A study of a long duration B9 flare-CME event and associated shock

We present and discuss here the observations of a small long duration GOES B-class flare associated with a quiescent filament eruption, a global EUV wave and a CME on 2011 May 11. The event was well observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), GONG H$\alpha$, STEREO and Culgoora spectrograph. As the filament erupted, ahead of the filament we observed the propagation of EIT wave fronts, as well as two flare ribbons on both sides of the polarity inversion line (PIL) on the solar surface. The observations show the co-existence of two types of EUV waves, i.e., a fast and a slow one. A type II radio burst with up to the third harmonic component was also associated with this event. The evolution of photospheric magnetic field showed flux emergence and cancellation at the filament site before its eruption.     

Results from the study of an M7.6 flare and its associated CME

An M7.6 flare was well observed on October 24, 2003 in active region 10486 by a few instruments and satellites, including GOES, TRACE, SOHO, RHESSI and NoRH. Multi-wavelength study shows that this flare underwent two episodes. During the first episode, only a looptop source of <40 keV was observed in reconstructed RHESSI images, which showed shrinkage with a velocity of 12–14 km s⁻¹ in a period of about 12 min. During the second process, in addition to the looptop source, two footpoint sources were observed in energy channel of as high as ∼200 keV. One of them showed fast propagation along one of the two TRACE 1600 Å flare ribbons and the 195 Å loop footpoints, which could be explained by successive magnetic reconnection. The associated CME showed a mass pickup process with decreasing center-of-mass velocity. The decrease of the CME kinetic energy and the increase of its potential energy lead to an almost constant total energy during the CME propagation. Our results reveal that the flare and its associated CME have comparable energy content, and the flare is of non-thermal property.     

Coronal Hole Oscillations as inferred from SDO/AIA data

With high temporal resolution (12 s) of about two hours duration, data of a coronal hole structure in 171 Å$\AA$, 193 Å$\AA$ and 211 Å$\AA$ taken from SDO/AIA images is considered for examination of oscillations. After estimating the total DN counts of a whole coronal hole structure in three wavelength bands, the resulting time series are subjected to FFT and wavelet analysis. Significant periods in all the three wavelength bands are detected that are mainly concentrated around 500 s as a fundamental mode and its odd (167, 100, 71, 56, 46, 39, 33, 29, 26, 24 s) harmonics. Computed phases in all the three wavelengths band are estimated to be constant.     

Determination of temperature maps of EUV coronal hole jets

Coronal hole jets are fast ejections of plasma occurring within coronal holes, observed at Extreme-UltraViolet (EUV) and X-ray wavelengths. Recent observations of jets by the STEREO and Hinode missions show that they are transient phenomena which occur at much higher rates than large-scale impulsive phenomena like flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). In this paper we describe some typical characteristics of coronal jets observed by the SECCHI instruments of STEREO spacecraft. We show an example of 3D reconstruction of the helical structure for a south pole jet, and present how the angular distribution of the jet position angles changes from the Extreme-UltraViolet-Imager (EUVI) field of view to the CORonagraph1 (COR1) (height ∼2.0 R_⊙ heliocentric distance) field of view. Then we discuss a preliminary temperature determination for the jet plasma by using the filter ratio method at 171 and 195 Å and applying a technique for subtracting the EUV background radiation. The results show that jets are characterized by electron temperatures ranging between 0.8 and 1.3 MK. We present the thermal structure of the jet as temperature maps and we describe its thermal evolution.     

The optical emission lines of type 1 X-ray bright Active Galactic Nuclei

A strong X-ray emission is one of the defining signatures of nuclear activity in galaxies. According to the Unified Model for Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), both the X-ray radiation and the prominent broad emission lines, characterizing the optical and UV spectra of Type 1 AGNs, are originated in the innermost regions of the sources, close to the Super Massive Black Holes (SMBH), which power the central engine. Since the emission is concentrated in a very compact region (with typical size r?0.1$r?0.1$ pc) and it is not possible to obtain resolved images of the source, spectroscopic studies of this radiation represent the only valuable key to constrain the physical properties of matter and its structure in the center of active galaxies. Based on previous studies on the physics of the Broad Line Region (BLR) and on the X-ray spectra of broad (FWHM_Hβ ? 2000 km s⁻¹) and narrow line (1000 km s⁻¹ ?FWHM_Hβ ? 2000 km s⁻¹) emitting objects, it has been observed that the kinematic and ionization properties of matter close to the SMBHs are related together, and, in particular, that ionization is higher in narrow line sources. Here we report on the study of the optical and X-ray spectra of a sample of Type 1 AGNs, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database, within an upper redshift limit of z=0.35$z=0.35$, and detected at X-ray energies. We present analysis of the broad emission line fluxes and profiles, as well as the properties of the X-ray continuum and Fe Kα emission and we use these parameters to assess the consistency of our current AGN understanding.     

