We detected 2.8 bright points (BPs) per Mm$^2$ in the Quiet Sun (QS) with the New Solar Telescope (NST) at Big Bear Solar Observatory; using the TiO 705.68 nm spectral line, at an angular resolution ~ 0.1'' to obtain 30 min data sequence. Some BPs formed knots that were stable in time and influenced the properties of the granulation pattern around them. The observed granulation pattern within ~ 3'' of knots presents smaller granules than those observed in a normal granulation pattern; i.e., around the knots a suppressed convection is detected. Observed BPs covered ~ 5% of the solar surface and were not homogeneously distributed. BPs had an average size of 0.22'', they were detectable for 4.28 min in average, and had an averaged contrast of 0.1% in the deep red TiO spectral line.
Interactions between reversed granulation, p-modes, and magnetism?
我们调查的特点，观察到在Ca II H序列从日出的地方，反向造粒似乎与p-模式相互作用。这些特征在宁静的阳光下无处不在。它们与反向颗粒化是共空间的，并且显示类似的一般性质，但是具有更尖锐的边缘并且显示快速的亮度变化。它们也主要出现在宽的晶间通道上方，表明与磁性有潜在的联系。我们报告的外观和动态的这些功能，使用高分辨率，高节奏的观测日出，我们讨论了它们可能的起源。
Sensitivity of spectral lines to granulation: The Sun
Institute of Physics, University of Graz（格拉茨大学物理研究所）；Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung（马普太阳系研究所）；Centre for Exoplanet Science, SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews（圣安德鲁斯大学天体物理与天文学院系外行星科学中心）
Context. Local correlation tracking of granulation (LCT) is an important method for measuring horizontal flows in the photosphere. This method exhibits a systematic error that looks like a flow converging towards disk center, also known as the shrinking-Sun effect. Aims. We aim at studying the nature of the shrinking-Sun effect for continuum intensity data and at deriving a simple model that can explain its origin. Methods. We derived LCT flow maps by running the local correlation tracking code FLCT on tracked and remapped continuum intensity maps provided by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imag…
\textbf{Purpose:} This paper addresses long-standing solar physics problems, namely, the heating of the solar chromosphere and the origin of the solar wind. Our aim is to reveal the related mechanisms behind chromospheric heating and plasma outflows in a quiet-Sun. \textbf{Methods:} The approach is based on a two-fluid numerical model that accounts for thermal non-equilibrium (ionization/recombination), non-adiabatic, and non-ideal dynamics of protons+electrons and hydrogen atoms. The model is applied to numerically simulate the propagation and dissipation of granulation-generated waves in the…
Sensitivity of spectral lines to granulation: from the Sun to K-type stars
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung（马克斯·普朗克太阳系研究所）；Institute of Physics, University of Graz（格拉茨大学物理研究所）；Centre for Exoplanet Science, SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews（圣安德鲁斯大学SUPA天体物理与天文学院系外行星科学中心）；Institut für Astrophysik und Geophysik, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen（哥廷根大学天文物理学与地球物理学研究所）
研究通过分析谱线对 granulation 的敏感性，探讨太阳类恒星到 K 型恒星的径向速度抖动特性，提出基于谱线敏感性的交叉相关掩码和径向速度权重方法。
在过去的5年里，太阳色球层的数值模拟变得越来越现实。然而，许多观察到的色球结构和行为没有再现。目前的模型没有显示Ca II 8542中的原纤维，也没有再现Ca II 8542的平分线。从模型中计算出的紧急H-α线核心强度显示出颗粒化，而不是色球冲击或原纤维。我讨论了这些不足之处，并推测应该包括哪些物理学来减轻这些缺点。
The sunspot activity is the end result of the cyclic destruction and regeneration of magnetic fields by the dynamo action. We propose a new method to analyze the daily sunspot areas data recorded since 1874. By computing the power spectral density of daily data series using the Mexican hat wavelet, we found a power spectrum with a well-defined shape, characterized by three features. The first term is the 22 yr solar magnetic cycle, estimated in our work to be of 18.43 yr. The second term is related to the daily volatility of sunspots. This term is most likely produced by the turbulent motions …
A poor understanding of the impact of convective turbulence in the outer layers of the Sun and Sun-like stars challenges the advance towards an improved understanding of their internal structure and dynamics. Assessing and calibrating these effects is therefore of great importance. Here we study the spatial coherence of granulation noise and oscillation modes in the Sun, with the aim of exploiting any incoherence to beat-down observed granulation noise, hence improving the detection of low-frequency p-modes. Using data from the BiSON 2B instrument, we assess the coherence between different atm…
In the quiet regions on the solar surface, turbulent convective motions of granulation play an important role in creating small-scale magnetic structures, as well as in energy injection into the upper atmosphere. The turbulent nature of granulation can be studied using spectral line profiles, especially line broadening, which contains information on the flow field smaller than the spatial resolution of an instrument. Moreover, the Doppler velocity gradient along a line-of-sight (LOS) causes line broadening as well. However, the quantitative relationship between velocity gradient and line broad…
