Collaborative VLA,SOHO and RHESSI observations of evolving sources of energy release in the corona above active regions

Very Large Array (VLA) observations at 20 and 91 cm wavelength are compared with data from the SOHO (EIT and MDI) and RHESSI solar missions to investigate the evolution of decimetric Type I noise storms and Type III bursts and related magnetic activity in the photosphere and corona. The combined data sets provide clues about the mechanisms that initiate and sustain the decimetric bursts and about interactions between thermal and nonthermal plasmas at different locations in the solar atmosphere. On one day, frequent, low-level hard X-ray flaring observed by RHESSI appears to have had no clear affect on the evolution of two closely-spaced Type I noise storm sources lying above the target active region. EIT images however, indicate nearly continuous restructuring of the underlying EUV loops which, through accompanying low-level magnetic reconnection, might give rise to nonthermal particles and plasma turbulence that sustain the long-lasting Type I burst emission. On another day, the onset of an impulsive hard X-ray burst and subsequent decimetric burst emission followed the gradual displacement and coalescence of a small patch of magnetic magnetic polarity with a pre-existing area of mixed magnetic polarity. The time delay of the impulsive 20 and 91 cm bursts by up to 20 min suggests that these events were unlikely to represent the main sites of flare electron acceleration, but instead are related to the rearrangement of the coronal magnetic field after the main flare at lower altitude. Although the X-ray flare is associated with the decimetric burst, the brightness and structure of a long-lasting Type I noise storm from the same region was not affected by the flare. This suggests that the reconfiguration of the coronal magnetic fields and the subsequent energy release that gave rise to the impulsive burst emission did not significantly perturb that part of the corona where the noise storm emission was located.     

Impact of rogue active regions on hemispheric asymmetry

The solar dipole moment at activity minimum is a good predictor of the strength of the subsequent solar cycle. Through a systematic analysis using a state-of-the-art $2\times 2$D solar dynamo model, we found that bipolar magnetic regions (BMR) with atypical characteristics can modify the strength of the next cycle via their impact on the buildup of the dipole moment as a sunspot cycle unfolds. In addition to summarizing these results, we present further effects of such “rogue” BMRs. These have the ability to generate hemispheric asymmetry in the subsequent sunspot cycle, since they modify the polar cap flux asymmetry of the ongoing cycle. We found strong correlation between the polar cap flux asymmetry of cycle i and the total pseudo sunspot number asymmetry of cycle $i+1$. Good correlation also appears in the case of the time lag of the hemispheres of cycle $i+1$.     

CORONAS-F observations of active phenomena on the sun

Complex observations in the framework of the CORONAS-F Mission aimed at the study of active phenomena inthe solar corona are described. The main features are given for the following experiments: (1) XUV-imaging spectroscopy with high temporal and spatial resolution, (2) X-ray spectroscopy, (3) X-ray and gamma-ray photometer/spectrometer, and (4) solar cosmic rays. Some new observational data on the structure and dynamics of flares and transient events are discussed along with their analysis.     

Quasistationary outflow of gases from solar active regions

The author's finding that active regions are sources of relatively slow and approximately radial quasistationary corpuscular streams is confirmed by using the fact that active regions are closely connected with coronal holes. Furthermore, attention is paid to numerous papers according to which the active regions characterized by enhanced and prolonged chromospheric (flare) activity are also sources of quasistationary corpuscular streams. Velocities of gases in these streams are higher than velocities of gases in streams from “quiet” active regions.On the basis of all these studies it is suggested that the origin of outflow of plasma from “quiet” active regions and from active regions with enhanced flare activity is the same and is due to some continuous non-stationary processes in the active regions. The velocity of gases in all these streams grows with increasing continuous flare activity in the active regions.It is concluded that quasistationary corpuscular streams from active regions with enhanced flare activity are important sources of cosmic rays from the sun.     

Observational study of magnetic chirality of solar active regions

We present the evolution of magnetic field and relationship with the magnetic (current) helicity in solar active regions from a series of photospheric vector magnetograms obtained at Huairou Solar Observing Station near Beijing, and also longitudinal magnetograms by MDI of SOHO, white light and 171 Å images by TRACE and soft X-ray images by Yohkoh.The conclusions in the analysis of the formation process of complex and delta magnetic configuration in some super active regions are the following: (1) The magnetic shear and gradient provide the non-potentiality of the magnetic field of active regions reflecting the existence of electric current. (2) Some of large-scale delta active regions could be due to the emergence of highly sheared non-potential magnetic flux bundles from the subatmosphere with amount of magnetic helicity, in addition to the emergence of twisted magnetic ropes. (3) We also present some results on the study of the magnetic (current) helicity in solar active regions.     

The CME-productivity associated with flares from two active regions

We report on two flare-productive adjacent active regions (ARs), with different levels of coronal mass ejection (CME) association. AR 10039 and AR 10044 produced strong X-ray flares during their disk passages. We examined the CME association rate of X-ray flares and found it to be different between the two ARs. AR 10039 was CME-rich with 72% association with flares, while AR 10044 was CME-poor with an association rate of only 14%. CMEs from the CME-rich AR were faster and wider than the ones from the CME-poor AR. The flare activity of AR 10044 was temporally concentrated over a short interval and spatially localized over a compact area between the major sun spots. We suggest that different pre-eruption evolution and magnetic configuration in the two regions might have contributed to the difference between the two ARs.     

Spectroscopic study of plasma parameters for solar active regions and flares

Results are given of the study of active regions and flares by a high resolution Mg XI ion spectra obtained aboard rockets and a satellite. It is shown that there is a noticable similarity in the physical conditions in the plasma of active regions and flares. Plasma of both sources consists okf a thermal component with the temperature T ～ 2.?3.10⁶K for active regions and T ～ 1.5?2.5.10⁷K for flares and in both cases of a relatively small number (～ 1–5%) of suprathermal electrons with an energy E ～ 3–6 kT.     