Synoptic magnetic field in cycle 23 and in the beginning of the cycle 24

The SOHO/MDI data provide the uniform time series of the synoptic magnetic maps which cover the period of the cycle 23 and the beginning of the cycle 24. It is very interesting period because of the long and deep solar minimum between the cycles 23 and 24. Synoptic structure of the solar magnetic field shows variability during solar cycles. It is known that the magnetic activity contributes to the solar irradiance. The axisymmetrical distribution of the magnetic flux (Fig. 3c) is closely associated with the ‘butterfly’ diagram in the EUV emission (Benevolenskaya et al., 2001). And, also, the magnetic field (B_∥) shows the non-uniform distributions of the solar activity with longitude, so-called ‘active zones’, and ‘coronal holes’ in the mid-latitude. Polar coronal holes are forming after the solar maxima and they persist during the solar minima. SOHO/EIT data in the emission of Fe XII (195 Å) could be a proxy for the coronal holes tracking. The active longitudinal zones or active longitude exist due to the reappearance of the activity and it is clearly seen in the synoptic structure of the solar cycle. On the descending branch of the solar cycle 23 active zones are less pronounced comparing with previous cycles 20, 21 and 22. Moreover, the weak polar magnetic field precedes the long and deep solar minimum. In this paper we have discussed the development of solar cycles 23 and 24 in details.     

The ultraviolet view of the Magellanic Clouds from GALEX: A first look at the LMC source catalog

The Galaxy Evolution Exporer (GALEX) has performed unprecedented imaging surveys of the Magellanic Clouds (MC) and their surrounding areas including the Magellanic Bridge (MB) in near-UV (NUV, 1771-2831 Å) and far-UV (FUV, 1344-1786 Å) bands at 5^″$5^{″}$ resolution. Substantially more area was covered in the NUV than FUV, particularly in the bright central regions, because of the GALEX FUV detector failure. The 5σ$\sigma$ depth of the NUV imaging varies between 20.8 and 22.7 (ABmag). Such imaging provides the first sensitive view of the entire content of hot stars in the Magellanic System, revealing the presence of young populations even in sites with extremely low star-formation rate surface density like the MB, owing to high sensitivity of the UV data to hot stars and the dark sky at these wavelengths.     

Statistical study of twist values of transequatorial loops and the relationship with flares

In this paper, the twist values of ‘S’-shape transequatorial loops (TLs) from 1991 to 2001 are calculated, GOES soft X-ray flares dataset of the active regions connected by these TLs are investigated. The result shows the twist value of the TLs has a weak relation with the flare flux. There is no clear correlation between the twist value and the distance between the footpoint of TLs and location of flare in the corresponding active regions.     

Observations of supergiant fast X-ray transients with LOFT

Supergiant fast X-ray transients are a subclass of high mass X-ray binaries displaying a peculiar and still poorly understood extreme variability in the X-ray domain. These sources undergo short sporadic outbursts (_LX∼$L_{\text{X}}\sim$ 10³⁶–10³⁷ erg s⁻¹), lasting few ks at the most, and spend a large fraction of their time in an intermediate luminosity state at about _LX∼$L_{\text{X}}\sim$ 10³³–10³⁴ erg s⁻¹. The sporadic and hardly predictable outbursts of supergiant fast X-ray transients were so far best discovered by large field of view (FOV) coded-mask instruments; their lower luminosity states require, instead, higher sensitivity focusing instruments to be studied in sufficient details. In this contribution, we provide a summary of the current knowledge on supergiant fast X-ray transients and explore the contribution that the new space mission concept LOFT, the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing, will be able to provide in the field of research of these objects.     

