Magnetic cycles of Sun-like stars with different levels of coronal and chromospheric activity——comparison with the Sun

The atmospheric activity of the Sun and Sun-like stars is analyzed involving observations from the HK-project at the Mount Wilson Observatory, the California and Carnegie Planet Search Program at the Keck and Lick Observatories and the Magellan Planet Search Program at the Las Campanas Observatory. We show that for stars of E G and K spectral classes, the cyclic activity, similar to the 11-yr solar cycle, is different： it becomes more prominent in K-stars. Comparative study of Sun-like stars with different levels of chromospheric and coronal activity confirms that the Sun belongs to stars with a low level of chromospheric activity and stands apart among these stars by its minimum level of coronal radiation and minimum level of variations in photospheric flux.

Observation of Standing Slow Magneto-acoustic Waves in a Flaring Active Region Corona Loop

Intensity fluctuations are frequently observed in different regions and structures of the solar corona.These fluctuations may be caused by magneto-hydrodynamic(MHD)waves in coronal plasma.MHD waves are prime candidates for the dynamics,energy transfer,and anomalous temperature of the solar corona.In this paper,analysis is conducted on intensity and temperature fluctuations along the active region coronal loop(NOAA AR 13599)near solar flares.The intensity and temperature as functions of time and distance along the loop are extracted using images captured by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly(AIA)instrument onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory(SDO)space telescope.To observe and comprehend the causes of intensity and temperature fluctuations,after conducting initial processing,and applying spatial and temporal frequency filters to data,enhanced distance-time maps of these variables are drawn.The space-time maps of intensities show standing oscillations at wavelengths of 171,193,and 211A with greater precision and clarity than earlier findings.The amplitude of these standing oscillations(waves)decreases and increases over time.The average values of the oscillation period,damping time,damping quality,projected wavelength,and projected phase speed of standing intensity oscillations are in the range of 15-18 minutes,24-31 minutes,1.46″-2″,132″-134″,and 81-100 km s^(-1),respectively.Also,the differential emission measure peak temperature values along the loop are found in the range of 0.51-3.98 MK,using six AIA passbands,including 94,131,171,193,211,and 335?.Based on the values of oscillation periods,phase speeds,damping time,and damping quality,it is inferred that the fluctuations in intensity are related to standing slow magneto-acoustic waves with weak damping.

Kinematics and amplitude evolution of global coronal extreme ultraviolet waves

With the observations of the Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory （STEREO） and the Solar Dynamics Observatory （SDO）, we analyze in detail the kine- matics of global coronal waves together with their intensity amplitudes （so-called ＂perturbation profiles＂）. We use a semi-automatic method to investigate the pertur- bation profiles of coronal waves. The location and amplitude of the coronal waves are calculated over a 30~ sector on the sphere, where the wave signal is strongest. The position with the strongest perturbation at each time is considered as the location of the wave front. In all four events, the wave velocities vary with time for most of their lifetime, up to 15 rain, while in the event observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly there is at, additional early phase with a much higher velocity. The velocity varies greatly between different waves from 216 to 440 km s-1. The velocity of the two waves initially increases, subsequently decreases, and then increases again. Two other waves show a deceleration followed by an acceleration. Three categories of am- plitude evolution of global coronal waves are found for the four events. The first is that the amplitude only shows a decrease. The second is that the amplitude initially increases and then decreases, and the third is that the amplitude shows an orderly in- crease, a decrease, an increase again and then a decrease. All the extreme ultraviolet waves show a decrease in amplitude while propagating farther away, probably because the driver of the global coronal wave （coronal mass ejection） is moving farther away from the solar surface.

