Influence of Radio Wave Propagation on the Properties of Solar Microwave Bursts

Scintillation of radio signals passing through the solar corona is considered. An expression describing the dynamic spectrum of these scintillations on the basis of multibeam propagation of radio waves is derived. Properties of the analytically calculated spectrum are shown to coincide with zebra-structure properties of solar radio bursts. It is determined that the time profile of the scintillations caused by multibeam propagation may appear as impulses of emission or absorption or may have a sawtooth form. It is concluded that assuming specific emission source features is not the only way to explain the zebra structure, since the effect of multibeam propagation of radio waves through the solar corona and interplanetary space yields a simple explanation of the phenomenon discussed.     

Automated Detection of Oscillating Regions in the Solar Atmosphere

Recently observed oscillations in the solar atmosphere have been interpreted and modeled as magnetohydrodynamic wave modes. This has allowed for the estimation of parameters that are otherwise hard to derive, such as the coronal magnetic-field strength. This work crucially relies on the initial detection of the oscillations, which is commonly done manually. The volume of Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) data will make manual detection inefficient for detecting all of the oscillating regions. An algorithm is presented that automates the detection of areas of the solar atmosphere that support spatially extended oscillations. The algorithm identifies areas in the solar atmosphere whose oscillation content is described by a single, dominant oscillation within a user-defined frequency range. The method is based on Bayesian spectral analysis of time series and image filtering. A Bayesian approach sidesteps the need for an a-priori noise estimate to calculate rejection criteria for the observed signal, and it also provides estimates of oscillation frequency, amplitude, and noise, and the error in all of these quantities, in a self-consistent way. The algorithm also introduces the notion of quality measures to those regions for which a positive detection is claimed, allowing for simple post-detection discrimination by the user. The algorithm is demonstrated on two Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) datasets, and comments regarding its suitability for oscillation detection in SDO are made.     

Grand Minima of Solar Activity and the Mean-Field Dynamo

We demonstrate that a simple solar dynamo model, in the form of a Parker migratory dynamo with random fluctuations of the dynamo governing parameters and algebraic saturation of dynamo action, can at least qualitatively reproduce all the basic features of solar Grand Minima as they are known from direct and indirect data. In particular, the model successfully reproduces such features as an abrupt transition into a Grand Minimum and the subsequent gradual recovery of solar activity, as well as mixed-parity butterfly diagrams during the epoch of the Grand Minimum. The model predicts that the cycle survives in some form during a Grand Minimum, as well as the relative stability of the cycle inside and outside of a Grand Minimum. The long-term statistics of simulated Grand Minima appears compatible with the phenomenology of the Grand Minima inferred from the cosmogenic isotope data. We demonstrate that such ability to reproduce the Grand Minima phenomenology is not a general feature of the dynamo models but requires some specific assumption, such as random fluctuations in dynamo governing parameters. In general, we conclude that a relatively simple and straightforward model is able to reproduce the Grand Minima phenomenology remarkably well, in principle providing us with a possibility of studying the physical nature of Grand Minima.     

Polarization of Microwave Radio Emission of Flare-Producing Solar Active Regions

On the basis of our multiwavelength observations made with the one-dimensional RATAN-600 radio telescope, we study the inversion of the circular polarization in the solar microwave emission at different frequencies. The inversion is detected in the emission of flare-producing active regions (FPARs) at various stages of their development, starting from the pre-flare stage. During the latest 23rd solar cycle maximum, numerous FPARs revealed spectral inhomogeneities in their polarized microwave radiation (Bogod and Tokhchukova, 2003, Astron. Lett. 29, 263). Here, we discuss a particular case of such inhomogeneities, the frequency-dependent double inversion of the sign of circular polarization, which probably reflects some essential processes in FPARs. We consider several mechanisms for the double inversion: linear interaction of waves in the region of a quasitransverse magnetic field, the propagation of waves through a region of zero magnetic field, the scattering of radio waves on waves of high-frequency plasma turbulence, the influence of the current fibrils on the propagation of the radio emission, and the magnetic “dips,” in which the direction of magnetic field lines changes the sign relative to the observer. All of them have shortcomings, but the last mechanism explains the observations the best.     

