We examine the role of small-scale transients in the formation and evolution of solar coronal plumes. We study the dynamics of plume footpoints seen in the vicinity of a coronal hole using the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) images, the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) magnetogram on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and spectroscopic data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). Quasi-periodic brightenings are observed in the base of the plumes and are associated with magnetic flux changes. With the high spectral and spatial resolution of IRIS, we identify the sources of these oscillations and try to understand what role the transients at the foot points can play in sustaining the coronal plumes. IRIS sit and stare observation provide a unique opportunity to study the evolution of foot points of the plumes. We notice enhanced line width, intensity and large deviation from the average Doppler shift in the line profiles at specific instances which indicate the presence of flows at the foot points of plumes. We propose that outflows (jet-like features) as a result of small scale reconnections affect the line profiles. These jet-like features may be also responsible for the generation of propagating disturbances within the plumes which are observed to be propagating to larger distances as recorded from multiple AIA channels. These propagating disturbances can be explained in terms of slow magnetoacoustic waves.
We study Doppler velocity measurements at multiple heights in the solar atmosphere using a set of six filtergrams obtained by the Helioseismic magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. There are clear and significant phase differences between core and wing Dopplergrams in the frequency range above the photospheric acoustic cutoff frequency, which indicates that these are really "multi-height" datasets.
The Very Fast Inversion of the Stokes Vector (VFISV) is a Milne-Eddington spectral line inversion code used to determine the magnetic and thermodynamic parameters of the solar photosphere from observations of the Stokes vector in the 6173 A Fe I line by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). We report on the modifications made to the original VFISV inversion code in order to optimize its operation within the HMI data pipeline and provide the smoothest solution in active regions. The changes either sped up the computation or reduced the frequenc…
Spectropolarimetric reconstructions of the photospheric vector magnetic field are intrinsically limited by the so-called 180$^\circ$ ambiguity in the orientation of the transverse component. The successful launch and operation of Solar Orbiter has made the removal of the 180$^\circ$ ambiguity possible using solely observations obtained from two different vantage points. While the exploitation of such a possibility is straightforward in principle, it is less so in practice and it is therefore important to assess the accuracy and limitations, as a function of both the satellites orbits and measu…
White-light observations by the Solar Dynamics Observatory's Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager of a loop-prominence system occurring in the aftermath of an X-class flare on 2013 May 13 near the eastern solar limb show a linearly polarized component, reaching up to $\sim$20% at an altitude of $\sim$33 Mm, about the maximal amount expected if the emission were due solely to Thomson scattering of photospheric light by the coronal material. The mass associated with the polarized component was 8.2$\times$10$^{14}$ g. At 15 Mm altitude, the brightest part of the loop was 3(+/-0.5)% linearly polarized…
The {\em Solar Orbiter} is the next solar physics mission of the European Space Agency, ESA, in collaboration with NASA, with a launch planned in 2018. The spacecraft is designed to approach the Sun to within 0.28\,AU at perihelion of a highly eccentric orbit. The proximity with the Sun will also allow its observation at uniformly high resolution at EUV and visible wavelengths. Such observations are central for learning more about the magnetic coupling of the solar atmosphere. At a later phase in the mission the spacecraft will leave the ecliptic and study the enigmatic poles of the Sun from a…
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) provides a new tool for the systematic observation of white-light flares, including Doppler and magnetic information as well as continuum. In our initial analysis of the highly impulsive γ-ray flare SOL2010-06-12T00:57 (Mart'ınez Oliveros et al., Solar Phys., 269, 269, 2011), we reported the signature of a strong blueshift in the two footpoint sources. Concerned that this might be an artifact due to aliasing peculiar to the HMI instrument, we undertook a comparative analysis of Global Oscillations Network G…
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO/HMI) provides continuous full-disk observations of solar oscillations. We develop a data-analysis pipeline based on the time-distance helioseismology method to measure acoustic travel times using HMI Doppler-shift observations, and infer solar interior properties by inverting these measurements. The pipeline is used for routine production of near-real-time full-disk maps of subsurface wave-speed perturbations and horizontal flow velocities for depths ranging from 0 to 20 Mm, every eight hours. In addition, Carring…
The solar atmosphere is extremely dynamic, and many important phenomena develop on small scales that are unresolved in observations with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). For correct calibration and interpretation of the observations, it is very important to investigate the effects of small-scale structures and dynamics on the HMI observables, such as Doppler shift, continuum intensity, spectral line depth, and width. We use 3D radiative hydrodynamics simulations of the upper turbulent convective layer and the atmosphere of the Sun, …
