484 research outputs found
Role of the Sun’s nonaxisymmetric open flux in cosmic-ray modulation
No full textWe reexamine the empirical relationship between the Sun's open magnetic flux and the cosmic-ray (CR) intensity over the solar cycle. The single parameter that correlates best with the inverted CR rate is found to be the nonaxisymmetric or longitudinally varying component of the total open flux, rather than the sunspot number or the rate of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The nonaxisymmetric open flux in turn tracks the evolution of the Sun's equatorial dipole component, which is a function of both the strength and the longitudinal distribution of sunspot activity. Year-long peaks in the equatorial dipole strength coincide with steplike decreases in the CR intensity and with the formation of global merged interaction regions (GMIRs) in the outer heliosphere. During these periods, nonaxisymmetric open flux (in the form of low-latitude coronal holes) is created through the organized emergence of large active regions, resulting in the global injection of magnetic energy into the heliosphere. At the same time, strengthenings of the equatorial dipole are generally accompanied by large increases in the number of fast CMEs. Rotationally induced, compressional interactions between the nonaxisymmetric open flux, fast CMEs, and high-speed streams then give rise to outward-propagating diffusive barriers that extend over all longitudes and to a latitude (45°) again determined by the equatorial dipole strength.<br/
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The Sun's Mean Line-of-sight Field
No full textIn this paper, I regard the Sun-as-a-star magnetic field (i.e., the mean field) as a filter for the spherical harmonic components of the photospheric field, and then calculate the transmission coefficients of this filter. The coefficients for each harmonic, Y l m , are listed in three tables according to their dependence on B 0, the observer's latitude in the star's polar coordinate system. These coefficients are used to interpret the 46 yr sequence of daily mean-field measurements at the Wilcox Solar Observatory. I find that the nonaxisymmetric part of the field originates in the Y11, Y22, and a combination of the Y33 and Y31 harmonic components. The axisymmetric part of the field originates in Y20 plus a B 0-dependent combination of the Y10 and Y30 components. The power spectrum of the field has peaks at frequencies corresponding to the 1/427 day synodic equatorial rotation period and its second and third harmonics. Each of these peaks has fine structure on its low-frequency side, indicating magnetic patterns that rotate slowly under the influence of differential rotation and meridional flow. The sidebands of the fundamental mode resolve into peaks corresponding to periods of 1/428.5 and 1/430 days, which tend to occur at the start of sunspot maximum, whereas the 1/427 day period tends to occur toward the end of sunspot maximum. We might expect similar rotational sidebands to occur in magnetic observations of other Sun-like stars and to be a useful complement to asteroseismology studies of convection and magnetic fields in those stars. © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]
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A solar storm observed from the Sun to Venus using the STEREO, Venus Express, and MESSENGER spacecraft
No full textThe suite of SECCHI optical imaging instruments on the STEREO-A spacecraft is used to track a solar storm, consisting of several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and other coronal loops, as it propagates from the Sun into the heliosphere during May 2007. The 3-D propagation path of the largest interplanetary CME (ICME) is determined from the observations made by the SECCHI Heliospheric Imager (HI) on STEREO-A (HI-1/2A). Two parts of the CME are tracked through the SECCHI images, a bright loop and a V-shaped feature located at the rear of the event. We show that these two structures could be the result of line-of-sight integration of the light scattered by electrons located on a single flux rope. In addition to being imaged by HI, the CME is observed simultaneously by the plasma and magnetic field experiments on the Venus Express and MESSENGER spacecraft. The imaged loop and V-shaped structure bound, as expected, the flux rope observed in situ. The SECCHI images reveal that the leading loop-like structure propagated faster than the V-shaped structure, and a decrease in in situ CME speed occurred during the passage of the flux rope.We interpret this as the result of the continuous radial expansion of the flux rope as it progressed outward through the interplanetary medium. An expansion speed in the radial direction of ~30 km s-1 is obtained directly from the SECCHI-HI images and is in agreement with the difference in speed of the two structures observed in situ. This paper shows that the flux rope location can be determined from white light images, which could have important space weather applications
