MHD simulation of magnetic field configuration above the active region NOAA 10365

The current sheet (CS) creation before a flare in the vicinity of a singular line above the active region NOAA 10365 is shown in numerical experiments. Such a way the possibility of energy accumulation for a solar flare is demonstrated. These data and results of observation confirm the electrodynamical solar flare model that explains solar flares and CME appearance during CS disruption. The model explains also all phenomena observed in flares. For correct reproduction of the real boundary conditions the magnetic flux between spots should be taken into account. The full system of 3D MHD equations are solved using the PERESVET code. For setting the boundary conditions the method of photospheric magnetic maps is used. Such a method permits to take into account all evolution of photospherical magnetic field during several days before the flare.     

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.     

Model-independent large-scale magnetohydrodynamic quantities in magnetic clouds

Magnetic clouds are the interplanetary manifestation of coronal mass ejections, which are transient expulsions of major quantities of magnetized plasma, from the Sun toward the heliosphere. The magnetic flux and helicity are two key physical magnitudes to track solar structures from the photosphere-corona to the interplanetary medium. To determine the content of flux and helicity in magnetic clouds, we have to know their 3D structure. However, since spacecrafts register data along a unique direction, several aspects of their global configuration cannot be observed. We present a method to estimate the magnetic flux and the magnetic helicity per unit length in magnetic clouds, directly from in situ magnetic observations, assuming only a cylindrical symmetry for the magnetic field configuration in the observed cross-section of the cloud. We select a set of 20 magnetic clouds observed by the spacecraft Wind and estimate their magnetic flux and their helicity per unit length. We compare the results obtained from our direct method with those obtained under the assumption of a helical linear force-free field. This direct method improves previous estimations of helicity in clouds.     

A study of acoustic halos in active region NOAA 11330 using multi-height SDO observations

We analyze data from the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instruments on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to characterize the spatio-temporal acoustic power distribution in active regions as a function of the height in the solar atmosphere. For this, we use Doppler velocity and continuum intensity observed using the magnetically sensitive line at 6173?Å as well as intensity at 1600?Å and 1700?Å. We focus on the power enhancements seen around AR 11330 as a function of wave frequency, magnetic field strength, field inclination and observation height. We find that acoustic halos occur above the acoustic cutoff frequency and extends up to 10?mHz in HMI Doppler and AIA 1700?Å observations. Halos are also found to be strong functions of magnetic field and their inclination angle. We further calculate and examine the spatially averaged relative phases and cross-coherence spectra and find different wave characteristics at different heights.     

Force-free magnetic field in a cylindrical flux rope without a constant alpha

It is generally assumed that magnetic fields inside interplanetary magnetic clouds and flux ropes in the solar photosphere are force-free. In order to model such fields, the solution of rot B = B is commonly used where  = const. But comparisons of this solutions with observations show significant difference. To treat this problem,we examine the solutions with .     

Comparison of magnetic flux tube and cosmic string behavior in Kerr metric

Cosmic strings are topological defects which were generated at a transition phase of the very early Universe and are probably responsible for large-scale structure forming. However, they may pull through all history and exist in the recent epoch. Thus, they can have influence for the recent Universe interacting with different objects. We consider the cosmic string behavior in the vicinity of a spinning black hole by means of a numerical simulation. Here we present preliminary results of this work via a comparison of cosmic string and magnetic flux tube behavior in the Kerr metric. Such an approach follows from the similarity of the equations which describe these objects. Therefore, many aspects of this behavior may be comparable.     

Modelling and observations of photospheric magnetic helicity

Mounting observational evidence of the emergence of twisted magnetic flux tubes through the photosphere have now been published. Such flux tubes, formed by the solar dynamo and transported through the convection zone, eventually reach the solar atmosphere. Their accumulation in the solar corona leads to flares and coronal mass ejections. Since reconnections occur during the evolution of the flux tubes, the concepts of twist and magnetic stress become inappropriate. Magnetic helicity, as a well preserved quantity, in particular in plasma with high magnetic Reynolds number, is a more suitable physical quantity to use, even if reconnection is involved.     

Variations of the magnetosheath ion flux and geomagnetic activity

The magnetosheath plays a dominant role in the Sun–Earth connection because the magnetosheath field and plasma actually interact with the magnetosphere. The interactions change the magnetospheric magnetic field from its nominal value through a long chain of different processes. The change is usually described by geomagnetic indices and thus it can be expected that these indices would reflect changes in the magnetosheath. The present paper analyzes the relation between geomagnetic activity characterized by changes of the K_p, D_ST and AE indices and ion flux measured in the night-side magnetosheath. The results suggest a weak dependence of the D_ST index on the ion flux in the inner magnetosheath that is connected with a magnetopause displacement. On the other hand, fluctuations of the ion flux in the analyzed frequency range do not correlate with any of the indices.     

