Global-Mode Analysis of Full-Disk Data from the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Michelson Doppler Imager</Emphasis> and the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager</Emphasis>

Building upon our previous work, in which we analyzed smoothed and subsampled velocity data from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI), we extend our analysis to unsmoothed, full-resolution MDI data. We also present results from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI), in both full resolution and processed to be a proxy for the low-resolution MDI data. We find that the systematic errors that we saw previously, namely peaks in both the high-latitude rotation rate and the normalized residuals of odd \(a\)-coefficients, are almost entirely absent in the two full-resolution analyses. Furthermore, we find that both systematic errors seem to depend almost entirely on how the input images are apodized, rather than on resolution or smoothing. Using the full-resolution HMI data, we confirm our previous findings regarding the effect of using asymmetric profiles on mode parameters, and also find that they occasionally result in more stable fits. We also confirm our previous findings regarding discrepancies between 360-day and 72-day analyses. We further investigate a six-month period previously seen in \(f\)-mode frequency shifts using the low-resolution datasets, this time accounting for solar-cycle dependence using magnetic-field data. Both HMI and MDI saw prominent six-month signals in the frequency shifts, but we were surprised to discover that the strongest signal at that frequency occurred in the mode coverage for the low-resolution proxy. Finally, a comparison of mode parameters from HMI and MDI shows that the frequencies and \(a\)-coefficients agree closely, encouraging the concatenation of the two datasets.     

The First Solar Seeing Profile Measurement with Two Apertures and Multiple Guide Regions

The sky brightness is a critical parameter for estimating the coronal observation conditions for a solar observatory. As part of a site-survey project in Western China, we measured the sky brightness continuously at the Lijiang Observatory in Yunnan province in 2011. A sky brightness monitor (SBM) was adopted to measure the sky brightness in a region extending from 4.5 to 7.0 apparent solar radii based on the experience of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) site survey. Every month, the data were collected manually for at least one week. We collected statistics of the sky brightness at four bandpasses located at 450, 530, 890, and 940 nm. The results indicate that aerosol scattering is of great importance for the diurnal variation of the sky brightness. For most of the year, the sky brightness remains under 20 millionths per airmass before local Noon. On average, the sky brightness is less than 20 millionths, which accounts for 40.41% of the total observing time on a clear day. The best observation time is from 9:00 to 13:00 (Beijing time). The Lijiang Observatory is therefore suitable for coronagraphs investigating the structures and dynamics of the corona.     

Understanding the Role of Mass-Unloading in a Filament Eruption

We describe a partial filament eruption on 11 December 2011 that demonstrates that the inclusion of mass is an important next step for understanding solar eruptions. Observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory-Behind (STEREO-B) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft were used to remove line-of-sight projection effects in filament motion and correlate the effect of plasma dynamics with the evolution of the filament height. Flux cancellation and nearby flux emergence are shown to have played a role in increasing the height of the filament prior to eruption. The two viewpoints allow the quantitative estimation of a large mass-unloading, the subsequent radial expansion, and the eruption of the filament to be investigated. A 1.8 to 4.1 lower-limit ratio between gravitational and magnetic-tension forces was found. We therefore conclude that following the loss-of-equilibrium of the flux-rope, the radial expansion of the flux-rope was restrained by the filamentary material until 70% of the mass had evacuated the structure through mass-unloading.     

On the Performance of Multi-Instrument Solar Flare Observations During Solar Cycle 24