The Sun is the only star where the superficial turbulent convection can be observed at very high spatial resolution. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has continuously observed the full Sun from space with multi-wavelength filters since July 2010. In particular, the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument takes high-cadence frames (45 seconds) of continuum intensity in which solar granulation is visible. We aimed to follow the evolution of the solar granules over an activity cycle and look for changes in their spatial properties. We investigated the density of granules and their m…
In this work we study a class of recently discovered metrewave solar transients referred to as Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emission \citep[WINQSEs,][]{mondal2020}. Their strength is a few percent of the quiet Sun background and are characterised by their very impulsive, narrow-band and ubiquitous presence in quiet Sun regions. \citet{mondal2020} hypothesised that these emissions might be the radio counterparts of the nanoflares and their potential significance warrants detailed studies. Here we present an analysis of data from an extremely quiet time and with an improved methodology ov…
While the quiet Sun magnetic field shows only little variation with the solar cycle, long-term variations cannot be completely ruled out from first principles. We investigate the potential effect of quiet Sun magnetism on spectral solar irradiance through a series of small-scale dynamo simulations with zero vertical flux imbalance ($\langle B_z\rangle=0$) and varying levels of small-scale magnetic field strength, and one weak network case with an additional flux imbalance corresponding to a flux density of $\langle B_z\rangle=100$ G. From these setups we compute the dependence of the outgoing …
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) data recorded within a heliocentric radial distance of 0.3 AU have revealed a magnetic field dominated by Alfvénic structures that undergo large local variations or even reversals of the radial magnetic field. They are called magnetic switchbacks, they are consistent with folds in magnetic field lines within a same magnetic sector, and are associated with velocity spikes during an otherwise calmer background. They are thought to originate either in the low solar atmosphere through magnetic reconnection processes, or result from the evolution of turbulence or velocity s…
Stellar surface magnetoconvection (granulation) creates asymmetries in the observed stellar absorption lines that can subsequently manifest themselves as spurious radial velocities shifts. In turn, this can then mask the Doppler-reflex motion induced by orbiting planets on their host stars, and represents a particular challenge for determining the masses of low-mass, long-period planets. Herein, we study this impact by creating Sun-as-a-star observations that encapsulate the granulation variability expected from 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations. These Sun-as-a-star model observations are in …
We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of a quiet-Sun region at a wavelength of 3 mm, obtained during the first solar ALMA cycle on April 27, 2017, and compare them with available chromospheric observations in the UV and visible as well as with photospheric magnetograms. ALMA images clearly reveal the presence of distinct particularly dark/cool areas in the millimeter maps having temperatures as low as 60% of the normal quiet Sun at 3 mm, which are not seen in the other data. We speculate that ALMA is sensing cool chromospheric gas, whose presence had earli…
Recent IRIS observations have revealed a prevalence of intermittent small-scale jets with apparent speeds of 80 - 250 km s$^{-1}$, emanating from small-scale bright regions inside network boundaries of coronal holes. We find that these network jets appear not only in coronal holes but also in quiet-sun regions. Using IRIS 1330A (C II) slit-jaw images, we extract several parameters of these network jets, e.g. apparent speed, length, lifetime and increase in foot-point brightness. Using several observations, we find that some properties of the jets are very similar but others are obviously diffe…
The magnetic fields of the quiet Sun cover at any time more than 90\% of its surface and their magnetic energy budget is crucial to explain the thermal structure of the solar atmosphere. One of the possible origins of these fields is due to the action of local dynamo in the upper convection zone of the Sun. Existing simulations of the local solar dynamo require an initial seed field, and sufficiently high spatial resolution, in order to achieve the amplification of the seed field to the observed values in the quiet Sun. Here we report an alternative model of seeding based on the action of the …
