short, low-lying magnetic loops or loop segments are the integral parts of these CBPs at TR temperature. A correlation between the various parameters of Mg ii resonance lines (e.g. intensity, Doppler velocity, velocity gradient) is present in the region of magnetic loops or loop segments. However, a quiet-Sun (QS) region does not show any correlation. Doppler velocities as well as the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of these lines are very prominent in the magnetic loops and loop segments compared to the Doppler velocities and FWHM in the QS region. Higher red-shifts and FWHM at TR temperatures are directly related to the dominance of the energy release process in these regions in the framework of the nanoflare model. A magnetogram from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) reveals the existence of two opposite magnetic polarities in the extent of both CBPs, which is a very well established result. We find that one CBP is formed by the convergence of two opposite magnetic polarities, while the other is triggered by the emergence of a new magnetic field prior to the onset of this CBP.     

A Comparative Analysis of Photospheric Bright Points in an Active Region and in the Quiet Sun

We present a comparative study of photometric and dynamic properties of photospheric bright points (BPs) observed at the disk centre in the active region (AR) NOAA 10912 and in the quiet Sun. We found that the average concentration of BPs is 54% larger in the AR than in the quiet Sun. We also measure a decrease of the BP concentration and an increase of their size moving away from the AR centre. However, these variations can be ascribed to the variation of the spatial resolution and image quality in the field of view of the AR dataset. We also found that BPs in the quiet Sun are associated with larger downflow motions than those measured within the AR. Finally, from our measurements of contrast and velocity along the line of sight, we deduced that BPs are less bright in high magnetic flux density regions than in quiet regions, due to a lower efficiency of convection in the former regions.     

Relativistic Motor Dynamics of Systems of Mass Points and Rigid Bodies

A relativistic motor model for the dynamics of systems of mass points and rigid bodies, partly satisfying the program of KUSTAANHEIMO (1971) for a relativistic motor mechanics, is given. The conservation laws are valid independently of the type of dependence between mass and velocity.     

Spatial Distribution and North–South Asymmetry of Coronal Bright Points from Mid-1998 to Mid-1999

Full-disc full-resolution (FDFR) solar images obtained with the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) were used to analyse the centre-to-limb function and latitudinal distribution of coronal bright points. The results obtained with the interactive and the automatic method, as well as for three subtypes of coronal bright points for the time period 4 June 1998 to 22 May 1999 are presented and compared. An indication of a two-component latitudinal distribution of coronal bright points was found. The central latitude of coronal bright points traced with the interactive method lies between 10^∘ and 20^∘. This is closer to the equator than the average latitude of sunspots in the same period. Possible implications for the interpretation of the solar differential rotation are discussed. In the appendix, possible differences between the two solar hemispheres are analysed. More coronal bright points were present in the southern solar hemisphere than in the northern one. This asymmetry is statistically significant for the interactive method and not for the automatic method. The visibility function is symmetrical around the central meridian.     

Dynamics of Coronal Bright Points as Seen by Sun Watcher Using Active Pixel System Detector and Image Processing (SWAP), Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI)

The Sun Watcher using Active Pixel system detector and Image Processing (SWAP) onboard the PRoject for OnBoard Autonomy-2 (PROBA2) spacecraft provides images of the solar corona in EUV channel centered at 174 Å. These data, together with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), are used to study the dynamics of coronal bright points. The evolution of the magnetic polarities and associated changes in morphology are studied using magnetograms and multi-wavelength imaging. The morphology of the bright points seen in low-resolution SWAP images and high-resolution AIA images show different structures, whereas the intensity variations with time show similar trends in both SWAP 174 Å and AIA 171 Å channels. We observe that bright points are seen in EUV channels corresponding to a magnetic flux of the order of 10¹⁸ Mx. We find that there exists a good correlation between total emission from the bright point in several UV–EUV channels and total unsigned photospheric magnetic flux above certain thresholds. The bright points also show periodic brightenings, and we have attempted to find the oscillation periods in bright points and their connection to magnetic-flux changes. The observed periods are generally long (10?–?25 minutes) and there is an indication that the intensity oscillations may be generated by repeated magnetic reconnection.     

彗星动力学研究综述

彗星是太阳系中天文学的重要研究对象．它涉及到天体物理、化学、天体力学等多种领域。近年的研究表明,彗星可能是揭开太阳系起源和演化之谜的突破口,还可能与生命的起源有关．本文旨在对彗星动力学的发展情况作一简单的回顾和评述．