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Rotational Components of the Sun’s Mean Field
No full textThis paper uses wavelet transforms to look for the rotational frequencies of the Sun’s mean line-of-sight magnetic field. For a sufficiently high wavelet frequency, the spectra of the dipole, quadrupole, and hexapole field components each show a time-dependent fine structure with periods in the range of 26.5-30 days and their harmonics. These maps confirm that a large enhancement of power at 30 days occurred in the dipole field during 1989-1990, as recorded previously using Fourier techniques. In addition, during some years the maps show power at 26.5 days (or its harmonics), which is clearly distinguishable from the rotation period of 26.9-27.0 days at the Sun’s equator. In at least one case, the 26.5-day period was a wave phenomenon caused by the systematic eruption of active regions at progressively more western locations in the Carrington coordinate system, as if the flux were emerging from a fixed longitude in a faster-rotating subsurface layer. Based on previous studies of the mean field, I conclude that the enhanced wavelet patterns in this paper are regions where magnetic flux is emerging in configurations that strengthen the Sun’s horizontal dipole, quadrupole, and hexapole fields, and (in the case of the more slowly rotating patterns) where this flux is being transported to midlatitudes whose rotation periods are in the range of 28-30 days. © 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]
A synoptic view of solar transient evolution in the inner heliosphere using the Heliospheric Imagers on STEREO
No full textBy exploiting data from the STEREO/heliospheric imagers (HI) we extend a well-established technique developed for coronal analysis by producing time-elongation plots that reveal the nature of solar transient activity over a far more extensive region of the heliosphere than previously possible from coronagraph images. Despite the simplicity of these plots, their power in demonstrating how the plethora of ascending coronal features observed near the Sun evolve as they move antisunward is obvious. The time-elongation profile of a transient tracked by HI can, moreover, be used to establish its angle out of the plane-of-the-sky; an illustration of such analysis reveals coronal mass ejection material that can be clearly observed propagating out to distances beyond 1AU. This work confirms the value of the time-elongation format in identifying/characterising transient activity in the inner heliosphere, whilst also validating the ability of HI to continuously monitor solar ejecta out to and beyond 1A
Performance of a micro-engineered ultrasonic particle manipulator
No full textAn ultrasonic microfluidic particle manipulator has been modeled and its experimentally measured separation performance has been compared with the modeled results for 1 µm latex particles, and yeast particles in water
Dynamics of inertial disk particles in turbulent channel flow
No full textA suspension of oblate spheroidal (disk-like) particles in turbulent channel flow has been investigated with focus on the translational and rotational particle statistics. The effects of particle aspect ratio and inertia have been explored. The disk-like particles exhibited a significant preferential orientation in the plane of the mean shear. The influence of the particle shape on the orientation and rotation diminished as translational inertia increased from Stokes number 1 to 30. Isotropization of both orientation and rotation could be observed in the core region of the channel. Keywords: oblate spheroids, preferential orientation, shape effects, inertia effects
Inertial effects on non-spherical particle rotation on turbulent channel flow
No full textWe investigated the rotation of non-spherical particles (rod-like and disk-like) in turbulent channel flow with focus on inertial effects. A direct numerical simulation (DNS) with an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach was performed. A wide range of particle aspect ratios, λ, ranging from 0.01 to 50 were considered for Stokes numbers St equal to 1 and 30. In the particle reference frame, statistical results reveal the importance of shape effect on the particle rotation. The rods (λ > 1) are spinning (rotation about their symmetry axis) more than tumbling (rotation about other axes) whereas disks (λ < 1) behave oppositely. With increasing particle inertia, i.e. higher St, the preferential tumbling of the disks and the spinning of the rods are reduced. We ascribe these observations to the varying degree of alignment of the particle symmetry axis with the fluid vorticity vector
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