Automated techniques for the analysis of magnetic field inversion in filaments with the Solar Feature Catalogue

We present an automated comparison of magnetic field inversion line maps from SOHO/MDI magnetograms with solar filament data from the Solar Feature Catalogue created as part of the European Grid of Solar Observations project. The Euclidean distance transform and connected component labelling are used to identify nearest neighbour filament skeletons and inversion lines. Several filament-inversion line characteristics are defined and used to automate the decision whether a particular filament/inversion line pair is suitable for quantitative comparison of orientation and separation. The technique is tested on a total of 207 filaments from four H_α images, and the distributions of angles and distances between filament skeletons and LOS magnetic inversion lines are presented for six degrees of magnetic field smoothing. The results show the approach is robust and can be applied for a statistical analysis of magnetic field in filaments.     

Determination of the threshold value of F10.7 in the dependence of foF2 on solar activity

By introducing the two-segmented linear regression model instead of the well known quadratic fit, we were able to describe the solar activity dependence of the F2 critical frequency. Saturation features were observed and the corresponding F10.7 values at which this phenomenon occurs were obtained for different hours. The seasonal average values were found to be around 154 sfu, 138 sfu, 177 sfu and 150 sfu for March equinox, June solstice, September equinox and December solstice respectively. These affirmed that saturation phenomenon is more pronounced at the equinoxes than solstices. On the average, the threshold value of F10.7 was obtained to be 154.5 sfu for this station in the African sector of the equatorial region.     

Solar polar magnetic field dependency of geomagnetic activity semiannual variation indicated in the Aa index

Three major hypotheses have been proposed to explain the well-known semiannual variation of geomagnetic activity, maxima at equinoxes and minima at solstices. This study examined whether the seasonal variation of equinoctial geomagnetic activity is different in periods of opposite solar magnetic polarity in order to understand the contribution of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) in the Sun-Earth connection. Solar magnetic polarity is parallel to the Earth’s polarity in solar minimum years of odd/even cycles but antiparallel in solar minimum years of even/odd cycles. The daily mean of the aa, Aa indices during each solar minimum was compared for periods when the solar magnetic polarity remained in opposite dipole conditions. The Aa index values were used for each of the three years surrounding the solar minimum years of the 14 solar cycles recorded since 1856. The Aa index reflects seasonal variation in geomagnetic activity, which is greater at the equinoxes than at the solstices. The Aa index reveals solar magnetic polarity dependency in which the geomagnetic activity is stronger in the antiparallel solar magnetic polarity condition than in the parallel one. The periodicity in semiannual variation of the Aa index is stronger in the antiparallel solar polar magnetic field period than in the parallel period. Additionally, we suggest the favorable IMF condition of the semiannual variation in geomagnetic activity. The orientation of IMF toward the Sun in spring and away from the Sun in fall mainly contributes to the semiannual variation of geomagnetic activity in both antiparallel and parallel solar minimum years.     

Coronal spectroscopy: Probing sources of slow solar wind in active regions,and the early phases of solar flares

Coronal spectroscopy has pushed forward the understanding of physical processes in all phenomena on the Sun. In this review we concentrate specifically on plasma parameters measured in sources of the slow solar wind in active regions and the early phases of solar flares. These topics are a key part of the science goals of the Solar Orbiter mission (Müller et al., 2020) which has been designed to probe what drives the solar wind and solar transients that fill the heliosphere.Active regions, outside of flaring, have general characteristics that include closed loops showing red-shifted (down-flowing plasma), and the edges of the active regions showing blue-shifted (upflowing plasma). Constraining and understanding the evolution, behaviour and cause of the flows has been developed in the past years and are summarised. Of particular importance is the upflowing plasma which, in some cases, can contribute to the slow solar wind, and this review concentrates on recent results on this topic.The early phases of solar flares and their energy sources are not yet fully understood. For decades, there has been a huge interest in pin-pointing the trigger of a solar flare. Coronal spectroscopy has revealed small-scale dynamics that occurs tens of minutes before the flare begins. The understanding of the trigger is key to improving flare predictions in the future, as well as understanding the physical processes.Finally we look to the future of coronal spectroscopy, with new instruments and methodologies being developed that build on the current knowledge, and will improve significantly our physical understanding of processes at all scales on the Sun.     