The current fleet of space-based solar observatories offers us a wealth of opportunities to study solar flares over a range of wavelengths. Significant advances in our understanding of flare physics often come from coordinated observations between multiple instruments. Consequently, considerable efforts have been, and continue to be, made to coordinate observations among instruments (e.g. through the Max Millennium Program of Solar Flare Research). However, there has been no study to date that quantifies how many flares have been observed by combinations of various instruments. Here we describe a technique that retrospectively searches archival databases for flares jointly observed by the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI), Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/EUV Variability Experiment (EVE – Multiple EUV Grating Spectrograph (MEGS)-A and -B, Hinode/(EUV Imaging Spectrometer, Solar Optical Telescope, and X-Ray Telescope), and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). Out of the 6953 flares of GOES magnitude C1 or greater that we consider over the 6.5 years after the launch of SDO, 40 have been observed by 6 or more instruments simultaneously. Using each instrument’s individual rate of success in observing flares, we show that the numbers of flares co-observed by 3 or more instruments are higher than the number expected under the assumption that the instruments operated independently of one another. In particular, the number of flares observed by larger numbers of instruments is much higher than expected. Our study illustrates that these missions often acted in cooperation, or at least had aligned goals. We also provide details on an interactive widget (Solar Flare Finder), now available in SSWIDL, which allows a user to search for flaring events that have been observed by a chosen set of instruments. This provides access to a broader range of events in order to answer specific science questions. The difficulty in scheduling coordinated observations for solar-flare research is discussed with respect to instruments projected to begin operations during Solar Cycle 25, such as the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, Solar Orbiter, and Parker Solar Probe.     

An interacting new holographic dark energy in the framework of fractal cosmology

In this paper, we study an interacting holographic dark energy model in the framework of fractal cosmology. The features of fractal cosmology could pass ultraviolet divergencies and also make a better understanding of the universe in different dimensions. We discuss a fractal FRW universe filled with the dark energy and cold dark matter interacting with each other. It is observed that the Hubble parameter embraces the recent observational range while the deceleration parameter demonstrates an accelerating universe and a behavior similar to \(\Lambda \mbox{CDM}\). Plotting the equation of state shows that it lies in phantom region for interaction mode. We use \(\mathit{Om}\)-diagnostic tool and it shows a phantom behavior of dark energy which is a condition of avoiding the formation of black holes. Finally we execute the StateFinder diagnostic pair and all the trajectories for interacting and non-interacting state of the model meet the fixed point \(\Lambda \mbox{CDM}\) at the start of the evolution. A behavior similar to Chaplygin gas also can be observed in statefinder plane. We find that new holographic dark energy model (NHDE) in fractal cosmology expressed the consistent behavior with recent observational data and can be considered as a model to avoid the formation of black holes in comparison with the main model of NHDE in the simple FRW universe. It has also been observed that for the interaction term varying with matter density, the model generates asymptotic de-Sitter solution. However, if the interaction term varies with energy density, then the model shows Big-Rip singularity. Using our modified CAMB code, we observed that the interacting model suppresses the CMB spectrum at low multipoles \(l<50\) and enhances the acoustic peaks. Based on the observational data sets used in this paper and using Metropolis-Hastings method of MCMC numerical calculation, it seems that the best value with \(1\sigma \) and \(2\sigma \) confidence interval are \(\Omega _{m0}=0.278^{+0.008~+0.010} _{-0.007~-0.009}\), \(H_{0}=69.9^{+0.95~+1.57}_{-0.95~-1.57}\), \(r_{c}=0.08^{+0.02~+0.027}_{-0.002~-0.0027}\), \(\beta =0.496^{+0.005~+0.009} _{-0.005~-0.009}\), \(c= 0.691^{+0.024~+0.039}_{-0.025~-0.037}\) and \(b^{2}=0.035\) according to which we find that the proposed model in the presence of interaction is compatible with the recent observational data.     

Comets,Enceladus and panspermia

A growing body of evidence suggests the operation of life and life processes in comets as well in larger icy bodies in the solar system including Enceladus. Attempts to interpret such data without invoking active biology are beginning to look weak and flawed. The emerging new paradigm is that life is a cosmic phenomenon as proposed by Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (Lifecloud: the Origin of Life in the Galaxy, 1978) and first supported by astronomical spectroscopy (Wickramasinghe and Allen, Nature 287:518, 1980; Allen and Wickramasinghe, Nature 294:239, 1981; Wickramasinghe and Allen, Nature 323:44, 1986). Comets are the transporters and amplifiers of microbial life throughout the Universe and are also, according to this point of view, the carriers of viruses that contribute to the continued evolution of life. Comets brought life to Earth 4.2 billion years ago and they continue to do so. Space extrapolations of comets, Enceladus and possibly Pluto supports this point of view. Impacts of asteroids and comets on the Earth as well as on other planetary bodies leads to the ejection of life-bearing dust and rocks and a mixing of microbiota on a planetary scale and on an even wider galactic scale. It appears inevitable that the entire galaxy will be a single connected biosphere.     