A new data product from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) called Space-weather HMI Active Region Patches (SHARPs) is now available. SDO/HMI is the first space-based instrument to map the full-disk photospheric vector magnetic field with high cadence and continuity. The SHARP data series provide maps in patches that encompass automatically tracked magnetic concentrations for their entire lifetime; map quantities include the photospheric vector magnetic field and its uncertainty, along with Doppler velocity, continuum intensity, and line-of-s…
The Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (SDO/HMI) filtergrams, taken at six wavelengths around the Fe I 6173.3 Å line, contain information about the line-of-sight velocity over a range of heights in the solar atmosphere. Multi-height velocity inferences from these observations can be exploited to study wave motions and energy transport in the atmosphere. Using realistic convection simulation datasets provided by the STAGGER and MURaM codes, we generate synthetic filtergrams and explore several methods for estimating Dopplergrams. We investigate at which height each synt…
The \textit{Sun Watcher using Active Pixel system detector and Image Processing}(SWAP) on board the \textit{PRoject for OnBoard Autonomy\todash 2} (PROBA\todash 2) spacecraft provides images of the solar corona in EUV channel centered at 174 Å. These data, together with \textit{Atmospheric Imaging Assembly} (AIA) and the \textit{Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager} (HMI) on board \textit{Solar Dynamics Observatory} (SDO), are used to study the dynamics of coronal bright points. The evolution of the magnetic polarities and associated changes in morphology are studied using magnetograms and multi-w…
We report observations of white-light ejecta in the low corona, for two X-class flares on the 2013 May 13, using data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) of the Solar Dynamics Observatory. At least two distinct kinds of sources appeared (chromospheric and coronal), in the early and later phases of flare development, in addition to the white-light footpoint sources commonly observed in the lower atmosphere. The gradual emissions have a clear identification with the classical loop-prominence system, but are brighter than expected and possibly seen here in the continuum rather than li…
A spectral line inversion code, Very Fast Inversion of the Stokes Vector (VFISV), has been used since May 2010 to infer the solar atmospheric parameters from the spectropolarimetric observations taken by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The magnetic filling factor, the fraction of the surface with a resolution element occupied by magnetic field, is set to have a constant value of one in the current version of VFISV. This report describes an improved inversion strategy for the spectropolarimetric data observed with HMI for magnetic field st…
Time-dependent three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulation modules are implemented at the Joint Science Operation Center (JSOC) of Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The modules regularly produce three-dimensional data of the time-relaxed minimum-energy state of the solar corona using global solar-surface magnetic-field maps created from Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) full-disk magnetogram data. With the assumption of polytropic gas with specific heat ratio of 1.05, three types of simulation products are currently generated: i) simulation data with medium spatial resolution usin…
We present a comprehensive study of one method for measuring various parameters of global modes of oscillation of the Sun. Using velocity data taken by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI), we analyze spherical harmonic degrees l <= 300. Both current and historical methodologies are explained, and the various differences between the two are investigated to determine their effects on global-mode parameters and systematic errors in the analysis. These differences include a number of geometric corrections made during spherical harmonic decomposition; updated routines for generating window functions…
In this paper we describe in detail the implementation and main properties of a new inversion code for the polarized radiative transfer equation (VFISV: Very Fast inversion of the Stokes vector). VFISV will routinely analyze pipeline data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on-board of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). It will provide full-disk maps (4096$\times$4096 pixels) of the magnetic field vector on the Solar Photosphere every 10 minutes. For this reason VFISV is optimized to achieve an inversion speed that will allow it to invert 16 million pixels every 10 minutes with …
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) was launched 11 February 2010 with 3 instruments on board, including the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). Since beginning normal operations on 1 May 2010, HMI has observed the Sun's entire visible disk almost continuously. HMI collects sequences of polarized filtergrams taken at a fixed cadence with two 4096 x 4096 cameras from which are computed arcsecond-resolution maps of photospheric observables: the line-of-sight (LoS) velocity and magnetic field, continuum intensity, line width, line depth, and the Stokes polarization parameters, I Q U V, at…
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observes the Sun at the Fe I 6173 Å line and returns full-disk maps of line-of-sight (LOS) observables including the magnetic flux density, velocities, Fe I line width, line depth, and continuum intensity. These data are estimated through an algorithm (the MDI-like algorithm, hereafter), which combines observables obtained at six wavelength positions within the Fe I 6173 Å line. To properly interpret such data it is important to understand any effects of the instrument and the pipeline that generates these d…
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) began near-continuous full-disk solar measurements on 1 May 2010 from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). An automated processing pipeline keeps pace with observations to produce observable quantities, including the photospheric vector magnetic field, from sequences of filtergrams. The primary 720s observables were released in mid 2010, including Stokes polarization parameters measured at six wavelengths as well as intensity, Doppler velocity, and the line-of-sight magnetic field. More advanced products, including the full vector magnetic field, are…