High Spectral Resolution Observation of Decimetric Radio Spikes Emitted by Solar Flares – First Results of the Phoenix-3 Spectrometer

A new multichannel spectrometer, Phoenix-3, is in operation having capabilities to observe solar flare radio emissions in the 0.1?–?5 GHz range at an unprecedented spectral resolution of 61.0 kHz with high sensitivity. The present setup for routine observations allows measuring circular polarization, but requires a data compression to 4096 frequency channels in the 1?–?5 GHz range and to a temporal resolution of 200 ms. First results are presented by means of a well observed event that included narrowband spikes at 350?–?850 MHz. Spike bandwidths are found to have a power?–?law distribution, dropping off below a value of 2 MHz for full width at half maximum (FWHM). The narrowest spikes have a FWHM bandwidth less than 0.3 MHz or 0.04% of the central frequency. The smallest half-power increase occurs within 0.104 MHz at 443.5 MHz, which is close to the predicted natural width of maser emission. The spectrum of spikes is found to be asymmetric, having an enhanced low-frequency tail. The distribution of the total spike flux is approximately an exponential.     

Solar Radio Spikes in 2.6 – 3.8 GHz during the 13 December 2006 Event

On 13 December 2006, some unusual radio bursts in the range 2.6?–?3.8 GHz were observed during an X3.4 flare/CME event from 02:30 to 04:30 UT in active region NOAA 10930 (S06W27) with the digital spectrometers of the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC). During this event many spikes were detected with the high temporal resolution of 8 ms and high frequency resolution of 10 MHz. Many of them were found to have complex structures associated with other radio burst types. The new observational features may reflect certain emission signatures of the electron acceleration site. In this paper, we present the results of the analysis of the new observational features of the complex spikes. According to the observed properties of the spikes, we identify five classes. Their observational parameters, such as duration, bandwidth, and relative bandwidth, were determined. Most spikes had negative polarization, but spikes with positive polarization were observed during a short time interval and were identified as a separate class. Based on the analysis of observations with Hinode/SOT (Solar Optical Telescope) we suggest that the sources of the spikes with opposite polarizations were different. Combined observations of spikes and fiber bursts are used to estimate the magnetic field strength in the source.     

Narrowband Pulsating Decimeter Structure Observed by the New Ondřejov Solar Radio Spectrograph

The new 0.8?–?2.0 GHz Ond?ejov radio spectrograph with high time resolution (10 ms) is presented. As an example of first observations the 0.95?–?1.3 GHz narrowband pulsating structure with a characteristic quasi-period of about 150 ms, observed during the impulsive phase of the 9 June 2007 M1.0 flare, is shown. Some of the pulses show very fast but measurable frequency drift of about ?17 GHz s^?1. The model of this pulsating structure, based on the tearing and coalescence processes in the current sheet, is briefly discussed.     

Combined Analysis of Solar Neutrino and Solar Irradiance Data: Further Evidence for Variability of the Solar Neutrino Flux and Its Implications Concerning the Solar Core

A search for any particular feature in any single solar neutrino dataset is unlikely to establish variability of the solar neutrino flux since the count rates are very low. It helps to combine datasets, and in this article we examine data from both the Homestake and GALLEX experiments. These show evidence of modulation with a frequency of 11.85 year⁻¹, which could be indicative of rotational modulation originating in the solar core. We find that precisely the same frequency is prominent in power spectrum analyses of the ACRIM irradiance data for both the Homestake and GALLEX time intervals. These results suggest that the solar core is inhomogeneous and rotates with a sidereal frequency of 12.85 year⁻¹. From Monte Carlo calculations, it is found that the probability that the neutrino data would by chance match the irradiance data in this way is only 2 parts in 10 000. This rotation rate is significantly lower than that of the inner radiative zone (13.97 year⁻¹) as recently inferred from analysis of Super-Kamiokande data, suggesting that there may be a second, inner tachocline separating the core from the radiative zone. This opens up the possibility that there may be an inner dynamo that could produce a strong internal magnetic field and a second solar cycle.     

An Analysis of the Sunspot Groups and Flares of Solar Cycle 23

Designing a statistical solar flare forecasting technique can benefit greatly from knowledge of the flare frequency of occurrence with respect to sunspot groups. This study analyzed sunspot groups and Hα and X-ray flares reported for the period 1997 – 2007. Annual catalogs were constructed, listing the days that numbered sunspot groups were observed (designated sunspot group-days, SSG-Ds) and for each day a record for each associated Hα flare of importance category one or greater and normal or bright brightness and for each X-ray flare of intensity C 5 or higher. The catalogs were then analyzed to produce frequency distributions of SSG-Ds by year, sunspot group class, likelihood of producing at least one flare overall and by sunspot group class, and frequency of occurrence of numbers of flares per day and flare intensity category. Only 3% of SSG-Ds produced a substantial Hα flare and 7% had a significant X-ray flare. We found that mature, complex sunspot groups were more likely than simple sunspot groups to produce a flare, but the latter were more prevalent than the former. More than half of the SSG-Ds with flares had a maximum intensity flare greater than the lowest category (C-class of intensity five and higher). The fact that certain sunspot group classes had flaring probabilities significantly higher than the combined probabilities of the intensity categories when all SSG-Ds were considered suggest that it might be best to first predict the flaring probability. For sunspot groups found likely to flare, a separate diagnosis of maximum flare intensity category appears feasible.     