An Impulsive Heating Model for the Evolution of Coronal Loops

It was suggested by Parker that the solar corona is heated by many small energy release events generally called microflares or nanoflares. More and more observations showed flows and intensity variations in nonflaring loops. Both theories and observations have indicated that the heating of coronal loops should actually be unsteady. Using SOLFTM （Solar Flux Tube Model）, we investigate the hydrodynamics of coronal loops undergoing different manners of impulsive heating with the same total energy deposition. The half length of the loops is 110 Mm, a typical length of active region loops. We divide the loops into two categories： loops that experience catastrophic cooling and loops that do not. It is found that when the nanoflare heating sources are in the coronal part, the loops are in non-catastrophic-cooling state and their evolutions are similar. When the heating is localized below the transition region, the loops evolve in quite different ways. It is shown that with increasing number of heating pulses and inter-pulse time, the catastrophic cooling is weakened, delayed, or even disappears altogether.

Interchange reconnection between an active region and a coronal hole

With data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we present a mag- netic interaction between an isolated coronal hole （CH） and an emerging active re- gion （AR）. The AR emerged nearby the CH and interacted with it. Bright loops con- stantly formed between them, which led to a continuous retreat of the CH boundaries （CHBs）. Meanwhile, two coronal dimmings respectively appeared at the negative po- laxity of the AR and the east boundary of the bright loops, and the AR was partly disturbed. Loop eruptions followed by a flare occurred in the AR. The interaction was also accompanied by many jets and an arc-shaped brightening that appeared to be observational signatures of magnetic reconnection at the CHBs. By comparing the observations with the derived coronal magnetic configuration, it is suggested that the interaction between the CH and the AR excellently agreed with the model of inter- change reconnection. It appears that our observations provide obvious evidence for interchange reconnection.

Shape parameters of the solar corona from 1991 to 2016

The global structure of the solar corona observed in the optical window is governed by the global magnetic field with different characteristics over a solar activity cycle. The Ludendorff flattening index has become a popular measure of global structure of the solar corona as observed during an eclipse. In this study, 15 digital images of the solar corona from 1991 to 2016 were analyzed in order to construct coronal flattening profiles as a function of radius. In most cases, the profile can be modeled with a 2nd order polynomial function so that the radius with maximum flattening index （Rmax） can be determined. Along with this value, Ludendorff index （a ＋ b） was also calculated. Both Ludendorff index and Rmax show anti-correlation with monthly sunspot number, though the Rmax values are more scattered. The variation in Rmax can be regarded as the impact of the changing coronal brightness profile over the equator.

Period ratios for standing kink and sausage modes in magnetized structures with siphon flow on the Sun

Standing oscillations with multiple periods have been found in a number of atmospheric struc- tures on the Sun. The ratio of the period of the fundamental to twice the one of its first overtone, P1/2192, is important in applications of solar magneto-seismology. We examine how field-aligned flows impact P1/2P2 of standing modes in solar magnetic cylinders. For coronal loops, the flow effects are significant for both fast kink and sausage modes. For kink modes, they reduce P1/2P2 by up to 17% relative to the static case even when the density contrast between the loop and its surroundings approaches infinity. For sausage modes, the reduction in P1/2P2 due to flow is typically ≤ 5.5% compared with the static case. However, the threshold aspect ratio, only above which can trapped sausage modes be supported, may increase dramatically with the flow magnitude. For photospheric tubes, the flow effect on P1/2P2 is not as strong. However, when applied to sausage modes, introducing field-aligned flows offers more possibilities in interpreting the multiple peri- ods that have recently been measured. We conclude that field-aligned flows should be taken into account to help better understand what causes the departure of P1/2P2 from unity.

Numerical simulations for MHD coronal seismology

Magnetohydrodynamic（MHD） processes are important for the transfer of energy over large scales in plasmas and so are essential to understanding most forms of dynamical activity in the solar atmosphere. The introduction of transverse structuring into models for the corona modifies the behavior of MHD waves through processes such as dispersion and mode coupling. Exploiting our understanding of MHD waves with the diagnostic tool of coronal seismology relies upon the development of sufficiently detailed models to account for all the features in observations. The development of realistic models appropriate for highly structured and dynamical plasmas is often beyond the domain of simple mathematical analysis and so numerical methods are employed. This paper reviews recent numerical results for seismology of the solar corona using MHD.

