Resonance centrifugal effects as a factor in the formation of solar magnetic arcades. Influence of dynamical radiative cooling

This article continues our studies of the development of an MHD, waveguide, centrifugalresonance instability as a possible mechanism for the formation of solar magnetic arcades; here, we take into account the non-isentropic nature of this process associated with the presence of dynamical radiative cooling. In contrast to the results of our previous study, our computational data show that five, rather than two, waveguide-resonance families of unstable modes are able to develop in a cylindrical, rotating layer of magnetized plasma. This substantially expands the spectrum of associated wave processes, so that the joint action of all these growing wave harmonics can lead in the non-linear stage of their development to morphologies close to those observed in solar magnetic arcades—to the formation both of the magnetic arcades themselves and of fine structure in such arcades.     

Centrifugal effects and the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in coronal cavities

It is proposed that the formation of the morphology of solar magnetic cavities and of the topology of their magnetic fields at a certain stage of their evolution (a decay of a quasi-uniform, rotating, magnetized cylindrical layer into rings, followed by their deformation and the generation of internal fine structure etc.) can be attributed to the excitation of a shear-centrifugal-resonance instability. The calculations show the existence of two families of unstable modes: resonance-gyroscopic modes due to the rotation of the layer and fast magneto acoustic waves propagating outside the layer and resonating in phase with intra-layer perturbations. Both families contain a large number of unstable waveguide harmonics, with the superposition and interaction of these harmonics being responsible for the extremely complex structure of coronal cavities.     

Stability of toroidal magnetic fields in the radiation zone of a star

The stability of a toroidal magnetic field in the rotating radiation zone of a star is analyzed to estimate the maximum possible magnitude of relic fields. Equations for small perturbations are obtained taking into account the finite diffusivity and the stabilizing effect of the subadiabatic stratification. The numerical solution of the eigenvalue problem indicates that the threshold field strength for the onset of instability in the radiation zone of the Sun is about 600 G. This figure sets an upper bound for the strength of the relic field. The assumption that magnetic instabilities are present in the solar radiation zone disagrees with the observed abundance of lithium. Our analysis of joint stability of toroidal field and nonuniform rotation shows that two-dimensional MHD solutions for the solar tachocline are stable against three-dimensional perturbations.     

A shear flow instability in cylindrical geometry

Conclusion The results show, that this model experiment is useful for studying the interaction between two parallel shear layers in a rotating system. The structures of the observed instabilities exhibit some similarities with the wake flow behind cylindrical obstacles. Additional investigations in analyzing the dynamical behaviour of the shear instabilities are necessary to get a deeper insight into the physical mechanism. Up to that it is an open question, whether the physical effects described by Meiburg (1987), play an important role in these shear layer instabilities.     

Recent advances in solar radio physics

We review high spatial resolution microwave observations of solar active regions, coronal loops and flares. Observations of preflare active regions are presented; in particular we discuss the interpretations of reversal of polarization at the flare site and the role of newly emerging flux in triggering the onset of flares. We discuss the spatial locations of microwave burst emitting regions; loops or arcades of loops appear to be the sites of flare energy release in microwave bursts. We provide direct observational evidence of magnetic reconnection as the primary cause of acceleration of electrons in microwave bursts.     

Resonances in Spherical Dynamos and Super-Flares

Stars similar to the Sun demonstrate super-flares, which are considerably more powerful than solar flares. It is believed that the magneticfield energies of these stars are much higher than that of the Sun. The present study attempts to explain such an anomalously high magnetic energy by resonance phenomena related to the stellar dynamo, which involve significant changes in the behavior of the solutions subject to certain external effects and satisfy certain parametric relationships. These resonance phenomena are studied using low-mode models for a dynamo occurring in two or one spherical shells. It is shown that resonance effects arising in these models can result in increases of the magnetic energies by one and a half orders of magnitude compared with nonresonance cases. It is also shown that resonance dynamo conditions can differ considerably from the simple resonance conditions used for oscillating systems. This can probably be explained by the fact that the excitation and propagation of magnetic waves in dynamo problems are closely connected with each other, so that the resonance equations remain nonlinear even when they are maximally simplified.     