Extrapolation codes in Cartesian geometry for modelling the magnetic field in the corona do not take the curvature of the Sun's surface into account and can only be applied to relatively small areas, e.g., a single active region. We compare the analysis of the photospheric magnetic field and subsequent force-free modeling based on full-disk vector maps from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board solar dynamics observatory (SDO) and Vector Spectromagnetograph (VSM) of the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS). We use Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager and Vector Sp…
High-resolution observations of small-scale activity in coronal hole plumes
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research(马克斯·普朗克太阳系研究所);Institut für Sonnenphysik (KIS)(太阳物理研究所);Institut für Geophysik und extraterrestrische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig(不伦瑞克工业大学地球物理学与系外物理研究所)
Both coronal plumes and network jets are rooted in network lanes. The relationship between the two, however, has yet to be addressed. For this purpose, we perform an observational analysis using images acquired with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) 171Å passband to follow the evolution of coronal plumes, the observations taken by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) slit-jaw 1330Å to study the network jets, and the line-of-sight magnetograms taken by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) to overview the the photospheric magnetic features in the regions. Four regions in t…
The solar flare on July 30, 2011 was of a modest X-ray class (M9.3), but it made a strong photospheric impact and produced a "sunquake," observed with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). In addition to the helioseismic waves (also observed with the SDO/AIA instrument), the flare caused a large expanding area of white-light emission and was accompanied by substantial restructuring of magnetic fields, leading to the rapid formation of a sunspot structure in the flare region. The flare produced no significant hard X-ray emission and no coronal ma…
We utilize observations from {\emph{Hinode}}/XRT and the Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imagers onboard {\emph{STEREO}} to study the relationship between coronal jets and plumes. The data were recorded on Apr. 7-8 and Nov. 2-4, 2007. Detailed results are presented for the Apr. campaign along with preliminary analysis of the Nov. observations. We find that $>90%$ of the identified jets are directly related to plumes (Apr. data). EUV data show that plume haze rose from the same spatial location of more than 70% of the identified jets. The remaining jets occurred in areas where plume material exists a…
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument is a major component of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft. Since beginning normal science operations on 1 May 2010, HMI has operated with remarkable continuity, e.g. during the more than five years of the SDO prime mission that ended 30 September 2015, HMI collected 98.4% of all possible 45-second velocity maps; minimizing gaps in these full-disk Dopplergrams is crucial for helioseismology. HMI velocity, intensity, and magnetic-field measurements are used in numerous investigations, so understanding the quality of the data …
The continuous high spatial-resolution Doppler observation of the Sun by Solar Dynamics Observatory / Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager allows us to compute helioseismic k-omega power-spectrum diagram using only oscillations inside a sunspot. Individual modal ridges can be clearly seen with reduced power in the k-omega diagram constructed by use of 40-hour observation of a stable and round sunspot. Comparing with the k-omega diagram obtained from a quiet-Sun region, inside the sunspot the f-mode ridge gets more power reduction than p-mode ridges, especially at high wavenumber. The p-mode ridges…
A time-distance helioseismic technique, similar to the one used by Ilonidis et al (2011), is applied to two independent numerical models of subsurface sound-speed perturbations to determine the spatial resolution and accuracy of phase travel time shift measurements. The technique is also used to examine pre-emergence signatures of several active regions observed by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) and the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI). In the context of similar measurements of quiet sun regions, three of the five studied active regions show strong phase travel time shifts several hours …
We use helioseismic holography to study the association of shallow flows with solar flare activity in about 250 large sunspot groups observed between 2010 and 2014 with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Four basic flow parameters: horizontal speed, horizontal component of divergence, vertical component of vorticity, and a vertical kinetic helicity proxy, are mapped for each active region during its passage across the solar disk. Flow indices are derived representing the mean and standard deviation of these parameters over magnetic masks and compared with c…
A new time--distance far-side imaging technique was recently developed by utilizing multiple multi-skip acoustic waves. The measurement procedure is applied to 11 years of Doppler observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory / Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, and over 8000 far-side images of the Sun have been obtained with a 12-hour temporal cadence. The mean travel-time shifts in these images unsurprisingly vary with the solar cycle. However, the temporal variation does not show good correlations with the magnetic activity in their respective northern or southern hemisphere, but show ver…
The X9.3 flare of September 6, 2017, was the most powerful flare of Solar Cycle 24. It generated strong white-light emission and multiple helioseismic waves (sunquakes). By using data from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) as well as hard X-ray data from KONUS instrument onboard WIND spacecraft, and Anti-Coincidence System (ACS) onboard the INTERGRAL space observatory, we investigate spatio-temporal dynamics of photospheric emission sources, identify sources of helioseismic waves and compare the flare photospheric dynamics with the hard X-ray (…