Location of energy source for coronal heating on the photosphere

It is reported that ultra-fine dynamic ejections along magnetic loops of an active region origi- nate from intergranular lanes and they are associated with subsequent heating in the corona. As continu- ing work, we analyze the same set of data but focus on a quiet region and the overlying EUV/UV emis- sion as observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly （AIA） on board Solar Dynamics Observatory （SDO）. We find that there appear to be dark patches scattered across the quiet region and the dark patches always stay along intergranular lanes. Over the dark patches, the average UV/EUV emission at 131, 17 1, 304 and 1600 A （middle temperature） is more intense than that of other regions and EUV brightness is negatively correlated with 10830A intensity, though, such a trend does not exist for high temperature lines at 94, 193, 211 and 335 A. For the same quiet region, where both TiO 7057 A broad band images and 10830A filtergrams are available, contours for the darkest lane areas on TiO images and clark patches on 10830A filtergrams frequently differ in space. The results suggest that the dark patches do not simply reflect the areas with the darkest lanes but are associated with a kind of enhanced absorption （EA） at 10830A,. A strict definition for EA with narrow band 10830A filtergrams is found to be difficult. In this paper, we define enhanced absorption patches （EAPs） of a quiet region as the areas where emission is less than ,-90% of the mean intensity of the region. The value is equivalent to the average intensity along thin dark loops connecting two moss regions of the active region. A more strict definition for EAPs, say 88%, gives even more intense UV/EUV emission over those in the middle temperature range. The results provide further observational evidence that energy for heating the upper solar atmosphere comes from the intergranular lane area where the magnetic field is constantly brought in by convection motion in granules.

Transequatorial Filament Eruption and Its Link to a Coronal Mass Ejection

We revisit the Bastille Day flare/CME Event of 2000 July 14, and demonstrate that this flare/CME event is not related to only one single active region （AR）. Activation and eruption of a huge transequatorial filament are seen to precede the simultaneous filament eruption and flare in the source active region, NOAA AR 9077, and the full halo-CME in the high corona. Evidence of reconfiguration of large-scale magnetic structures related to the event is illustrated by SOHO EIT and Yohkoh SXT observations, as well as, the reconstructed 3D magnetic lines of force based on the force-free assumption. We suggest that the AR filament in AR 9077 was connected to the transequatorial filament. The large-scale magnetic composition related to the transequatorial filament and its sheared magnetic arcade appears to be an essential part of the CME parent magnetic structure. Estimations show that the filament- arcade system has enough magnetic helicity to account for the helicity carried by the related CMEs. In addition, rather global magnetic connectivity, covering almost all the visible range in longitude and a huge span in latitude on the Sun, is implied by the Nan^ay Radioheliograph （NRH） observations. The analysis of the Bastille Day event suggests that although the triggering of a global CME might take place in an AR, a much larger scale magnetic composition seems to be the source of the ejected magnetic flux, helicity and plasma. The Bastille Day event is the first described ex- ample in the literature, in which a transequatorial filament activity appears to play a key role in a global CME. Many tens of halo-CME are found to be associated with transequatorial filaments and their magnetic environment.

Magnetic non-potentiality on the quiet Sun and the filigree

From the observed vector magnetic fields by the Solar Optical Telescope/ Spectro-Polarimeter aboard the satellite Hinode, we have examined whether or not the quiet Sun magnetic fields are non-potential, and how the G-band filigrees and Ca II network bright points （NBPs） are associated with the magnetic non-potentiality. A sizable quiet region in the disk center is selected for this study. The new findings by the study are as follows. （1） The magnetic fields of the quiet region are obviously non-potential. The region-average shear angle is 40°, the average vertical current is 0.016A m^-2, and the average free magnetic energy density, 2.7× 10^2erg cm^-3. The magnitude of these non-potential quantities is comparable to that in solar active regions. （2） There are overall correlations among current helicity, free magnetic energy and longitudinal fields. The magnetic non-potentiality is mostly concentrated in the close vicinity of network elements which have stronger longitudinal fields. （3） The filigrees and NBPs are magnetically characterized by strong longitudinal fields, large electric helicity, and high free energy density. Because the selected region is away from any enhanced network, these new results can generally be applied to the quiet Sun. The findings imply that stronger network elements play a role in high magnetic non-potentiality in heating the solar atmosphere and in conducting the solar wind.