The “FIP Effect” and the Origins of Solar Energetic Particles and of the Solar Wind

We find that the element abundances in solar energetic particles (SEPs) and in the slow solar wind (SSW), relative to those in the photosphere, show different patterns as a function of the first ionization potential (FIP) of the elements. Generally, the SEP and SSW abundances reflect abundance samples of the solar corona, where low-FIP elements, ionized in the chromosphere, are more efficiently conveyed upward to the corona than high-FIP elements that are initially neutral atoms. Abundances of the elements, especially C, P, and S, show a crossover from low to high FIP at \({\approx}\,10~\mbox{eV}\) in the SEPs but \({\approx}\,14~\mbox{eV}\) for the solar wind. Naively, this seems to suggest cooler plasma from sunspots beneath active regions. More likely, if the ponderomotive force of Alfvén waves preferentially conveys low-FIP ions into the corona, the source plasma that eventually will be shock-accelerated as SEPs originates in magnetic structures where Alfvén waves resonate with the loop length on closed magnetic field lines. This concentrates FIP fractionation near the top of the chromosphere. Meanwhile, the source of the SSW may lie near the base of diverging open-field lines surrounding, but outside of, active regions, where such resonance does not exist, allowing fractionation throughout the chromosphere. We also find that energetic particles accelerated from the solar wind itself by shock waves at corotating interaction regions, generally beyond 1 AU, confirm the FIP pattern of the solar wind.     

Evolution of the Electron Distribution Function in the Whistler Wave Turbulence of the Solar Wind

The electron distribution functions from the solar corona to the solar wind are determined in this paper by considering the effects of the external forces, of Coulomb collisions and of the wave – particle resonant interactions in the plasma wave turbulence. The electrons are assumed to be interacting with right-handed polarized waves in the whistler regime. The acceleration of electrons in the solar wind seems to be mainly due to the electrostatic potential. Wave turbulence determines the electron pitch-angle diffusion and some characteristics of the velocity distribution function (VDF) such as suprathermal tails. The role of parallel whistlers can also be extended to small altitudes in the solar wind (the acceleration region of the outer corona), where they may explain the energization and the presence of suprathermal electrons.     

Cross Helicity and Turbulent Magnetic Diffusivity in the Solar Convection Zone

In a density-stratified turbulent medium, the cross helicity 〈u′⋅B′〉 is considered as a result of the interaction of the velocity fluctuations and a large-scale magnetic field. By means of a quasilinear theory and by numerical simulations, we find the cross helicity and the mean vertical magnetic field to be anti-correlated. In the high-conductivity limit the ratio of the helicity and the mean magnetic field equals the ratio of the magnetic eddy diffusivity and the (known) density scale height. The result can be used to predict that the cross helicity at the solar surface will exceed the value of 1 gauss km s⁻¹. Its sign is anti-correlated to that of the radial mean magnetic field. Alternatively, we can use our result to determine the value of the turbulent magnetic diffusivity from observations of the cross helicity.     

Electron-Temperature Maps of the Low Solar Corona: ISCORE Results from the Total Solar Eclipse of 29 March 2006 in Libya

We conducted an experiment in conjunction with the total solar eclipse of 29 March 2006 in Libya that measured the coronal intensity through two filters centered at 3850 Å and 4100 Å with bandwidths of ≈?40 Å. The purpose of these measurements was to obtain the intensity ratio through these two filters to determine the electron temperature. The instrument, Imaging Spectrograph of Coronal Electrons (ISCORE), consisted of an eight inch, f/10 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope with a thermoelectrically-cooled CCD camera at the focal plane. Results show electron temperatures of 10⁵ K close to the limb to 3×10⁶ K at 1.3R _⊙. We describe this novel technique, and we compare our results to other relevant measurements. This technique could be easily implemented on a space-based platform using a coronagraph to produce global maps of the electron temperature of the solar corona.     