Flux emergence,flux imbalance,magnetic free energy and solar flares

Emergence of complex magnetic flux in the solar active regions lead to several observational effects such as a change in sunspot area and flux embalance in photospheric magnetograms. The flux emergence also results in twisted magnetic field lines that add to free energy content. The magnetic field configuration of these active regions relax to near potential-field configuration after energy release through solar flares and coronal mass ejections. In this paper, we study the relation of flare productivity of active regions with their evolution of magnetic flux emergence, flux imbalance and free energy content. We use the sunspot area and number for flux emergence study as they contain most of the concentrated magnetic flux in the active region. The magnetic flux imbalance and the free energy are estimated using the HMI/SDO magnetograms and Virial theorem method. We find that the active regions that undergo large changes in sunspot area are most flare productive. The active regions become flary when the free energy content exceeds 50% of the total energy. Although, the flary active regions show magnetic flux imbalance, it is hard to predict flare activity based on this parameter alone.     

基于PCA方法对太阳活动区主要参量的分析

太阳耀斑与太阳质子事件的发生通常与太阳活动区存在非常密切的关系, 对这种关系的深入分析有助于太阳耀斑和太阳质子事件预报模型的建立. 本文利用主成分分析(Principal Component Analysis, PCA)方法对1997-2010年太阳质子事件所在活动区的主要参量进行分析, 选取的参量包括黑子磁分类、 McIntosh分类、太阳黑子群面积、10.7 cm射电流量、耀斑指数、质子耀斑位置和软X射线耀斑强度. 结果得到81个太阳活动主成分得分值排序(得分值代表每个事件的强弱), 与太阳质子事件峰值流量、太阳黑子年均值以及10.7 cm射电流量年均值的对比显示相似度非常高, 表明主成分得分值一定程度上可以反映太阳活动的强弱规律.      

Upper limit of the total magnetic flux in an active region according to the photometric-magnetic dynamical model

The photometric-magnetic dynamical model handles the evolution of an individual sunspot as an autonomous nonlinear, though integrable, dynamical system. One of its consequences is the prediction of an upper limit of the sunspot areas. This upper limit is analytically expressed by the model parameters, while its calculated value is verified by the observational data. In addition, an upper limit for the magnetic strength inside the sunspot is also predicted, and then, we obtain the following significant result: The upper limit of the total magnetic flux in an active region is found to be of about 7.23 × 10²³ Mx, namely, phenomenologically equal to the magnetic flux concentrated in the totality of the granules of the quiet Sun, having a typical maximum magnetic strength of about 12G. Therefore, the magnetic flux concentrated in an active region cannot exceed the magnetic flux concentrated in the photosphere as a whole.     

Homologous flare–CME events and their metric type II radio burst association

Active region NOAA 11158 produced many flares during its disk passage. At least two of these flares can be considered as homologous: the C6.6 flare at 06:51 UT and C9.4 flare at 12:41 UT on February 14, 2011. Both flares occurred at the same location (eastern edge of the active region) and have a similar decay of the GOES soft X-ray light curve. The associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were slow (334 and 337 km/s) and of similar apparent widths (43° and 44°), but they had different radio signatures. The second event was associated with a metric type II burst while the first one was not. The COR1 coronagraphs on board the STEREO spacecraft clearly show that the second CME propagated into the preceding CME that occurred 50 min before. These observations suggest that CME–CME interaction might be a key process in exciting the type II radio emission by slow CMEs.     

CME–flare association during the 23rd solar cycle

The relation between coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares are statistically studied. More than 10,000 CME events observed by SOHO/LASCO during the period 1996–2005 have been analyzed. The soft X-ray flux measurements provided by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), recorded more than 20,000 flares in the same time period. The data is filtered under certain temporal and spatial conditions to select the CME–flare associated events. The results show that CME–flare associated events are triggered with a lift-off time within the range 0.4–1.0 h. We list a set of 41 CME–flare associated events satisfying the temporal and spatial conditions. The listed events show a good correlation between the CME energy and the X-ray flux of the CME–flare associated events with correlation coefficient of 0.76.     

