Prominence Seismology Using Small Amplitude Oscillations

Quiescent prominences can be modeled as thin slabs of cold, dense plasma embedded in the much hotter and rarer solar corona. Although their global shape is rather irregular, they are often characterised by an internal structure consisting of a large number of thin, parallel threads piled together. Prominences often display periodic disturbances mostly observed in the Doppler displacement of spectral lines and with an amplitude typically of the order of or smaller than 2–3 km?s^?1, a value which seems to be much smaller than the characteristic speeds of the prominence plasma (namely the Alfvén and sound velocities). Two particular features of these small amplitude prominence oscillations are that they seem to damp in a few periods and that they seem not to affect the whole prominence structure. In addition, in high spatial resolution observations, in which threads can be discerned, small amplitude oscillations appear to be clearly associated to these fine structure constituents. Prominence seismology tries to bring together the results from these observations (e.g. periods, wavelengths, damping times) and their theoretical modeling (by means of the magnetohydrodynamic theory) to gain insight into physical properties of prominences that cannot be derived from direct observation. In this paper we discuss works that have not been described in previous reviews, namely the first seismological application to solar prominences and theoretical advances on the attenuation of prominence oscillations.     

Theoretical Advances in Prominence Seismology

Prominence seismology is a rapidly developing topic which seeks to infer the internal structure and properties of solar prominences from the study of its oscillations. An extensive observational background about oscillations in quiescent solar prominences has been gathered during the last 70 years. These observations point out the existence of two different types of oscillations: Flare-induced oscillations (winking filaments) which affect the whole prominence and are of large amplitude and small amplitude oscillations which seem to be of local nature. From the theoretical point of view, few models have been set up to explain the phenomenon of winking filaments while, on the contrary, for small amplitude oscillations a large number of models trying to explain the observed features have been proposed.     

Quasi-Periodic Pulsations in Solar Flares

Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPP) are a common feature of flaring energy releases in the solar atmosphere, observed in all bands, from radio to hard X-ray. In this review we concentrate on QPP with the periods longer than one second. Physical mechanisms responsible for the generation of long QPP split into two groups: “load/unload” mechanisms and MHD oscillations. Load/unload mechanisms are repetitive regimes of flaring energy releases by magnetic reconnection or by other means. MHD oscillations can affect all elements of the flaring emission generation: triggering of reconnection and modulation of its rate, acceleration and dynamics of non-thermal electrons, and physical conditions in the emitting plasmas. In the case of MHD oscillations, the periodicity of QPP is determined either by the presence of some resonances, e.g. standing modes of plasma structures, or by wave dispersion. Periods and other parameters of QPP are linked with properties of flaring plasmas and their morphology. Observational investigation of the QPP generation mechanisms based upon the use of spatial information, broadband spectral coverage and multi-periodicity is discussed.     

有声腔推力室的声学振型及其阻尼特性研究

为确定多声学模态压力振荡条件下带有1/4波长管声腔推力室的声学振型及其阻尼特性,揭示1/4波长管声腔对推力室压力振荡的抑制作用机理,对有声腔推力室和无声腔推力室进行近圆周壁面的定容弹激励仿真,激发了多模态的声学振型,给出了推力室压力分布的时空演化,并采用半带宽法定量评价每个激发声学振型的阻尼特性。结果表明：1/4波长管声腔成功抑制了目标振型（一阶切向振型）压力振荡,大幅度减小其幅值,而不是大幅度增加其半带宽,但可能增强其它非目标振型的压力振荡。声腔通过削弱目标振型波峰波谷压力差、声腔入口漩涡和增加壁面面积等三种方式来抑制目标振型压力振荡,主要以前者为主,前者旨在降低目标振型幅值,后两者是增加其半带宽。     