Coronal Flux Rope Equilibria in Closed Magnetic Fields

Using a 2.5-dimensional ideal MHD model in Cartesian coordinates, weinvestigate the equilibrium properties of coronal magnetic flux ropes in background magnetic fieldsthat are completely closed. The background fields are produced by a dipole, a quadrupole, and anoctapole, respectively, located below the photosphere at the same depth. A magnetic flux rope isthen launched from below the photosphere, and its magnetic properties, i.e., the annular magneticflux Φ_p and the axial magnetic flux Φ_z, are controlled by a single emergence parameter. Thewhole system eventually evolves into equilibrium, and the resultant flux rope is characterized bythree geometrical parameters: the height of the rope axis, the half-width of the rope, and thelength of the vertical current sheet below the rope. It is found that the geometrical parametersincrease monotonically and continuously with increasing Φ_p and Φ_z: no catastrophe occurs.Moreover, there exists a steep segment in the profiles of the geometrical parameters versus eitherΦ_p or Φ_z, and the faster the background field decays with height, the larger both the gradientand the growth amplitude within the steep segment will be.

Influence of coronal holes on CMEs in causing SEP events

The issue of the influence of coronal holes （CHs） on coronal mass ejections （CMEs） in causing solar energetic particle （SEP） events is revisited. It is a continuation and extension of our previous work, in which no evident effects of CHs on CMEs in generating SEPs were found by statistically investigating 56 CME events. This result is consistent with the conclusion obtained by Kahler in 2004. We extrapolate the coronal magnetic field, define CHs as the regions consisting of only open magnetic field lines and perform a similar analysis on this issue for 76 events in total by extending the study interval to the end of 2008. Three key parameters, CH proximity, CH area and CH relative position, are involved in the analysis. The new result confirms the previous conclusion that CHs did not show any evident effect on CMEs in causing SEP events.

On the Relation Between Coronal Green Line Brightness and Magnetic Fields Intensity

Two-dimensional(2 D) solar coronal magnetogram is difficult to be measured directly until now.From the previous knowledge,a general relation has been noticed that the brighter green-line brightness for corona,the higher coronal magnetic field intensity may correspond to.To try to further reveal the relationship between coronal green line brightness and magnetic field intensity,we use the 2 D coronal images observed by Yunnan Observatories Greenline Imaging System(YOGIS) of the 10 cm Lijiang coronagraph and the coronal magnetic field maps calculated from the current-free extrapolations with the photospheric magnetograms taken by Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager(HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory(SDO) spacecraft.In our analysis,we identified the coronal loop structures and construct two-dimensional maps of the corresponding magnetic field intensity in the plane of the sky(POS) above the limb.We derive the correlation coefficients between the coronal brightness and the magnetic field intensity for different heights of coronal layers.We further use a linear combination of a Gaussian and a quadratic profile to fit the correlation coefficients distribution,finding a largest correlation coefficient of 0.82 near 1.1 R(solar radii) where is almost the top of the closed loop system.For the small closed loop system identified,the correlation coefficient distributions crossing and covering the loop are calculated.We also investigate the correlation with extended heliocentric latitude zones and long period of one whole Carrington Rotation,finding again that the maximum correlation coefficient occurs at the same height.It is the first time for us to find that the correlation coefficients are high(all are larger than 0.8) at the loop-tops and showing poor correlation coefficients with some fluctuations near the feet of the coronal loops.Our findings indicate that,for the heating of the low-latitude closed loops,both DC(dissipation of currents) and AC(dissipation of Alfvén and magnetosonic waves) mechanisms should act simultaneously on the whole closed loop system while the DC mechanisms dominate in the loop-top regions.Therefore,in the distributions of the correlation coefficients with different heights of coronal layers,for both large-and small-scale latitude ranges,the coefficients can reach their maximum values at the same coronal height of 1.1 R,which may indicate the particular importance of the height of closed loops for studying the coupling of the local emission mechanism and the coronal magnetic fields,which maybe helpful for studying the origin of the low-speed solar wind.