The Influence of the Solar Coronal Radiation on Coronal Plasma Structures,I: Determination of the Incident Coronal Radiation

Coronal structures receive radiation not only from the solar disc, but also from the corona. This height-dependent incident radiation plays a crucial role in the excitation and the ionisation of the illuminated plasma. The aim of this article is to present a method for computing the detailed incident radiation coming from the solar corona, which is perceived at a point located at an arbitrary height. The coronal radiation is calculated by integrating the radiation received at a point in the corona over all of the corona visible from this point. The emission from the corona at all wavelengths of interest is computed using atomic data provided by CHIANTI. We obtain the spectrum illuminating points located at varying heights in the corona at wavelengths between 100 and 912 Å when photons can ionise H or He atoms and ions in their ground states. As expected, individual spectral lines will contribute most at the height within the corona where the local temperature is closest to their formation temperature. As there are many spectral lines produced by many ions, the coronal intensity cannot be assumed to vary in the same way at all wavelengths and so must be calculated for each separate height that is to be considered. This code can be used to compute the spectrum from the corona illuminating a point at any given height above the solar surface. This brings a necessary improvement to models where an accurate determination of the excitation and ionisation states of coronal plasma structures is crucial.     

Reconstruction of Horizontal Plasma Motions at the Photosphere from Intensitygrams: A Comparison Between DeepVel,LCT, FLCT,and CST

Direct measurements of plasma motions in the photosphere are limited to the line-of-sight component of the velocity. Several algorithms have therefore been developed to reconstruct the transverse components from observed continuum images or magnetograms. We compare the space and time averages of horizontal velocity fields in the photosphere inferred from pairs of consecutive intensitygrams by the LCT, FLCT, and CST methods and the DeepVel neural network in order to identify the method that is best suited for generating synthetic observations to be used for data assimilation. The Stein and Nordlund (Astrophys. J. Lett.753, L13, 2012) magnetoconvection simulation is used to generate synthetic SDO/HMI intensitygrams and reference flows to train DeepVel. Inferred velocity fields show that DeepVel performs best at subgranular and granular scales and is second only to FLCT at mesogranular and supergranular scales.     

Solar Microflares Observed by SphinX and RHESSI

In 2009, the Russian Complex Orbital Observations Near-Earth of Activity of the Sun (CORONAS-Photon) spacecraft was launched, carrying the Polish Solar PHotometer In X-rays (SphinX). The SphinX was most sensitive in the spectral range 1.2?–?15 keV, thus an excellent opportunity appeared for comparison with the low-energy end of Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spectra. Common spectral measurements with these instruments cover the range where most of the flare energy is accumulated. We have chosen four consecutive small solar events observed on 4 July 2009 at 13:43 UT, 13:48 UT, 13:52 UT, and 13:55 UT (RHESSI flare peak times) and used them to compare the data and results from the two instruments. Moreover, we included Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) records in our analysis. In practice, the range of comparison performed for SphinX and RHESSI is limited roughly to 3?–?6 keV. RHESSI fluxes measured with a use of one, four, and nine detectors in the 3?–?4 keV energy band agree with SphinX measurements. However, we observed that SphinX spectral irradiances are three times higher than those of RHESSI in the 4?–?6 keV energy band. This effect contributes to the difference in obtained emission measures, but the derived temperatures of plasma components are similar. RHESSI spectra were fitted using a model with two thermal components. We have found that the RHESSI hot component is in agreement with GOES, and the RHESSI hotter component fits the SphinX flaring component well. Moreover, we calculated the so-called thermodynamic measure and the total thermal energy content in the four microflares that we studied. The results obtained show that SphinX is a very sensitive complementary observatory for RHESSI and GOES.     

Integration of the full two-body problem by using generalized inertia integrals

A new algorithm to integrate the full two-body problem based on generalized inertia integrals is given. The computation speed is comparable to the fastest algorithm available till now which is based on spherical harmonics.