Solar and magnetic control on night-time enhancement in TEC near the crest of the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly

The ionospheric Total Electron Content (TECs), derived by dual frequency signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) recorded near the Indian equatorial anomaly region, Bhopal (23.2°N, 77.4°E, Geomagnetic 14.2°N) were analyzed for the period of January, 2005 to February, 2008. The work deals with monthly, diurnal, solar and magnetic activity variations on night-time enhancement in TEC. From a total of 157 night-time enhancements, 75 occur during pre-midnight and 82 post-midnight hours. The occurrence of night-time enhancement in TEC is utmost during summer months, followed by equinox and winter months. The occurrence of night-time enhancement in TEC decreases with increase in solar and magnetic activities. We observed that peak size and half amplitude duration are positively correlated, while time of occurrence of night-time enhancement in TEC and time of peak enhancement are negatively correlated with solar activity. The peak size, half amplitude duration, time of peak enhancement and time of occurrence of night-time enhancement in TEC shows negative correlation with magnetic activity. The results have been compared with the earlier ones and discussed in terms of possible source mechanism responsible for the enhancement at anomaly crest region.     

Tilts and polarity separation in the sunspot groups and active regions at the ascending and descending phases of the cycle 23

The Solar Feature Catalogues for sunspots and active regions measured with SOHO/MDI instrument and Ca II K3 spectroheliograph of the Paris-Meudon Observatory are analyzed with the automated classification technique for sunspot groups and active region polarities. We report the first classification results for daily variations of tilt angles (normal and trigonometric ones) in sunspot groups (SG) and active (AR) regions in the cycle 23. The average normal tilts are presented for every year at the ascending and descending phases of the cycle 23 which are similar to those deduced by other authors for the cycles 19–22. The normal tilts of both the sunspot groups and active regions are shown to increase in the ascending phase and a decrease in the descending phase. Similar to SG and AR areas, the trigonometric tilts are shown to have the noticeable North–South asymmetry with the Southern hemisphere dominant in the selected ascending and descending periods. The normal tilt variations with latitude follow Joy’s law revealing a periodicity along the meridian of about 10° and reaching the maximum of 14° at the latitude of about 32° corresponding to the top of the ‘royal zone’ where the sunspots appear. The variations of polarity separation with a latitude are in an anti-phase with those of the tilts reaching a maximum at the latitude of 35° and showing a small positive separation for the groups/active regions in a vicinity of the average tilts ±40°. The ratio R of the polarity separation to the trigonometric tilt fits the linear function of a latitude φ as R = −0.0213φ − 0.1245 confirming positive separation for the polarities of active regions with the average tilts, or the dominance of activity in the Southern hemisphere activity, for the selected period of observations.     

Comparison of ANN and MLR models for estimating solar radiation in Turkey using NOAA/AVHRR data

In this paper, the estimation capacities of MLR and ANN are investigated to estimate monthly-average daily SR over Turkey. The satellite data are used for 73 different locations over Turkey. Land surface temperature, altitude, latitude, longitude and month are offered as the input variables for modeling ANN and MLR to get SR. Estimations of SR are evaluated with the meteorological values by using the statistical bases. The obtained results indicated that the ANN model could achieve a satisfactory performance when compared to the MLR model. Moreover, it is understood that more accurate results in estimation of SR are obtained in the use of satellite data, rather than the use of meteorological station data. Finally, the built ANN model is used to estimate the yearly average of daily SR over Turkey. As a result, satellite-based SR map for Turkey is generated.     

Dependence of the F-region peak electron density (foF2) on solar activity observed in the equatorial ionospheric anomaly region in the Brazilian sector

The long-term (solar cycle) changes in the Sun and how it affects the ionospheric F-region observed at São José dos Campos (23.2° S, 45.9° W), Brazil, a location under the southern crest of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly, have been investigated in this paper. The dependence of the F-region peak electron density (foF2) on solar activity during the descending phase of the 23rd solar cycle for the periods of high, medium, and low solar activity has been studied. The ionospheric F-region peak electron densities observed during high and medium solar activity show seasonal variations with maxima close to the equinox periods, whereas during the low solar activity the maxima during the equinox periods is absent. However, during the low solar activity only change observed is a large decrease from summer to winter months. We have further investigated changes in the different ionospheric F-region parameters (minimum virtual height of the F-region (h′F), virtual height at 0.834foF2 (hpF2), and foF2) during summer to winter months in low solar activity periods, 2006–2007 and 2007–2008. Large changes in the two ionospheric parameters (hpF2 and foF2) are observed during summer to winter months in the two low solar activity periods investigated.     