Variability of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere observed with GPS radio occultation bending angles and temperatures

Recently, Lewis (2009) introduced a new method for the identification of tropopause heights (TPHs) from GPS radio occultation (RO) bending angles (α)$(\alpha )$. The method uses a covariance transform to identify transitions in a ln(α)$\mathit{ln}(\alpha )$ profile. Lewis validates the results with lapse rate tropopause (LRT) heights from one year of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC data and radiosondes. In this study we apply the new method to the RO data sets from CHAMP/GRACE (2001–2009) and FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (2006–2009). These results are the basis for TPH trend estimations for the time period between May 2001 and August 2009 (100 months) based on zonal monthly mean GPS RO data from CHAMP (2001–2008), GRACE (since 2006) and FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (since 2006). Further, we compare the α$\alpha$ based TPH trends with LRT height trends and discuss the differences, which are largest in the subtropical regions (20°–40°) on both the northern and southern hemisphere. A global increase of the TPH between 5 and 9 m/yr is found for both methods and different data sets (CHAMP/GRACE alone and CHAMP/GRACE plus FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC). The results for the TPH trends are linked with bending angle and temperature trends in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere region. Generally, an upper tropospheric warming (bending angle decrease) and a lower stratospheric cooling (bending angle increase) is noted.     

Converging motion of conjugate flaring kernels during two large solar flares

In this paper, we analyze the footpoint motion of two large solar flares using observations made by the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) and Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). The two flares are the M5.7 flare of March 14, 2002 and the X10 flare of October 29, 2003. They are both classical two-ribbon flares as observed in TRACE 1600 or 171 Å images and have long-duration conjugate hard X-ray (HXR) footpoint emission. We use the ‘center-of-mass’ method to locate the centroids of the UV/EUV flare ribbons. The results are: (1) The conjugate UV/EUV ribbons and HXR footpoints of the two flares show a converging (inward) motion during the impulsive phase. For the two flares, the converging motion lasts about 3 and 10 min, respectively. The usual separation (outward) motion for the flare ribbons and footpoints take place only after the converging motion. (2) During the inward and the outward motion, the conjugate ribbons and footpoints of the two events exhibit a strong unshear motion. In obtaining above results, TRACE UV/EUV and RHESSI HXR data show an overall agreement. The two events demonstrate that the magnetic reconnection for the flares occurs in highly sheared magnetic field. Furthermore, the results support the magnetic model constructed by Ji et al. [Ji, H., Huang, G., Wang, H. Astrophys. J. 660, 893–900, 2007], who proposed that the contracting motion of flaring loops is the signature of the relaxation of sheared magnetic fields.     

Photospheric flows in the active regions (asymmetric and localized Doppler velocities)

We observed 10 active regions through their disk passage during June 25–August 25, 1988, with the Tower Vector Magnetograph (TVM) of Marshall Space Flight Center. The TVM was used in scanning mode to measure the photospheric Doppler velocities with the Line-Center-Magnetogram (LCM) technique in the spectral line of FeI 5250.2 Å. In this paper we present the result of a subset of observations obtained while the active regions were situated away from the solar limb. A wide range of magnetic complexity and associated chromospheric activity characterized these active regions. It was found that the value of zero-crossing wavelength of the integrated Stokes-V profile of two opposite magnetic polarities were different, corresponding to Doppler velocities ranging from ∼100 m s⁻¹ to ∼1475 m s⁻¹. The measurements of relative velocities between different locations, connected by magnetic flux tubes as inferred from YOHKOH soft X-ray and TRACE 171 Å Fe IX images, showed widely different values of dominant localized flows. The region of parasite polarity, which showed recurrent chromospheric activity, was blue shifted with respect to the main “magnetic element” of the same polarity. Some of them were also the sites of sheared magnetic field configuration. The magnitude of the relative velocity between the leading and following polarity is more for the active regions of higher “field asymmetry”.     

Distinctive spatial configuration of a class ofmicrowave flaring sources

We discuss a class of microwave flares whose source regions exhibit a distinctive spatial configuration; the primaryenergy release in these flares results from the interaction between emerging magnetic flux and an existing overlying region. Such events typically exhibit radio, X-ray and EUV emission at the main flare site (the site of interaction) and in addition radio emission at a remote site up to 1 × 10⁵ km away in another active region. We have identified and studied more than a dozen microwave flares in this class, in order to arrive at some general conclusions on reconnection and energy release in such solar flares. Typically, these flares show a gradual rise showing many subsidiary peaks in both radio and hard X-ray light curves with a quasi-oscillatory nature with periods of 5–6 seconds, a bright compact X-ray & EUV emitting loop in the main flare source, a delay of the radio emission from the remote source relative to the main X-ray-emitting source. The magnetic field in the main flare site changes sharply at the time of the flare, and the remote site appears to be magnetically connected to the main flare site.