Active regions (AR) appearing on the surface of the Sun are classified into $α$, $β$, $γ$, and $δ$ by the rules of the Mount Wilson Observatory, California on the basis of their topological complexity. Amongst these, the $δ$-sunspots are known to be super-active and produce the most X-ray flares. Here, we present results from a simulation of the Sun by mimicking the upper layers and the corona, but starting at a more primitive stage than any earlier treatment. We find that this initial state consisting of only a thin sub-photospheric magnetic sheet breaks into multiple flux-tubes which evolve into a colliding-merging system of spots of opposite polarity upon surface emergence, similar to those often seen on the Sun. The simulation goes on to produce many exotic $δ$-sunspot associated phenomena: repeated flaring in the range of typical solar flare energy release and ejective helical flux ropes with embedded cool-dense plasma filaments resembling solar coronal mass ejections.
Sunspot groups are the main source of solar flares, with the energy to power them being supplied by magnetic-field evolution (e.g. flux emergence or twisting/shearing). To date, few studies have investigated the statistical relation between sunspot-group evolution and flaring, with none considering evolution in the McIntosh classification scheme. Here we present a statistical analysis of sunspot groups from Solar Cycle 22, focusing on 24-hour changes in the three McIntosh classification components. Evolution-dependent >C1.0, >M1.0, and >X1.0 flaring rates are calculated, leading to the followi…
In a recent work, Kilcik et al. (2017), have detected the temporal and periodic behavior of sunspot counts (SSC) in flaring (i.e. C, M, or X class flares), and non-flaring active regions for the last two solar cycles, covering the period: 1996 - 2016. The main results obtained are: 1) The temporal behavior of monthly means of daily total SSC in flaring and non-flaring active regions are different and these differences are also varying from cycle to cycle; 2) The periodicities detected in SSC of flaring and non-flaring active regions are quite different and these variations are also different f…
We analyzed temporal and periodic behavior of sunspot counts (SSCs) in flaring (C, M, or X class flares), and non-flaring active regions (ARs) for the almost two solar cycles (1996 through 2016). Our main findings are as follows: i) The temporal variation of monthly means of daily total SSCs in flaring and non-flaring ARs are different and these differences are also varying from cycle to cycle; temporal profile of non-flaring ARs are wider than the flaring ones during the solar cycle 23, while they are almost the same during the current cycle 24. The second peak (second maximum) of flaring ARs…
Sunspot light bridges are known to exhibit a variety of dynamic and persistent phenomena such as surges, small-scale jets etc. in the chromosphere and transition region. While it has generally been proposed that magnetic reconnection is responsible for this small-scale dynamism, persistent flaring activity lasting several hours from the same spatial location on a sunspot light bridge, has rarely been reported. We combine observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory to investigate homologous flaring activity over…
In this paper, we report our first-step results of high resolution He\,\textsc{i} 10830 Å narrow-band imaging (bandpass: 0.5 Å) of an M1.8 class two-ribbon flare on July 5, 2012. The flare was observed with the 1.6 meter aperture New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory. For this unique data set, sunspot dynamics during flaring were analyzed for the first time. By directly imaging the upper chromosphere, running penumbral waves are clearly seen as an outward extension of umbral flashes, both take the form of absorption in the 10830 Å narrow-band images. From a space-time image made of…
Rapid Disappearance of Penumbra-Like Features Near a Flaring Polarity Inversion Line: The Hinode Observations
我们观测到耀斑区极性反转线附近的半影状特征。PIL位于活动区的护城河边界（NOAA 10960）。PLFs在形态上与太阳黑子半影相似，但面积较小，约为6 $\times10^{7}$ km $^{2}$，与太阳黑子或太阳黑子孔隙不相关。我们观察到一个C1.7级耀斑后，PLF的快速消失，这发生在PIL附近。这些特征的局部相关跟踪（LCT）显示了远离PLF端点的水平流的存在，类似于在规则太阳黑子周围发现的径向向外流，这也被称为护城河流。在RHESSI观测中发现了与PLF位置一致的硬X射线发射，这表明耀斑的发生与PLF的衰变之间存在空间相关性。由日野分光偏振仪SOT/SP观测得到的耀斑前后的矢量磁场表明，耀斑后磁场的水平分量和垂直分量都发生了显著变化。耀斑间隔中磁场的两个分量的减弱表明，在耀斑间隔期间发生了PLF中磁场的快速消除和/或淹没。
