1,721,318 research outputs found
Lower-thermosphere response to solar activity: an empirical-mode-decomposition analysis of GOCE 2009–2012 data
Full text linkForecasting the thermosphere (the atmosphere's uppermost layer, from about 90 to 800 km altitude) is crucial to space-related applications, from space mission design to re-entry operations, space surveillance and more. Thermospheric dynamics is directly linked to the solar dynamics through the solar UV (ultraviolet) input, which is highly variable, and through the solar wind and plasma fluxes impacting Earth's magnetosphere. The solar input is non-periodic and non-stationary, with long-term modulations from the solar rotation and the solar cycle and impulsive components, due to magnetic storms. Proxies of the solar input exist and may be used to forecast the thermosphere, such as the F10.7 radio flux and the Mg II EUV (extreme-ultraviolet) flux. They relate to physical processes of the solar atmosphere. Other indices, such as the Ap geomagnetic index, connect with Earth's geomagnetic environment.
We analyse the proxies' time series comparing them with in situ density data from the ESA (European Space Agency) GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer) gravity mission, operational from March 2009 to November 2013, therefore covering the full rising phase of solar cycle 24, exposing the entire dynamic range of the solar input. We use empirical mode decomposition (EMD), an analysis technique appropriate to non-periodic, multi-scale signals. Data are taken at an altitude of 260 km, exceptionally low for a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite, where density variations are the single most important perturbation to satellite dynamics.
We show that the synthesized signal from optimally selected combinations of proxy basis functions, notably Mg II for the solar flux and Ap for the plasma component, shows a very good agreement with thermospheric data obtained by GOCE, during periods of low and medium solar activity. In periods of maximum solar activity, density enhancements are also well represented. The Mg II index proves to be, in general, a better proxy than the F10.7 index for modelling the solar flux because of its specific response to the UV spectrum, whose variations have the largest impact over thermospheric density
Velocity and Temperature Response Functions of 61 Photospheric Lines in the Near-Infrared H Band (1500 - 1800 nm) - II
No full textWe present a list of 61 solar photospheric lines in the near-infrared H-band (1500 - 1800 nm), obtained by synthesis under the LTE approximation, and compute the corresponding velocity and temperature response functions (RF) in the line core and depth-integrated RFs as a function of wavelength. In particular, we computed the core formation heights and the ranges of atmospheric layers where thermodynamic perturbations are dominant. Moreover, we indicate the wavelength where the line is more sensitive to thermodynamic variations and quantify this sensitivity. This list is the extension of a previous work of Penza and Berrilli (Solar Phys. 277, 227, 2012)
Long-term response of stratospheric ozone and temperature to solar variability
Full text linkThe long-term variability in stratospheric ozone mass mixing ratio (O3) and temperature (T) from 1979 to 2013 is investigated using the latest reanalysis product delivered by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), i.e., ERA-Interim. Moreover, using the Mg II index time series for the same time period, the response of the stratosphere to the 11-year Schwabe solar cycle is investigated. Results reveal the following features: (i) upward (downward) trends characterize zonally averaged O3 anomalies in the upper (middle to lower stratosphere) stratosphere, while prevailing downward trends affect the T field. Mg II index data exhibit a weaker 24th solar cycle (though not complete) when compared with the previous two; (ii) correlations between O3 and Mg II, T and Mg II, and O3 and T are consistent with photochemical reactions occurring in the stratosphere and large-scale transport; and (iii) wavelet cross-spectra between O3 and Mg II index show common power for the 11-year period, particularly in tropical regions around 30-50 hPa, and different relative phase in the upper and lower stratosphere. A comprehensive insight into the actual processes accounting for the observed correlation between ozone and solar UV variability would be gained from an improved bias correction of ozone measurements provided by different satellite instruments, and from the observations of the time behavior of the solar spectral irradiance
Dynamics of the solar photosphere: THEMIS observations
No full textWe present the results of 2D narrow- and broad-band photometry of quiet granulation field as observed at the center of the Sun by the THEMIS telescope in IPM mode. The broad-band spectral images have been used to derive geometrical and statistical properties of the pattern produced by convective flows rising from deep layers of the Sun. The narrow-band spectral observations, in the C I 538.0 nm, Fe I 537.9 nm, and Fe I 557.6 nm photospheric lines, have been used to calculate velocity and intensity maps at different heights in the solar atmosphere. The auto-correlation functions of the velocity fields at different heights suggest that, near the solar surface, the dynamics resemble the behavior of a complex out-of-equilibrium system, characterized by a dynamical heterogeneity. Conversely, in the middle photosphere, where only one characteristic time exists, the dynamical heterogeneity disappears. Moreover, the characteristic scales, derived from photospheric velocity maps by means of wavelet and information entropy analysis', show a dependence of their properties on the formation height of photospheric lines and an enlargement of the velocity features with height
Proxima Centauri b: Infrared detectability in presence of stellar activity
Full text linkWe propose a general method to detect and characterize tidally-locked exoplanets in 1:1 spin/orbit resonance using the information coming from different infrared bands, analyzing the variation in time of the color of exoplanetary systems. We focus on the effects induced on the detectability of the system by the starspots of the active host-stars. The analysis is conducted on the Proxima Centauri system as a case study, comparing the results from a more complex 3D General Circulation Model simulation with a simple toy model. Our toy model includes the black-body emission in the infrared of the host-star, day-side and night-side of the tidally locked planet, as well as the starspots. The results are consistent with the 3D General Circulation Model and suggests that it is possible to disentangle the stellar activity effects from the presence of the planet in the exoplanetary system using the infrared color-color diagram technique
Dynamics of the Overshooting Photospheric Region from THEMIS-IPM Observations
No full textHere, we present the results of our investigation on quiet photospheric fields. We study the features of intensity and velocity solar fields as derived from observations of photospheric lines, obtained at the French-Italian THEMIS telescope (Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife) using the Italian Panoramic Monochromator (IPM). In detail, the vertical dynamics is investigated using monochromatic observations at three spectral lines (C I 538.0, Fe I 537.9, and Fe I 557.6), as representative of three atmospheric heights in the overshooting photosphere. Moreover, granulation properties and horizontal flows are also studied using broad band images
The Correlation of Synthetic UV Color versus Mg ii Index along the Solar Cycle
No full textUV solar irradiance strongly affects the chemical and physical properties of the Earth’s atmosphere. UV radiation is also a fundamental input for modeling the habitable zones of stars and the atmospheres of their exoplanets. Unfortunately, measurements of solar irradiance are affected by instrumental degradation and are not available before 1978. For other stars, the situation is worsened by interstellar medium absorption. Therefore, estimates of solar and stellar UV radiation and variability often rely on modeling. Recently, Lovric et al. used Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE)/Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) data to investigate the variability of a color index that is a descriptor of the UV radiation that modulates the photochemistry of planets’ atmospheres. After correcting the SOLSTICE data for residual instrumental effects, the authors found the color index to be strongly correlated with the Mg II index, a solar activity proxy. In this paper, we employ an irradiance reconstruction to synthetize the UV color and Mg II index with the purpose of investigating the physical mechanisms that produce the strong correlation between the color index and the solar activity. Our reconstruction, which extends back to 1989, reproduces very well the observations, and shows that the two indices can be described by the same linear relation for almost three cycles, thus ruling out an overcompensation of SORCE/SOLTICE data in the analysis of Lovric et al. We suggest that the strong correlation between the indices results from the UV radiation analyzed originating in the chromosphere, where atmosphere models of quiet and magnetic features present similar temperature and density gradients
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