Large Amplitude Oscillations in Prominences

Since the first reports of oscillations in prominences in the 1930s, there have been major theoretical and observational developments to understand the nature of these oscillatory phenomena, leading to the whole new field of the so-called “prominence seismology”. There are two types of oscillatory phenomena observed in prominences; “small-amplitude oscillations” (2–3 km?s^?1), which are quite common, and “large-amplitude oscillations” (>20 km?s^?1) for which observations are scarce. Large-amplitude oscillations have been found as “winking filament” in Hα as well as motion in the plane-of-sky in Hα, EUV, micro-wave and He 10830 observations. Historically, it has been suggested that the large-amplitude oscillations in prominences were triggered by disturbances such as fast-mode MHD waves (Moreton wave) produced by remote flares. Recent observations show, in addition, that near-by flares or jets can also create such large-amplitude oscillations in prominences. Large-amplitude oscillations, which are observed both in transverse as well as longitudinal direction, have a range of periods varying from tens of minutes to a few hours. Using the observed period of oscillation and simple theoretical models, the obtained magnetic field in prominences has shown quite a good agreement with directly measured one and, therefore, justifies prominence seismology as a powerful diagnostic tool. On rare occasions, when the large-amplitude oscillations have been observed before or during the eruption, the oscillations may be applied to diagnose the stability and the eruption mechanism. Here we review the recent developments and understanding in the observational properties of large-amplitude oscillations and their trigger mechanisms and stability in the context of prominence seismology.     

Transverse Oscillations of Coronal Loops

On 14 July 1998 TRACE observed transverse oscillations of a coronal loop generated by an external disturbance most probably caused by a solar flare. These oscillations were interpreted as standing fast kink waves in a magnetic flux tube. Firstly, in this review we embark on the discussion of the theory of waves and oscillations in a homogeneous straight magnetic cylinder with the particular emphasis on fast kink waves. Next, we consider the effects of stratification, loop expansion, loop curvature, non-circular cross-section, loop shape and magnetic twist. An important property of observed transverse coronal loop oscillations is their fast damping. We briefly review the different mechanisms suggested for explaining the rapid damping phenomenon. After that we concentrate on damping due to resonant absorption. We describe the latest analytical results obtained with the use of thin transition layer approximation, and then compare these results with numerical findings obtained for arbitrary density variation inside the flux tube. Very often collective oscillations of an array of coronal magnetic loops are observed. It is natural to start studying this phenomenon from the system of two coronal loops. We describe very recent analytical and numerical results of studying collective oscillations of two parallel homogeneous coronal loops. The implication of the theoretical results for coronal seismology is briefly discussed. We describe the estimates of magnetic field magnitude obtained from the observed fundamental frequency of oscillations, and the estimates of the coronal scale height obtained using the simultaneous observations of the fundamental frequency and the frequency of the first overtone of kink oscillations. In the last part of the review we summarise the most outstanding and acute problems in the theory of the coronal loop transverse oscillations.     

Transonic Flows in Two-Fluid Plasmas

Transonically rotating toroidal plasmas occur at all scales in the plasma universe and, recently, also in laboratory tokamak plasmas. This offers great opportunities for new insights of the effects of transonic transitions on the background equilibrium flows, and on the waves and instabilities excited. Transfer of knowledge and computational methods on MHD and two-fluid waves and instabilities in magnetically confined laboratory fusion plasmas to space and astrophysical plasmas is seriously hampered though by two related difficulties:

1. in contrast to laboratory plasmas, astrophysical plasmas always have sizeable plasma flows so that they can never be described as a static equilibrium;
2. these flows are usually ‘transonic’, i.e., surpass one of the critical speeds related to the different flow regimes with quite different physical characteristics.

Based on previously obtained MHD results on the stationary states and instabilities of transonically rotating accretion disks about compact objects, the extension to two-fluid plasmas is initiated: A variational principle for the computation of two-fluid stationary states is constructed which involves seven fields determining the different physical variables, and six arbitrary stream functions that should be determined by spatially resolved astrophysical observations. It exhibits all the intricacies due to the electron and ion flow excursions from the magnetic flux surfaces. New hyperbolic flow regimes are found with quite different properties than the MHD ones.     

Standing Slow-Mode Waves in Hot Coronal Loops: Observations, Modeling, and Coronal Seismology

Strongly damped Doppler shift oscillations are observed frequently associated with flarelike events in hot coronal loops. In this paper, a review of the observed properties and the theoretical modeling is presented. Statistical measurements of physical parameters (period, decay time, and amplitude) have been obtained based on a large number of events observed by SOHO/SUMER and Yohkoh/BCS. Several pieces of evidence are found to support their interpretation in terms of the fundamental standing longitudinal slow mode. The high excitation rate of these oscillations in small- or micro-flares suggest that the slow mode waves are a natural response of the coronal plasma to impulsive heating in closed magnetic structure. The strong damping and the rapid excitation of the observed waves are two major aspects of the waves that are poorly understood, and are the main subject of theoretical modelling. The slow waves are found mainly damped by thermal conduction and viscosity in hot coronal loops. The mode coupling seems to play an important role in rapid excitation of the standing slow mode. Several seismology applications such as determination of the magnetic field, temperature, and density in coronal loops are demonstrated. Further, some open issues are discussed.     