Here, we test the weighted horizontal magnetic gradient ($WG_M$) as a flare precursor, introduced by Korsos et. al. (2015, ApJ, 802, L21), by applying it to a magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of solar-like flares Chatterjee et. al. (2016, Physical Review Letters, 116, 10, 101101). The pre-flare evolution of the $WG_M$ and the behavior of the distance parameter between the area-weighted barycenters of opposite polarity sunspots at various heights is investigated in the simulated $δ$-type sunspot. Four flares emanated from this sunspot. We found the optimum heights above the photosphere whe…
Most solar flares originate in sunspot groups, where magnetic field changes lead to energy build-up and release. However, few flare-forecasting methods use information of sunspot-group evolution, instead focusing on static point-in-time observations. Here, a new forecast method is presented based upon the 24-hr evolution in McIntosh classification of sunspot groups. Evolution-dependent $\geqslant$C1.0 and $\geqslant$M1.0 flaring rates are found from NOAA-numbered sunspot groups over December 1988 to June 1996 (Solar Cycle 22; SC22) before converting to probabilities assuming Poisson statistics…
Sudden Photospheric Motion and Sunspot Rotation Associated with the X2.2 Flare on 2011 February 15
日震和磁成像仪提供45秒的节奏强度图像和720秒的节奏矢量磁图。这些前所未有的高节奏和高分辨率数据为我们提供了一个独特的机会来研究与耀斑相关的光球流和太阳黑子旋转的变化。分别采用微分仿射速度估计方法和傅立叶局部相关跟踪方法，计算了2011年2月15日NOAA AR 11158耀斑期间光球流的速度和涡度，并研究了X2. 2耀斑前后光球流的时间演化.结果表明，在耀斑的脉冲阶段，耀斑磁极性反转线附近的剪切流突然减小，两个主黑子的自转运动都发生了突变。这些结果在Hudson等人（2008）和Fisher等人（2012）提出的洛伦兹力变化的背景下进行了讨论。这一机制可以解释光球矢量磁场的快速不可逆变化与观测到的耀斑短期运动之间的联系。特别地，由水平洛伦兹力变化提供的扭矩与所测量的角加速度所需的一致。
Efficient prediction of solar flares relies on parameters that quantify the eruptive capability of solar active regions. Several such quantitative predictors have been proposed in the literature, inferred mostly from photospheric magnetograms and/or white-light observations. Two of them are the Ising energy and the sum of the total horizontal magnetic field gradient. The former has been developed from line-of-sight magnetograms, while the latter uses sunspot detections and characteristics, based on continuum images. Aiming to include these parameters in an automated prediction scheme, we test …
A moderate C1.1 class confined flare is investigated here, which occurred on 2013 September 24 at 22:56~UT, in an arch filament system close to a regular, unipolar sunspot. Spectro-polarimetric observations from the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter at the 70 cm German Vacuum Tower Telescope were combined with data from the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly to identify the processes that triggered the flare. The legs of this arch filament were anchored in the leading sunspot and the network flux region of opposite polarity. The flare was driven by small-scale, flux …
Solar active regions (ARs) that produce strong flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are known to have a relatively high non-potentiality and are characterized by delta-sunspots and sheared magnetic structures. In this study, we conduct a series of flux emergence simulations from the convection zone to the corona and model four types of active regions that have been observationally suggested to cause strong flares, namely the Spot-Spot, Spot-Satellite, Quadrupole, and Inter-AR cases. As a result, we confirm that delta-spot formation is due to the complex geometry and interaction of emerging…
Waiting time distributions of solar flares and {\sl coronal mass ejections (CMEs)} exhibit power law-like distribution functions with slopes in the range of $α_τ \approx 1.4-3.2$, as observed in annual data sets during 4 solar cycles (1974-2012). We find a close correlation between the waiting time power law slope $α_τ$ and the {\sl sunspot number (SN)}, i.e., $α_τ$ = 1.38 + 0.01 $\times$ SN. The waiting time distribution can be fitted with a Pareto-type function of the form $N(τ) = N_0$ $(τ_0 + τ)^{-α_τ}$, where the offset $τ_0$ depends on the instrumental sensitivity, the detection threshold…
Obtaining observational evidence of the turbulent component of solar dynamo operating in the convective zone is a challenging problem because the dynamo action is hidden below the photosphere. Here we present results of a statistical study of flaring active regions (ARs) that produced strong solar flares of an X-ray class X1.0 and higher during a time period that covered solar cycles 23 and 24. We introduced a magneto-morphological classification (MMC) of ARs, which allowed us to estimate possible contribution of the turbulent component of the dynamo into the structure of an AR. We found that …