Magnetic Properties of Metric Noise Storms Associated with Coronal Mass Ejections

Using Nancay Radioheliograph （NRH） imaging observations, combined with SOHO/Michelson Doppler Imager （MDI） magnetogram observations and coronal magnetic field extrapolation, we studied the magnetic nature of metric noise storms that are associated with coronal mass ejections （CMEs）. Four events arc selected： the events of 2000 July 14, 2001 April 26, 2002 August 16 and 2001 March 28. The identified noise storm sources cover or partially cover the active regions （ARs）, but the centers of storm sources are offset from the ARs. Using extrapolated magnetic field lines, we find that the noise storm sources trace the boundary between the open and closed field lines. We demonstrate that the disappearance of noise storm source is followed by the appearance of the burst source. The burst sources spread on the solar disk and their distributions correspond to the extent of the CME in LASCO C2 field of view. All the SOHO/Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope （EIT） dimmings associated with noise storm sources are located at the periphery of noise storms where the magnetic lines of force were previously closed and low-lying. When the closed field becomes partially or fully open, the basic configurations of noise storm sources are changed, then the noise storm sources are no longer observed. These observations provide the information that the variations of noise storms manifest the restructuring or reconfiguring of the coronal magnetic field.

Preprocessing photospheric vector magnetograms for nonlinear force-free field extrapolation of the global corona

Nonlinear force-free magnetic field （NLFFF） extrapolation based on the observed photo- spheric magnetic field is the most important method to obtain the coronal magnetic field nowadays. However, raw photospheric magnetograms contain magnetic forces and small-scale noises, and fail to be consistent with the force-free assumption of NLFFF models. The procedure for removing the forces and noises in observed data is called preprocessing. In this paper, we extend the preprocessing code of Jiang ＆ Feng to spherical coordinates for a full sphere. We first smooth the observed data with Gaussian smoothing, and then split the smoothed magnetic field into a potential field and a non-potential field. The potential part is computed by a numerical potential field model, and the non-potential part is prepro- cessed using an optimization method to minimize the magnetic forces and magnetic torques. Applying the code to synoptic charts of the vector magnetic field from SDO/HMI, we find it can effectively reduce the noises and forces, and improve the quality of data for a better input which will be used for NLFFF extrapolations applied to the global corona.

On the error analyses of polarization measurements of the white-light coronagraph aboard ASO-S

The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory(ASO-S) mission aims to explore the two most spectacular eruptions on the Sun: solar flares and coronal mass ejections(CMEs), and their magnetism.For the study of CMEs, the payload Lyman-alpha Solar Telescope(LST) has been proposed. It includes a traditional white-light coronagraph and a Lyman-alpha coronagraph which opens a new window to CME observations. Polarization measurements taken by white-light coronagraphs are crucial for deriving fundamental physical parameters of CMEs. To make such measurements, there are two options for a Stokes polarimeter which have been applied by existing white-light coronagraphs for space missions. One uses a single or triple linear polarizer, the other involves both a half-wave plate and a linear polarizer. We find that the former option is subject to less uncertainty in the derived Stokes vector propagating from detector noise.The latter option involves two plates which are prone to internal reflections and may have a reduced transmission factor. Therefore, the former option is adopted as our Stokes polarimeter scheme for LST. Based on the parameters of the intended linear polarizer(s) colorPol provided by CODIXX and the half-wave plate 2-APW-L2-012 C by Altechna, it is further shown that the imperfect maximum transmittance of the polarizer significantly increases the variance amplification of Stokes vector by at least about 50% when compared with the ideal case. The relative errors of Stokes vector caused by the imperfection of colorPol polarizer and the uncertainty due to the polarizer assembly in the telescope are estimated to be about 5%. Among the considered parameters, we find that the dominant error comes from the uncertainty in the maximum transmittance of the polarizer.