Ballooning instability and oscillations of coronal loops

The excitation of the ballooning instability by the eigenoscillations of coronal loops is analyzed using the energy method. The second variation of the potential energy for the case of a plasma—plasma boundary is obtained via the linearized ideal MHD equations. It is shown that the eigenmodes of a magnetic tube and of a toroidal coronal loop coincide in a first approximation. The bending oscillations of the loops are able to excite the ballooning instability when β ? 1. The effects of the instability in solar coronal loops are discussed.     

Coherent structures in the dynamics of the large-scale solar magnetic field

Variations in the mean solar magnetic field (MSMF) are studied in both the frequency-time and longitude-time domains. A wavelet analysis of the MSMF clearly demonstrates that variations in the mean field are not stationary. Combined with longitude-time diagrams for the background solar magnetic field (BSMF), the analysis reveals the emergence of the background field, which occurs discretely at intervals of 1.5–2 years. Based on an analysis of the fine structure in MSMF variations, we develop a numerical technique to study timedependent heliographic-longitude distribution of the large-scale magnetic field. A detailed picture of the rotation of the large-scale magnetic field is derived for activity cycles 20–23. Coherent structures are detected in longitude-time diagrams obtained by deconvolving the MSMF series. These structures are related to discrete rigid-rotation modes of the large-scale magnetic fields. Various rotational modes coexist and replace one another. During the phase of activity growth, modes with periods of 27.8–28.5 days dominate, whereas a mode with a rotational period of about 27 days dominates during the decline phase. Occasionally, modes with periods of 29–30 days appear. Most structures in the longitude-time MSMF distribution correspond to similar structures in the BSMF distribution for the northern or southern hemisphere. Chronologically, the emergence of the BSMF has frequently been accompanied by changes in the solar rotational regime and has been correlated with variations in the polarity asymmetry in the course of the 11-year activity cycle.     

南半球对流层气候年代际变化及其与太阳活动的联系

通过南半球对流层温度场谱分析和逐次滤波分析发现，南半球对流层大气温度场半个多世纪以来呈现明显的持续升温趋势，升温幅度由低层到高层逐步增加，其中地面层1 000 hPa年升温率为0.013℃/a，对流层中部500 hPa年升温率为0.019℃/ a，对流层上部300 hPa年升温率为0.036℃/ a；滤除南半球大气温度场的趋势变化，发现南半球大气温度场从地面层直至对流层顶广泛盛行着十分显著的与太阳磁场磁性22年周期变化相一致的变化周期。太阳磁场磁性周期变化趋势略有超前，分析认为，这是南半球对流层大气气候系统对太阳磁场周期性变化的响应。进一步分析还发现，南半球从地面层1 000 hPa到对流层顶，再到平流层中部10 hPa各层次大气温度变化22年周期分量振荡位相基本一致，周期振幅由低层到高层迅速增大，说明太阳磁场变化对对流层高层比低层影响大，对平流层影响更大。其中地面层1 000 hPa温度场的22年变化周期是在滤除趋势变化和11年周期之后才显现出来的，所以太阳磁场磁性周期变化对地面层气候的影响较小并且经常处于被掩盖状态；南半球地面层1 000 hPa温度场滤除趋势变化之后显示出十分显著的与太阳活动11年周期相一致的变化周期，分析认为，这是南半球对流层大气气候系统对太阳活动11周期性变化的响应。对流层上层300 hPa温度场滤除趋势变化和22年周期之后也显示出11年变化周期，而对流层中部500 hPa则无此周期反应，说明太阳活动11年周期对地面层1 000 hPa大气气候影响最明显，对流层中上层影响较弱。     

Two Scenarios for the Eruption of Magnetic Flux Ropes in the Solar Atmosphere

Eruptions of material from lower to upper layers of the solar atmosphere can be divided into two classes. The first class of eruptions maintain their (usually loop-like) shapes as they increase in size (eruptive prominences), or display a sudden expansion of fairly shapeless clumps of plasma in all directions (flare sprays). The second class refers to narrow, collimated flows of plasma on various scales (spicules, surges, jets). It is obvious that the magnetic configurations in which these phenomena develop differ: for the first class they form closed structures that confine the plasma, and in the second class open structures directing flows of plasma in a particular direction, as a rule, upward. At the same time, the mechanisms initiating eruptions of both classes could be similar, or even practically identical. This mechanism could be instability of twisted magnetic tubes (flux ropes), leading to different consequences under different conditions. It is shown that the results of eruptive instability are determined by the ratio of the scales of the magnetic flux rope and the confining coronal field, and also by the configuration of the ambient magnetic field in the corona. Observations of both types of eruptions are analyzed, the conditions for their develoment are examined, and phenomenological models are proposed.     