The X2.2-class solar flare of February 15, 2011, produced a powerful sunquake event, representing a helioseismic response to the flare impact in the solar photosphere, which was observed with the HMI instrument on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The impulsively excited acoustic waves formed a compact wavepacket traveling through the solar interior and appearing on the surface as expanding wave ripples. The initial flare impacts were observed in the form of compact and rapid variations of the Doppler velocity, line-of-sight magnetic field and continuum intensity. These variations formed a…
Helioseismic observations have provided valuable datasets with which to pursue the detailed investigation of solar interior dynamics. Among various methods to analyse these data, normal-mode coupling has proven to be a powerful tool, used to study Rossby waves, differential rotation, meridional circulation, and non-axisymmetric multi-scale subsurface flows. Here, we invert mode-coupling measurements from Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) and Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) to obtain mass-conserving toroidal convective flow as a function of depth, spatial wavenumber, and temporal frequency. To …
Seismic maps of the Sun's far hemisphere, computed from Doppler data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) are now being used routinely to detect strong magnetic regions on the far side of the Sun (http:/jsoc.stanford.edu/data/farside/). To test the reliability of this technique, the helioseismically inferred active region detections are compared with far-side observation of solar activity from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO), using brightness in extreme ultraviolet light (EUV) as a proxy for magnetic fields. Two appr…
The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on board the Solar Orbiter (SO) spacecraft observed small extreme ultraviolet (EUV) bursts, termed campfires, that have been proposed to be brightenings near the apexes of low-lying loops in the quiet-Sun atmosphere. The underlying magnetic processes driving these campfires are not understood. During the cruise phase of SO and at a distance of 0.523\,AU from the Sun, the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager on Solar Orbiter (SO/PHI) observed a quiet-Sun region jointly with SO/EUI, offering the possibility to investigate the surface magnetic field dynamics u…
Plumes are one of the most ubiquitous features seen at the limb in polar coronal holes and are considered to be a source of high density plasma streams to the fast solar wind. We analyze STEREO observations of plumes and aim to reinterpret and place observations with previous generations of EUV imagers within a new context that was recently developed from Hinode observations. We exploit the higher signal-to-noise, spatial and temporal resolution of the EUVI telescopes over that of SOHO/EIT to study the temporal variation of polar plumes in high detail. We employ recently developed insight from…
Extreme Ultraviolet Microflashes at Plume Bases: A Candidate for Powering the Corona and Solar Wind?
Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory(洛克希德·马丁太阳与天体物理实验室);SETI Institute(SETI研究所);Bay Area Environmental Research Institute(湾区环境研究所);University of Colorado Boulder(科罗拉多大学博尔德分校);National Solar Observatory(国家太阳天文台);Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR), UAH(阿拉巴马大学亨茨维尔分校空间等离子体与大气研究卓越中心);NASA Marshall Space Flight Center(美国宇航局马歇尔太空飞行中心);New Mexico State University(新墨西哥州立大学)
A key component of solar interior dynamics is the meridional circulation (MC), whose poleward component in the surface layers has been well observed. Time-distance helioseismic studies of the deep structure of MC, however, have yielded conflicting inferences. Here, following a summary of existing results we show how a large center-to-limb systematics (CLS) in the measured travel times of acoustic waves affect the inferences through an analysis of frequency dependence of CLS, using data from the Helioseismic and Doppler Imager (HMI) onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Our results point to…
While the {\it Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager} (HMI) onboard the {\it Solar Dynamics Observatory} (SDO) provides Doppler velocity [$V$], continuum intensity [$I_C$], and line-depth [$Ld$] observations, each of which is sensitive to the five-minute acoustic spectrum, the {\it Atmospheric Imaging Array} (AIA) also observes at wavelengths -- specifically the 1600 and 1700 Angstrom bands -- that are partly formed in the upper photosphere and have good sensitivity to acoustic modes. In this article we consider the characteristics of the spatio--temporal Fourier spectra in AIA and HMI observables …
We investigated the solar cycle dependency on the presence and periodicity of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO). Using helioseismic techniques, we used solar oscillation frequencies from the Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG), Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) and Helioseismic & Magnetic Imager (HMI) in the intermediate-degree range to investigate the frequency shifts over Cycles 23 and 24. We also examined two solar activity proxies, the F10.7 index and the MgII index, for the last four solar cycles to study the associated QBO. The analyses were performed using Empirical Mode Decomposit…
We use observations of line-of-sight magnetograms from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board of Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to investigate polarity separation, magnetic flux, flux emergence rate, twist and tilt of solar emerging active regions. Functional dependence of polarity separation and maximum magnetic flux of an active region is in agreement with a simple model of flux emergence as the result of buoyancy forces. Our investigation did not reveal any strong dependence of emergence rate on twist properties of active regions.