Uncertainties in gravity wave parameters,momentum fluxes,and flux divergences estimated from multi-layer measurements of mesospheric nightglow layers

Measurements of dynamic parameters of atmospheric gravity waves, mainly the vertical wavelength, the momentum flux and the momentum flux divergence, are affected by large uncertainties crudely documented in the scientific literature. By using methods of error analysis, we have quantified these uncertainties for frequently observed temporal and spatial wave scales. The results show uncertainties of ～10%, ～35%, and ～65%, at least, in the vertical wavelength, momentum flux, and flux divergence, respectively. The large uncertainties in the momentum flux and flux divergence are dominated by uncertainties in the Brunt-Väisälä frequency and in spatial separation of the nightglow layers, respectively. The measured uncertainties in fundamental wave parameters such as the wave amplitude, intrinsic period, horizontal wavelength, and wave orientation are ～10% or less and estimated directly from our nightglow image data set. Other key environmental quantities such as the scale height and the Brunt-Väisälä frequency, frequently considered as constants in gravity wave parameter estimations schemes, are actually quite variable, presenting uncertainties of ～4% and ～9%, respectively, according to the several solar activity and seasonal atmosphere scenarios from the NRLMSISE-00 model simulated here.     

Cluster observations of earthward propagating plasmoid and flux ropes in the near-tail during the course of a substorm event

We analyze the magnetic structures in the near-tail at Xgsm = −17.5 Re on September 19, 2003 by Cluster. During the course of a substorm event, the earthward propagating plasmoid and flux ropes in the near-tail are observed. The earthward propagating plasmoid is associated with the bipolar Bz and By signatures. The two flux ropes are embedded within the earthward plasma flows, which might be referred to the population as ‘‘BBF-type’’ flux ropes. The first flux rope diameter is about 0.7 Re and duration based upon the Bz signature is ∼20 s, while the second one diameter is about 1.4 Re and duration is ∼30 s. The earthward propagating plasmoid and flux ropes could have influence upon the dipolarization and injection in inner magnetosphere. The Cluster observations of earthward propagating plasmoid and flux ropes can be interpreted as strong evidence for multiple X-lines. Our observations are consistent with that multiple plasmoids or flux ropes are formed repeatedly and ejected tailward in the course of geomagnetically active time.     

Estimation of the bias of the Minimum Variance technique in the determination of magnetic clouds global quantities and orientation

Magnetic clouds (MCs) are highly magnetized plasma structures that have a low proton temperature and a magnetic field vector that rotates when seen by a heliospheric observer. More than 25 years of observations of magnetic and plasma properties of MCs at 1 AU have provided significant knowledge of their magnetic structure. However, because in situ observations only give information along the trajectory of the spacecraft, their real 3D magnetic configuration remains still partially unknown. We generate a set of synthetic clouds, exploring the space of parameters that represents the possible orientations and minimum distances of the satellite trajectory to the cloud axis, p. The synthetic clouds have a local cylindrical symmetry and a linear force-free magnetic configuration. From the analysis of synthetic clouds, we quantify the errors introduced in the determination of the orientation/size (and, consequently, of the global magnetohydrodynamic quantities) by the Minimum Variance method when p is not zero.     

Statistical properties of the IMF clock angle in the solar wind with northward and southward interplanetary magnetic field based on ACE observation from 1998 to 2009: Dependence on the temporal scale of the solar wind

Utilizing ACE satellite observations from 1998 to 2009, we performed the elaborate study on the properties of the clock angle θ_CA (arctan(By/Bz) (?90° to 90°) of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) in the solar wind at 1?AU. The solar wind with northward IMF (NW-IMF) and southward IMF (SW-IMF) are analyzed, independently. Statistical analysis shows that the solar wind with SW-IMF and NW-IMF has similar properties in general, including their durations, the IMF Bz and By components, and the IMF θ_CA. Then, the solar wind with NW-IMF (SW-IMF) is classified into five different temporal scales according to the duration of the NW-IMF (SW-IMF), i.e., very-short wind of 10–30?min, short-scale wind of 0.5–1?h, moderate-scale wind of 1–3?h, long-scale wind of 3–5?h, and super-long wind >5?h. Our analysis reveals that the IMF θ_CA has a distinct decrease with increase of the temporal scale of the solar wind. Next, the solar wind is classified into two groups, i.e., the high-speed solar wind (>450?km/s) and the low-speed solar wind (<450?km/s). Our analysis indicates that the IMF θ_CA depends highly on the solar wind speed. Statistically, high-speed solar wind tends to have larger IMF θ_CA than low-speed solar wind. The evolutions of the solar wind and IMF with the solar activity are further studied, revealing no clear solar variation of the IMF θ_CA. Finally, we analyze the monthly variation of the IMF θ_CA. Superposed epoch result strongly suggests the seasonal variation of the IMF θ_CA.