Hierarchy of spatial scales in UV prominences

Ultraviolet spectra of a quiescent prominence observed with theHigh Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) are analyzed. Different techniques lead to greatly different spatial scales for the prominence structures. The UV spectra show strong variations in intensity and Doppler shift on scales larger than 1700 km. Spectroscopic diagnostics employing line intensity ratios indicate the existence of scales between 400 m to some hundred kilometers. We attempt to interpret various aspects of the prominence intensities and velocities with a multiple thread model.     

Physics of Solar Prominences: II—Magnetic Structure and Dynamics

Observations and models of solar prominences are reviewed. We focus on non-eruptive prominences, and describe recent progress in four areas of prominence research: (1) magnetic structure deduced from observations and models, (2) the dynamics of prominence plasmas (formation and flows), (3) Magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) waves in prominences and (4) the formation and large-scale patterns of the filament channels in which prominences are located. Finally, several outstanding issues in prominence research are discussed, along with observations and models required to resolve them.     

Numerical evaluation of acoustic characteristics and their damping of a thrust chamber using a constant-volume bomb model

In order to numerically evaluate the acoustic characteristics of liquid rocket engine thrust chambers by means of a computational fluid dynamics method, a mathematical model of an artificial constant-volume bomb is proposed in this paper. A localized pressure pulse with a very high amplitude can be imposed on specified regions in a combustion chamber, the numerical procedure of which is described. Pressure oscillations actuated by the released constant-volume bomb can then be analyzed via Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT), and their modes can be identified according to the theoretical acoustic eigenfrequencies of the thrust chamber. The damping performances of the corresponding acoustic modes are evaluated by the half-power bandwidth method. The predicted acoustic characteristics and their damping for a special engine combustor agree well with the experimental data, validating the mathematical model and its numerical procedures. A small-thrust liquid rocket engine chamber is then analyzed by the present model. The First Longitudinal (1L) acoustic mode can be excited easily and is hard to be damped. The axial position of the central constant-volume bomb has little influence on the amplitude and damping capacity of the First Radial (1R) and 1L acoustic modes. Tangential acoustic modes can only be triggered by an off-centered constant-volume bomb, among which the First Tangential (1T) mode is the strongest and regarded as the most harmful one. The amplitude of the 1L acoustic mode is smaller, but its damping factor is larger, as a constant-volume bomb is imposed approaching the injector face. These results are contributed to evaluate the acoustic characteristics and their damping of the combustion chamber.     

Large Scale Flows in the Solar Convection Zone

We discuss the current theoretical understanding of the large scale flows observed in the solar convection zone, namely the differential rotation and meridional circulation. Based on multi-D numerical simulations we describe which physical processes are at the origin of these large scale flows, how they are maintained and what sets their unique profiles. We also discuss how dynamo generated magnetic field may influence such a delicate dynamical balance and lead to a temporal modulation of the amplitude and profiles of the solar large scale flows.     

基于DES的二维和三维空腔流动特性研究

空腔流动广泛存在于航空航天工程中,对其流动特性的研究具有十分重要的工程意义。采用数值方法对比模拟了二维和三维空腔流动,控制方程采用N—S方程,空间离散采用有限体积方法,对流通量计算采用Roe格式,非定常时间离散采用双时间步长方法,湍流粘性计算采用基于SA模型的DES方法。数值计算所得的三维空腔底面压强分布与实验结果一致,所得的二维和三维空腔内的流动结构与相关文献中的分析相吻合。将二维和三维的计算结果进行比较,发现空腔底部压强分布、空腔内的压强振荡、空腔内部流线图及声压级等均有所不同,得出在空腔宽度有限时,横向流动简化了流动结构．削弱了振荡幅值．但使振荡过程复杂化．其三维效应不能忽略．     

Nonclassical Transport and Particle-Field Coupling: from Laboratory Plasmas to the Solar Wind