The analysis of waves in the visible side of the Sun allows the detection of active regions in the farside through local helioseismology techniques. The knowledge of the magnetism in the whole Sun, including the non-visible hemisphere, is fundamental for several space weather forecasting applications. Seismic identification of farside active regions is challenged by the reduced signal-to-noise, and only large and strong active regions can be reliable detected. Here we develop a new methodology to improve the identification of active region signatures in farside seismic maps. We have constructe…
We investigate bipolar sunspot regions and how tilt angle and footpoint separation vary during emergence and decay. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory collects data at a higher cadence than historical records and allows for a detailed analysis of regions over their lifetimes. We sample the umbral tilt angle, footpoint separation, and umbral area of 235 bipolar sunspot regions in Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager - Debrecen Data (HMIDD) with an hourly cadence. We use the time when the umbral area peaks as time zero to distinguish between the emergence and…
We analyze the effect of a sunspot in its quiet surroundings applying a helioseismic technique on almost three years of Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) observations obtained during solar cycle 24 to further study the sunspot structure below the solar surface. The attenuation of acoustic waves with frequencies lower than 4.2 mHz depends more strongly on the wave direction at a distance of $6^o-7^o$ from the sunspot center. The amplification of higher frequency waves is highest 6$^o$ away from the active region and it is largely independent of the wave's direction. We observe a mean clock…
We study properties of waves of frequencies above the photospheric acoustic cut-off of $\approx$5.3 mHz, around four active regions, through spatial maps of their power estimated using data from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The wavelength channels 1600 Å and 1700 Å from AIA are now known to capture clear oscillation signals due to helioseismic p modes as well as waves propagating up through to the chromosphere. Here we study in detail, in comparison with HMI Doppler data, properties of the power maps, es…
Continuous high-cadence and high-spatial resolution Dopplergrams allow us to study sub-surface dynamics that may be further extended to explore precursors of visible solar activity on the surface. Since the p-mode power is absorbed in the regions of high magnetic field, the inferences in these regions are often presumed to have large uncertainties. In this paper, using the Dopplergrams from space-borne Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI), we compare horizontal flows in a shear layer below the surface and the photospheric layer in and around active regions. The photospheric flows are calculated …
We investigate the orientation of the photospheric magnetic fields in the solar polar region using observations from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). Inside small patches of significant polarization, the inferred magnetic field vectors at $1''$ scale appear to systematically deviate from the radial direction. Most tilt towards the pole; all are more inclined toward the plane of sky compared to the radial vector. These results, however, depend on the "filling factor" $f$ that characterizes the unresolved magnetic structures. The default, uninformative $f\equiv1$ for HMI will incur la…
We present a careful assess of the forced field extrapolation using Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (SDO/HMI) magnetogram. The convergence property is checked by several metrics. The extrapolated field lines below 3600km appear to be aligned with most Halpha fibrils observed by New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST). In the region where magnetic energy far larger than potential energy, field lines computed by forced field extrapolation still consistent with the patterns of Halpha fibrils while non-linear force free field (NLFFF) results show large misalignment. The horiz…
We used photospheric intensity images and magnetic field measurements from the New Solar Telescope in Big Bear and Helioseismic Magnetic Imager on board Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to study the the effect that the new small-scale emerging flux induces on solar granulation. We report that emerging flux appears to leave different types of footprint on solar granulation: i) diffuse irregular patches of increased brightness, ii) well defined filament-like structures and accompanied bright points, and iii) bright point-like features that appear inside granules. We suggest that the type of the …
The evolution of magnetic helicity has a close relationship with solar eruptions and is of interest as a predictive diagnostic. In this case study, we analyse the evolution of the normalised emergence, shearing and total magnetic helicity components in the case of three flaring and three non-flaring active regions (ARs) using SHARPs (Spaceweather Helioseismic Magnetic Imager Active Region Patches) vector magnetic field data. The evolution of the three magnetic helicity components is analysed with wavelet transforms, revealing significant common periodicities of the normalised emergence, sheari…