Testing a solar coronal magnetic field extrapolation code with the Titov–Dmoulin magnetic flux rope model

In the solar corona, the magnetic flux rope is believed to be a fundamental structure that accounts for magnetic free energy storage and solar eruptions. Up to the present, the extrapolation of the magnetic field from boundary data has been the primary way to obtain fully three-dimensional magnetic information about the corona. As a result, the ability to reliably recover the coronal magnetic flux rope is important for coronal field extrapolation. In this paper, our coronal field extrapolation code is examined with an analytical magnetic flux rope model proposed by Titov ＆ D6moulin, which consists of a bipolar magnetic configuration holding a semi-circular line-tied flux rope in force-free equilibrium. By only using the vector field at the bottom boundary as input, we test our code with the model in a representative range of parameter space and find that the model field can be reconstructed with high accuracy. In particular, the magnetic topological interfaces formed between the flux rope and the surrounding arcade, i.e., the ＂hyperbolic flux tube＂ and ＂bald patch separatrix surface,＂ are also reliably reproduced. By this test, we demonstrate that our CESE-MHD-NLFFF code can be applied to recovering the magnetic flux rope in the solar corona as long as the vector magnetogram satisfies the force-free constraints.

Magnetic flux ropes in the solar corona: structure and evolution toward eruption

Magnetic flux ropes are characterized by coherently twisted magnetic field lines,which are ubiquitous in magnetized plasmas.As the core structure of various eruptive phenomena in the solar atmosphere,flux ropes hold the key to understanding the physical mechanisms of solar eruptions,which impact the heliosphere and planetary atmospheres.The strongest disturbances in the Earth’s space environments are often associated with large-scale flux ropes from the Sun colliding with the Earth’s magnetosphere,leading to adverse,sometimes catastrophic,space-weather effects.However,it remains elusive as to how a flux rope forms and evolves toward eruption,and how it is structured and embedded in the ambient field.The present paper addresses these important questions by reviewing current understandings of coronal flux ropes from an observer’s perspective,with an emphasis on their structures and nascent evolution toward solar eruptions,as achieved by combining observations of both remote sensing and in-situ detection with modeling and simulation.This paper highlights an initiation mechanism for coronal mass ejections(CMEs)in which plasmoids in current sheets coalesce into a’seed’flux rope whose subsequent evolution into a CME is consistent with the standard model,thereby bridging the gap between microscale and macroscale dynamics.

Application of a data-driven simulation method to the reconstruction of the coronal magnetic field

Ever since the magnetohydrodynamic （MHD） method for extrapolation of the solar coronal magnetic field was first developed to study the dynamic evolution of twisted magnetic flux tubes, it has proven to be efficient in the reconstruction of the solar coronal magnetic field. A recent example is the so-called data-driven simu- lation method （DDSM）, which has been demonstrated to be valid by an application to model analytic solutions such as a force-free equilibrium given by Low and Lou. We use DDSM for the observed magnetograms to reconstruct the magnetic field above an active region. To avoid an unnecessary sensitivity to boundary conditions, we use a classical total variation diminishing Lax-Friedrichs formulation to iteratively compute the full MHD equations. In order to incorporate a magnetogram consistently and sta- bly, the bottom boundary conditions are derived from the characteristic method. In our simulation, we change the tangential fields continually from an initial potential field to the vector magnetogram. In the relaxation, the initial potential field is changed to a nonlinear magnetic field until the MHD equilibrium state is reached. Such a stable equilibrium is expected to be able to represent the solar atmosphere at a specified time. By inputting the magnetograms before and after the X3.4 flare that occurred on 2006 December 13, we find a topological change after comparing the magnetic field before and after the flare. Some discussions are given regarding the change of magnetic con- figuration and current distribution. Furthermore, we compare the reconstructed field line configuration with the coronal loop observations by XRT onboard Hinode. The comparison shows a relatively good correlation.