Radio Bursts Associated with Flare and Ejecta in the 13 July 2004 Event

We investigate coronal transients associated with a GOES M6.7 class flare and a coronal mass ejection (CME) on 13 July 2004. During the rising phase of the flare, a filament eruption, loop expansion, a Moreton wave, and an ejecta were observed. An EIT wave was detected later on. The main features in the radio dynamic spectrum were a frequency-drifting continuum and two type II bursts. Our analysis shows that if the first type II burst was formed in the low corona, the burst heights and speed are close to the projected distances and speed of the Moreton wave (a chromospheric shock wave signature). The frequency-drifting radio continuum, starting above 1 GHz, was formed almost two minutes prior to any shock features becoming visible, and a fast-expanding piston (visible as the continuum) could have launched another shock wave. A possible scenario is that a flare blast overtook the earlier transient and ignited the first type II burst. The second type II burst may have been formed by the same shock, but only if the shock was propagating at a constant speed. This interpretation also requires that the shock-producing regions were located at different parts of the propagating structure or that the shock was passing through regions with highly different atmospheric densities. This complex event, with a multitude of radio features and transients at other wavelengths, presents evidence for both blast-wave-related and CME-related radio emissions.     

Dependence of the Characteristics of Solar Wind Discontinuities and Shocks with Heliolatitude and Radial Distance

The distribution of the shocks in the heliosphere and their characteristic variations are investigated using Ulysses observations. The jumps in solar wind velocity, IMF magnitude, and proton density across the shocks and discontinuities are evaluated and used to characterize them. The distribution of these discontinuities with respect to heliolatitude ± 80° and with radial distance 1 to 5 AU are analyzed during solar minimum and solar maximum to understand their global behavior. It is noticed that the jumps in solar wind parameters associated with shocks and discontinuities are more prominent during the second orbit of Ulysses, which coincided with the maximum phase of solar activity.     

Solar Wind Sources in the Late Declining Phase of Cycle 23: Effects of the Weak Solar Polar Field on High Speed Streams

The declining phases of solar cycles are known for their high speed solar wind streams that dominate the geomagnetic responses during this period. Outstanding questions about these streams, which can provide the fastest winds of the solar cycle, concern their solar origins, persistence, and predictability. The declining phase of cycle 23 has lasted significantly longer than the corresponding phases of the previous two cycles. Solar magnetograph observations suggest that the solar polar magnetic field is also ～?2?–?3 times weaker. The launch of STEREO in late 2006 provided additional incentive to examine the origins of what is observed at 1 AU in the recent cycle, with the OMNI data base at the NSSDC available as an Earth/L1 baseline for comparisons. Here we focus on the year 2007 when the solar corona exhibited large, long-lived mid-to-low latitude coronal holes and polar hole extensions observed by both SOHO and STEREO imagers. STEREO provides in situ measurements consistent with rigidly corotating solar wind stream structure at up to ～?45° heliolongitude separation by late 2007. This stability justifies the use of magnetogram-based steady 3D solar wind models to map the observed high speed winds back to their coronal sources. We apply the WSA solar wind model currently running at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center with the expectation that it should perform its best at this quiet time. The model comparisons confirm the origins of the observed high speed streams expected from the solar images, but also reveal uncertainties in the solar wind source mapping associated with this cycle’s weaker solar polar fields. Overall, the results illustrate the importance of having accurate polar fields in synoptic maps used in solar wind forecast models. At the most fundamental level, they demonstrate the control of the solar polar fields over the high speed wind sources, and thus one specific connection between the solar dynamo and the solar wind character.     

Organization of Energetic Particles by the Solar Wind Structure During the Declining to Minimum Phase of Solar Cycle 23

We investigate the organization of the low energy energetic particles (≤1 MeV) by solar wind structures, in particular corotating interaction regions (CIRs) and shocks driven by interplanetary coronal mass ejections, during the declining-to-minimum phase of Solar Cycle 23 from Carrington rotation 1999 to 2088 (January 2003 to October 2009). Because CIR-associated particles are very prominent during the solar minimum, the unusually long solar minimum period of this current cycle provides an opportunity to examine the overall organization of CIR energetic particles for a much longer period than during any other minimum since the dawn of the Space Age. We find that the particle enhancements associated with CIRs this minimum period recurred for many solar rotations, up to 30 at times, due to several high-speed solar wind streams that persisted. However, very few significant CIR-related energetic particle enhancements were observed towards the end of our study period, reflecting the overall weak high-speed streams that occurred at this time. We also contrast the solar minimum observations with the declining phase when a number of solar energetic particle events occurred, producing a mixed particle population. In addition, we compare the observations from this minimum period with those from the previous solar cycle. One of the main differences we find is the shorter recurrence rate of the high-speed solar wind streams (～10 solar rotations) and the related CIR energetic particle enhancements for the Solar Cycle 22 minimum period. Overall our study provides insight into the coexistence of different populations of energetic particles, as well as an overview of the large-scale organization of the energetic particle populations approaching the beginning of Solar Cycle 24.     