A theoretical model for the magnetic helicity of solar active regions

Active regions on the solar surface are known to possess magnetic helicity, which is predominantly negative in the northern hemisphere and positive in the southern hemisphere. Choudhuri et al. [Choudhuri, A.R. On the connection between mean field dynamo theory and flux tubes. Solar Phys. 215, 31–55, 2003] proposed that the magnetic helicity arises due to the wrapping up of the poloidal field of the convection zone around rising flux tubes which form active regions. Choudhuri [Choudhuri, A.R., Chatterjee, P., Nandy, D. Helicity of solar active regions from a dynamo model. ApJ 615, L57–L60, 2004] used this idea to calculate magnetic helicity from their solar dynamo model. Apart from getting broad agreements with observational data, they also predict that the hemispheric helicity rule may be violated at the beginning of a solar cycle. Chatterjee et al. [Chatterjee, P., Choudhuri, A.R., Petrovay, K. Development of twist in an emerging magnetic flux tube by poloidal field accretion. A&A 449, 781–789, 2006] study the penetration of the wrapped poloidal field into the rising flux tube due to turbulent diffusion using a simple 1-d model. They find that the extent of penetration of the wrapped field will depend on how weak the magnetic field inside the rising flux tube becomes before its emergence. They conclude that more detailed observational data will throw light on the physical conditions of flux tubes just before their emergence to the photosphere.     

Simultaneous dual wavelength observations of an impulsive microwave burst using the V.L.A.

Simultaneous observations of a microwave burst at 2 and 6 cm wavelengths were carried out with the Very Large Array (VLA). The 6 cm burst source is located close to a magnetic neutral line, presumably near the top of a flaring loop, while the 2 cm emission originates from the footpoints of the loop. It is concluded that the 6 cm emission is dominated by gyrosynchrotron radiation of the thermal electrons in the bulk heated plasma at a temperature of ～ 4 × 10⁷ K, while the 2 cm emission is due to nonthermal particles released and accelerated during the flare process. From the observed low degree of polarization and the lack of the 2 cm source cospatiality with the 6 cm source a magnetic field of 200–350 G and δ ? 4 are estimated in the flare energy release site. A DC electric field flare model is invoked to explain the long delay between the peaks at the two wavelengths. From the delay, the strength of the electric field is estimated to be 0.2–4 μ statvolt cm^?1 in the flaring region.     

Solar maximum mission experiment: Initial observations by the active cavity radiometer

The Active Cavity Radiometer on board the SMM is providing high-quality measurements of the solar irradiance. After correction for the solar distance, the orbital displacement of the satellite, and the relativistic shift of irradiance due to the satellite motion, the observed standard deviation is in the range 10–15 parts per million in a 96-minute integration. Measurable solar variations occur on time scales of a few minutes to a few days. The total amplitude of the variations in the daily averages from February 16 to March 31, 1980, was 0.10% based upon 96-minute averages.     

Coronal interconnection of two active regions observed in 3.5–5.5 keV X-rays

Using HXIS data, we have studied further development of the coronal arch extending towards SE above the active region (AR) No.17255 in November 1980. The disappearance of that arch was followed by the appearance of another arch-like structure towards SW. We have studied the development of the new structure and classified it as an arch interconnecting AR 17255 with AR 17251, which was ～30° to the west. We estimate physical characteristics of this interconnection and compare them with Skylab data and the earlier arches.     

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.     

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.     

Extragalactic and galactic U.V. observations owing to the balloon borne scap telescope at the wavelength 2000 Å

The use of the 2 000 Å transmission window of the atmosphere permitted to observe for the first time from a balloon gondola the nearest galaxies ; 30 arc/sec. resolution images were obtained for M 31, spiral arms and nucleus, M 33, M 101, with their external spiral structure, M 82 and NGC 3 077. Nearly three hundred more distant galaxies have been detected up to the magnitude V = 13. Several HII regions of the Galaxy have been observed, chiefly NGC 7 000 and the Cyghus Loop. Numerous blue stars of the halo have been identified.     

On the impulsiveness of the Hα emission from a flaring atmosphere

Emissions from solar flares may reveal fast fluctuations, which can be attributed to small-scale injections of energetic electrons. In this paper, we perform numerical calculations of the Hα emission from a flaring atmosphere bombarded by a pulsating electron beam. We assume that the variation of the electron beam flux consists of two components: a fluctuation component and a background component. The results show that the amplitude of Hα fluctuations varies depending on the magnitude of the background flux of the electron beam. In the case of a higher background flux, the Hα fluctuations are more significant than in the case of a lower background flux. This result is compatible with the observations in which the Hα fluctuations appear preferentially near the hard X-ray maximum.     

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”.     

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.     

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.     

COMPTEL observations of AGNs

During the first part of the COMPTON Gamma Ray Observatory sky survey, COMPTEL has detected the quasars 3C273 and 3C279 and the radio galaxy Centaurus A. This paper summarizes the preliminary findings and gives an upper limit on the MeV flux of the Seyfert galaxy NGC4151.     

X-ray observations of Vela-X

Exosat ME observations of the Vela-X region are presented. It is found that the 2–10 keV emission is divided into two components. One is associated with the rulsar but is probably extended by 10–20 arc minutes, the other is associated with the Vela-X radio nebula and is probably more extended ($\text{? 1}\text{degree}$). The Vela-X component is softer than the pulsar component. No pulsed emission is observed.