The second law of thermodynamics imposes an increase of macroscopic entropy with time in an isolated system. Microscopically, however, the entropy production can be negative for a single, microscopic realization of a thermodynamic process. The so-called fluctuation theorems provide exact relations between the stochastic entropy consumption and generation. Here, we analyse pixel-to-pixel fluctuations in time of small-scale magnetic fields (SSMF) in the quiet Sun observed with the SDO/HMI instrument. We demonstrate that entropy generated by SSMF obeys the fluctuation theorems. In particular, the…
Standard statistical analysis of the magnetic properties of the quiet Sun rely on simple histograms of quantities inferred from maximum-likelihood estimations. Because of the inherent degeneracies, either intrinsic or induced by the noise, this approach is not optimal and can lead to highly biased results. We carry out a meta-analysis of the magnetism of the quiet Sun from Hinode observations using a hierarchical probabilistic method. This model allows us to infer the statistical properties of the magnetic field vector over the observed field-of-view consistently taking into account the uncert…
Turbulent convection efficiently transports energy up to the solar photosphere, but its multi-scale nature and dynamic properties are still not fully understood. Several works in the literature have investigated the emergence of patterns of convective and magnetic nature in the quiet Sun at spatial and temporal scales from granular to global. Aims. To shed light on the scales of organisation at which turbulent convection operates, and its relationship with the magnetic flux therein, we studied characteristic spatial and temporal scales of magnetic features in the quiet Sun. Methods. Thanks to …
We employ time sequences of images observed with a G-band filter (4305Å) by the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on board of Hinode spacecraft at different latitude along solar central me-ridian to study vorticity of granular flows in quiet Sun areas during deep minimum of solar activity. Using a feature correlation tracking (FCT) technique, we calculate the vorticity of granular-scale flows. Assuming the known pattern of vertical flows (upward in granules and downward in inter-granular lanes), we infer the sign of kinetic helicity of these flows. We show that the kinetic helicity of granular flo…
This work presents a systematic investigation of the influence of weather conditions on the calibration errors by using Gaussian fitness, least chi-square linear fitness and wavelet transform to analyze the calibration coefficients from observations of the Chinese Solar Broadband Radio Spectrometers (at frequency bands of 1.0-2.0 GHz, 2.6-3.8 GHz, and 5.2-7.6 GHz) during 1997-2007. We found that calibration coefficients are influenced by the local air temperature. Considering the temperature correction, the calibration error will reduce by about $10\%-20\%$ at 2800 MHz. Based on the above inve…
We carried out a statistical study of the `quiet' solar corona during the descending phase of the sunspot cycle 24 (i.e. 2015 January - 2019 May) using data obtained with the Gauribidanur RAdioheliograPH (GRAPH) at 53 MHz and 80 MHz simultaneously. Our results show that the equatorial (east-west) diameters of the solar corona at the above two frequencies shrunk steadily. The decrease was found to be due to a gradual reduction in the coronal electron density ($N_{e}$). Independent estimates of $N_{e}$ in the equatorial region of the `background' corona using white-light coronagraph observations…
Observation of High-speed Outflow on Plume-like Structures of the Quiet Sun and Coronal Holes with SDO/AIA
太阳动力学天文台（SDO）上的大气成像组件（AIA）的观测结果显示，在平静的太阳大气层的磁化区域中，存在着无处不在的间歇性外流（喷流），其平均速率约为120 km s-1，温度通常超过100万度。这些外流并不局限于在极冕洞中可见的羽流，也存在于源自赤道冕洞和宁静太阳区域的羽流状结构中。在整个大气层的“羽流间”区域也可以看到外流。此外，在羽流和羽流间区域的这些流动追踪出的结构不断表现出横向（Alfvenic）运动。我们的发现表明，高速外流主要来自安静的太阳和日冕洞的磁网络，并且所观察到的羽流被其中包含的密度更大的等离子体所突出。这些外流可能是一个有效的手段，提供加热的质量进入日冕，并作为一个重要的来源，质量供应的太阳风。我们证明，安静的太阳羽流有时会显着污染相邻冕洞的光谱观测-极大地影响观测到的多普勒频移，从而可能影响这些地区的重大调查。
We study the relation between mesogranular flows, convectively driven sinks and magnetic fields using high spatial resolution spectropolarimetric data acquired with the Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment on board Sunrise. We obtain the horizontal velocity flow fields of two quiet-Sun regions (31.2 $\times$ 31.2 Mm$^{2}$) via local correlation tracking. Mesogranular lanes and the central position of sinks are identified using Lagrange tracers. We find $6.7\times10^{-2}$ sinks per Mm$^{2}$ in the two observed regions. The sinks are located at the mesogranular vertices and turn out to be associated …