Solar Origin of the Radio Attributes of a Complex Type III Burst Observed on 11 April 2001

We report here on the solar origin of distinctive radiation characteristics observed for a decametric type III solar radio burst that was associated with a major solar flare and CME on 11 April 2001. The associated decimeter (Ond?ejov) and meter (Potsdam) wavelength emissions, as well as the GOES soft X-ray lightcurve, suggest that there were two successive events of energy release and electron acceleration associated with this solar eruption. The Nançay radioheliograph images and additional evidence of plasmoid propagation suggest that the second event of electron acceleration resulted from coronal reconfigurations, likely caused by the erupting CME. These observational analyses provide new insights into the physical origin of the distinguishing characteristics of complex type III-like radio emissions that are typically observed at decameter wavelengths during major solar eruptive events.     

Oscillatory Response of the 3D Solar Atmosphere to the Leakage of Photospheric Motion

The direct propagation of acoustic waves, driven harmonically at the solar photosphere, into the three-dimensional solar atmosphere is examined numerically in the framework of ideal magnetohydrodynamics. It is of particular interest to study the leakage of 5-minute global solar acoustic oscillations into the upper, gravitationally stratified and magnetised atmosphere, where the modelled solar atmosphere possesses realistic temperature and density stratification. This work aims to complement and bring further into the 3D domain our previous efforts (by Erdélyi et al., 2007, Astron. Astrophys. 467, 1299) on the leakage of photospheric motions and running magnetic-field-aligned waves excited by these global oscillations. The constructed model atmosphere, most suitable perhaps for quiet Sun regions, is a VAL IIIC derivative in which a uniform magnetic field is embedded. The response of the atmosphere to a range of periodic velocity drivers is numerically investigated in the hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic approximations. Among others the following results are discussed in detail: i) High-frequency waves are shown to propagate from the lower atmosphere across the transition region, experiencing relatively low reflection, and transmitting most of their energy into the corona; ii) the thin transition region becomes a wave guide for horizontally propagating surface waves for a wide range of driver periods, and particularly at those periods that support chromospheric standing waves; iii) the magnetic field acts as a waveguide for both high- and low-frequency waves originating from the photosphere and propagating through the transition region into the solar corona. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Resonant Absorption of Fast Magnetoacoustic Waves due to Coupling into the Slow and Alfvén Continua in the Solar Atmosphere

Resonant absorption of fast magnetoacoustic (FMA) waves in an inhomogeneous, weakly dissipative, one-dimensional planar, strongly anisotropic and dispersive plasma is investigated. The magnetic configuration consists of an inhomogeneous magnetic slab sandwiched between two regions of semi-infinite homogeneous magnetic plasmas. Laterally driven FMA waves penetrate the inhomogeneous slab interacting with the localised slow or Alfvén waves present in the inhomogeneous layer and are partly reflected, dissipated and transmitted by this region. The presented research aims to find the coefficient of wave energy absorption under solar chromospheric and coronal conditions. Numerical results are analysed to find the coefficient of wave energy absorption at both the slow and Alfvén resonance positions. The mathematical derivations are based on the two simplifying assumptions that i) nonlinearity is weak, and ii) the thickness of the inhomogeneous layer is small in comparison to the wavelength of the wave, i.e. we employ the so-called long wavelength approximation. Slow resonance is found to be described by the nonlinear theory, while the dynamics at the Alvén resonance can be described within the linear framework. We introduce a new concept of coupled resonances, which occurs when two different resonances are in close proximity to each other, causing the incoming wave to act as though it has been influenced by the two resonances simultaneously. Our results show that the wave energy absorption is heavily dependent on the angle of the incident wave in combination with the inclination angle of the equilibrium magnetic field. In addition, it is found that FMA waves are very efficiently absorbed at the Alvén resonance under coronal conditions. Under chromospheric conditions the FMA waves are far less efficiently absorbed, despite an increase in efficiency due to the coupled resonances.