Parity fluctuations in stellar dynamos

Observations of the solar butterfly diagram from sunspot records suggest persistent fluctuations in parity, away from the overall, approximately dipolar pattern. A simple mean-field dynamo model is used with a solar-like rotation law and perturbed α effect. The parity of the magnetic field relative to the rotational equator can demonstrate can be described as resonance behavior, while the magnetic energy behaves in a more or less expected way. Possible applications of this effect are discussed in the context of various deviations of the solar magnetic field from dipolar symmetry, as reported from analyses of archival sunspot data. The model produces fluctuations in field parity, and hence in the butterfly diagram, that are consistent with observed fluctuaions in solar behavior.     

Active longitudes and north-south asymmetry of the activity the Sun as manifestations of its relic magnetic field

The distributions of dominant magnetic polarities in synoptic maps of photospheric magnetic fields and their extrapolations to the corona based on Stanford Observatory data are studied. Both dipolar and quadrupolar magnetic patterns are detected in the distributions of dominant polarities in the near-equatorial region of the photosphere for activity cycles 21, 22, and 23. The field in these patterns often has opposite signs on opposite sides of the equator, with this sign changing from cycle to cycle. A longitude-time analysis of variations of the mean solar magnetic field shows that the contribution of the large-scale magnetic patterns to the total field does not exceed 20 µT. The most stable magnetic structures at a quasi-source surface in the solar corona are separated by approximately 180° in heliographic longitude and are close to dipolar. The nature and behavior of these large-scale magnetic patterns are interpreted as a superposition of cyclic dynamo modes and the nonaxially symmetric relic field of the Sun. The contribution of the relic field to the mean solar magnetic field appears as a weak but stable rotational modulation whose amplitude does not exceed 8 µT.     

Magneto-rotational instability in the accreting envelope of a protostar and the formation of the large-scale magnetic field

We investigate the role of the magnetic field in the collapse of a gas-dust cloud into a massive gravitating object. Observations of one such object (G31.41) indicate that the magnetic field has an hourglass shape oriented along the rotation axis of the matter, due to the freezing-in of the magnetic-field lines in the accreting matter. It is believed that accretion in stellar disks is associated with the transport of angular momentum from the center to the periphery, which could be initiated by large-scale vortex structures arising in the presence of unstable rotational flows of matter. The numerical simulations have established that the equilibrium configuration of a gas-dust disk rotating in a spherically symmetrical gravitational potential is subject to the development of strong instability in the presence of a weak magnetic field. It is shown that the development of instability leads to a transport of angular momentum to the disk periphery by large-scale vortex structures, together with the accretion of matter onto the gravitating object. The magnetic-field lines near the equator take on a chaotic character, but an hourglass configuration is observed near the rotation axis, in agreement with observations.     

Discontinuous plasma flows near reconnecting current layers in solar flares

A model for magnetic reconnection in high-conductivity plasma in the solar corona is analyzed in a strong-magnetic-field approximation. The model includes a Syrovatskii current layer and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) discontinuities attached to the ends of the layer. A two-dimensional analytical solution for the magnetic field is used to compute the distributions of the plasma flow velocity and plasma density in the vicinity of the corresponding current configuration. The properties of jumps in the density and velocity along the attached discontinuities are studied. Based on the character of the variations of the magnetic field and plasma flows at the MHD discontinuities, it is shown that, with the parameter values considered, an MHDdiscontinuity can include regions of trans-Alfvénic, fast, and slowshocks. The results obtained could be useful to explain the presence of “super-hot” (with effective electron temperatures exceeding 10 keV) plasma in solar flares. Other possible applications of the theory of discontinuous flows near regions of magnetic reconnection to analogous non-stationary phenomena in astrophysical plasmas are noted.     