Understanding transport of thermal and suprathermal particles is a fundamental issue in laboratory, solar-terrestrial, and astrophysical plasmas. For laboratory fusion experiments, confinement of particles and energy is essential for sustaining the plasma long enough to reach burning conditions. For solar wind and magnetospheric plasmas, transport properties determine the spatial and temporal distribution of energetic particles, which can be harmful for spacecraft functioning, as well as the entry of solar wind plasma into the magnetosphere. For astrophysical plasmas, transport properties determine the efficiency of particle acceleration processes and affect observable radiative signatures. In all cases, transport depends on the interaction of thermal and suprathermal particles with the electric and magnetic fluctuations in the plasma. Understanding transport therefore requires us to understand these interactions, which encompass a wide range of scales, from magnetohydrodynamic to kinetic scales, with larger scale structures also having a role. The wealth of transport studies during recent decades has shown the existence of a variety of regimes that differ from the classical quasilinear regime. In this paper we give an overview of nonclassical plasma transport regimes, discussing theoretical approaches to superdiffusive and subdiffusive transport, wave–particle interactions at microscopic kinetic scales, the influence of coherent structures and of avalanching transport, and the results of numerical simulations and experimental data analyses. Applications to laboratory plasmas and space plasmas are discussed.     

X-rays from quasars and active galaxies

We review some of the most important theoretical ideas and observations for quasars and the nuclei of active galaxies, and suggest areas of future research. Emphasis is on the nature of the power source, the radiation processes, and the mechanism for formation and collimation of jets. Phenomena that produce X-rays are of particular concern. Particular topics discussed are the observed and expected time variability, the gas supply mechanisms and luminosity evolution, thermal and nonthermal radiation processes, observed and theoretical spectra, criteria for thermalization of electrons and ions, effects of electron-positron pairs on relativistic plasmas, hydrodynamic, electrodynamic and inertial methods for producing and confining jets. We conclude with a list of needed observations.Based on a lecture given at the Goddard Workshop on X-ray Astronomy (October 1981).     

离心叶轮气动阻尼的数值分析

为进行运动边界下离心叶轮流场的数值分析,独立开发了网格变形程序和非定常流动分析程序,实现了流场中振动离心叶轮的气动阻尼计算。采用紧支撑径向基函数法进行结构到气动表面变形的数据传递,应用二叉树技术进行壁面距离的计算,大幅提高了网格变形和流场分析中距离搜索的计算效率。通过振动叶栅和离心叶轮的算例,验证了程序应用于运动边界流场计算和叶轮流场模拟的正确性。以某离心叶轮为对象,展开其模态气动阻尼比的计算分析。结果表明:考察的两个模态下气动阻尼比均为正值,小幅振动下模态气动阻尼比与振幅无关,轮盘振动模态下叶轮的气动阻尼比随工况接近失速而逐渐减小。      

Partially Ionized Plasmas in Astrophysics

Partially ionized plasmas are found across the Universe in many different astrophysical environments. They constitute an essential ingredient of the solar atmosphere, molecular clouds, planetary ionospheres and protoplanetary disks, among other environments, and display a richness of physical effects which are not present in fully ionized plasmas. This review provides an overview of the physics of partially ionized plasmas, including recent advances in different astrophysical areas in which partial ionization plays a fundamental role. We outline outstanding observational and theoretical questions and discuss possible directions for future progress.     

Some Observational Evidence of Alfven Surface Waves Induced Magnetic Reconnection

The surface wave induced magnetic reconnection (SWIMR) model based on Alfven Resonance theory will be discussed briefly both for collisional and collisionless plasmas. It is shown that the spatial scales and time delays associated with Flux Transfer Events and Pulsed Ionospheric Flows, as observed by satellites and SuperDARN radars and the magnetic bubbles, observed at the high latitude boundary of the magnetopause, can be explained by the SWIMR model. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

适用于气动学问题的DRP类有限差分方法

研究了一类低耗散低色散的高阶精度有限差分方法,目的是直接计算非定常欧拉方程用于气动声学问题.采用的数值方法是空间四阶、时间三阶精度的色散关系保持(DRP:dispersion-relation-preserving)类有限差分格式,通过波动方程算例验证了格式模拟波动问题的能力;采用加变幅值的高波数人工耗散项来抑制高频数值振荡,使得该格式可推广用于含激波、初始间断或非线性波动的问题.通过含激波、初始间断条件的算例验证了所用变幅值人工耗散的有效性,最后作为初步应用计算了二维亚、超音速均匀流中简单点声源辐射问题,得到了很好的结果,表明此类方法在气动声学问题计算上深有潜力.