Physics of post-eruptive solar arcades: Interpretation of RATAN-600 and STEREO spacecraft observations

Results of simultaneous measurements of radiation fluxes from post-eruption arcades on the Sun at 171, 195, 284, and 304 ? (from STEREO spacecraft data) and at radio wavelengths (from the RATAN-600 radio telescope) are presented. An original probabilistic approach developed earlier by Urnov was used to determine the differential emission measure. This method requires no regularization, and the obtained results do not depend on the choice of the temperature grid. This approach has yielded the differential measure of emission at temperatures approximately from 0.3 to 15 MK. The subsequent calculation of thermal magnetobremsstrahlung in a multi-temperature model with the magnetic field decreasing with height produces a spectrum similar to that observed on RATAN-600. Thus, in many non-stationary events with modest powers, a thermal multi-temperature model is quite able to explain the emission of post-eruption arcade systems, and it is not necessary to invoke the emission of accelerated particles. The proposed model enables direct estimation of the ratio of the magnetic and gas pressures at the tops of post-eruption arcades, and determination of the conditions required for the origin of secondary nonstationary processes in the decay stage of the main flare.     

Velocity field in the spiral-wave pattern observed in rotating shallow-water experiments

The paper presents the first quantitative results of a laboratory study of the velocity field in a two-arm spiral-wave pattern generated in a steady-state fashion by a hydrodynamical instability in a differentially rotating, thin layer of liquid. The liquid layer has a free surface, and the rotational profile includes an interval where the velocity drops abruptly, as in the gaseous disks of spiral galaxies. The properties of anticyclonic vortices observed between the arms of this pattern at the corotation radius are considered.     

The hanle effect in a turbulent magnetic field

Exact analytical expressions for the scattering phase matrix are presented for various models of a turbulent magnetic field having a symmetry axis in the solar atmosphere. The polarization of the scattered radiation in the plane of the scattering is shown to be virtually independent of the predominant direction of the turbulent magnetic field. The Hanle effect does not operate in a longitudinal magnetic field normal to the surface of the atmosphere, since the phase matrix has the form of a resonance phase matrix with zero magnetic field.     

Parametric excitation of acoustic oscillations in closed coronal magnetic loops

Quasi-periodic modulations of the microwave emission from solar outbursts at 37 GHz are studied based on 17 events observed in 1989–2000 at the Metsähovi Observatory. Low-frequency modulations with periods of ～5 min were found in approximately 90% of the observed microwave outbursts. The most likely origin of this modulation is modulation of the current flowing along a closed coronal magnetic loop due to the five-minute oscillations of the photospheric-convection velocity. In approximately 70% of the cases, oscillations with periods ～10 min were observed simultaneously with the five-minute oscillations in the same events. In 30% of the cases, simultaneous modulation of the microwave emission by three low-frequency signals with periods of 3, 5, and 10 min was observed. One possible origin of these “double” and “triple” modulations is parametric excitation of acoustic oscillations with periods of 10 and 3 min in a closed coronal magnetic loop as a result of coupling with the five-minute photospheric oscillations. This can occur when the period of the natural acoustic oscillations of the closed magnetic loop is about 10 min (the resonance condition). Since the ten-minute oscillations are excited more easily than the three-minute oscillations at the parametric instability, the latter are observed less frequently. For the same reason, the observed linewidth of the ten-minute oscillations is considerably greater than that of the three-minute oscillations.     

Solar millisecond spikes manifest large-and small-scale inhomogeneities of the coronal plasma

A model for the generation of solar millisecond radio spikes via a maser cyclotron resonance is proposed. The model takes into account the large-scale inhomogeneity of the magnetic field and small-scale inhomogeneities of the coronal plasma. The efficiency of the energy transformation from a electron beam into maser radiation is estimated. Appropriate parameters of the magnetic field inhomogeneity and the plasma turbulence are found.     

The anisotropy of kinetic and current helicity

A three-dimensional model for thermal convection with a dynamo in a rotating planar layer heated from below is used to investigate the behavior of the mean kinetic and current helicities. In spite of the presence of gravity and rotation, which introduce anisotropy into the system, the components of the helicity determined from the field components in the directions tangent and normal to the boundary have similar values. The existence of a separation by scale, when the current helicity has different signs on different spatial scales, is demonstrated. The number of regions where the sign of the helicity does not coincide with the sign of its mean value in that region is estimated (～43?45% of the total number of regions). The estimates presented are relevant for interpretations of observations of solar activity and analysis of the properties of rotating magnetohydrodynamical turbulence.