In this paper, we present the multi-wavelength study of a high level of solar activity during which a single active region produced multiple flares/CMEs. According to the sunspot observations, the current solar cycle 24 manifest to be less intense in comparison with the previous recent sunspot cycles. In the course of the current sunspot cycle 24, several small and large sunspot groups have produced various moderate and intense flare/CME events. There are a few active regions with a large number of flaring activities passed across the visible disk of the Sun during 2012-2015. In this study, we…
Aims. We investigate the configuration of a complex flux rope above a δ sunspot region in NOAA AR 11515, and its eruptive expansion during a confined M5.3-class flare. Methods. We study the formation of the δ sunspot using continuum intensity images and photospheric vector magnetograms provided by SDO/HMI. We use EUV and UV images provided by SDO/AIA, and hard X-ray emission recorded by RHESSI to investigate the eruptive details. The coronal magnetic field is extrapolated with a non-linear force free field (NLFFF) method, based on which the flux rope is identified by calculating the twist numb…
Brightenings AnD Polarity Inversion Tracking (BADPIT) method for studying solar active region evolution before major solar flares
University of Ioannina（约阿尼纳大学）；University of Sheffield（谢菲尔德大学）；Eötvös Loránd University（罗兰大学）；Gyula Bay Zoltán Solar Observatory (GSO)（久拉·巴伊·佐尔坦太阳观测站）；Hungarian Solar Physics Foundation (HSPF)（匈牙利太阳物理学基金会）；Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory（约翰斯·霍普金斯大学应用物理实验室）；Academy of Athens（雅典科学院）
We present our search for flares from M dwarf stars in the SkyMapper Southern Survey DR1, which covers nearly the full Southern hemisphere with six-filter sequences that are repeatedly observed in the passbands $uvgriz$. This allows us to identify bona-fide flares in single-epoch observations on timescales of less than four minutes. Using a correlation-based outlier search algorithm we find 254 flare events in the amplitude range of $Δu \sim 0.1$ to 5~mag. In agreement with previous work, we observe the flaring fraction of M dwarfs to increase from $\sim 30$ to $\sim $1,000 per million stars f…
Using the 135-second cadence of the photospheric vector data provided by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager telescope on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory, we examined the time-evolution of magnetic helicity fluxes across the photosphere during 16 flares with the energy class lower than M5.0. During the flare in 4 out of 16 events, we found impulsive changes in the helicity fluxes. This indicates that even the flare with less energy could be associated with anomalistic transportation of the magnetic helicity across the photosphere. Accompanying the impulsive helicity fluxes, the poynting f…
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), especially the larger ones, emanate from active regions (ARs). With the aim to understand the magnetic properties that govern such flares and eruptions, we systematically survey all flare events with GOES levels of >=M5.0 within 45 deg from disk center between May 2010 and April 2016. These criteria lead to a total of 51 flares from 29 ARs, for which we analyze the observational data obtained by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. More than 80% of the 29 ARs are found to exhibit delta-sunspots and at least three ARs violate Hale's polarity rule. The …
We present the quasi-periodic slipping motion of flux rope structures prior to the onset of an eruptive X-class flare on 2015 March 11, obtained by the \emph{Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph} (\emph{IRIS}) and the \emph{Solar Dynamics Observatory} (\emph{SDO}). The slipping motion occurred at the north part of the flux rope and seemed to successively peel off the flux rope. The speed of the slippage was 30$-$40 km s$^{-1}$, with an average period of 130$\pm$30 s. The Si {\sc iv} 1402.77 Å line showed a redshift of 10$-$30 km s$^{-1}$ and a line width of 50$-$120 km s$^{-1}$ at the west le…
The aim of the present work is to specify the spatio-temporal characteristics of flare activity observed by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) satellites in connection with the behaviour of the longitudinal domain of enhanced sunspot activity known as active longitude (AL). By using our method developed for this purpose, we identified the AL in every Carrington Rotation provided by the Debrecen Photoheliographic Data (DPD). The spatial probability of flare occurrence has been estimated depending on the …
NOAA活动区AR 11029是一个小但高度活跃的太阳黑子区，产生了73个GOES软X射线耀斑。耀斑似乎显示出偏离众所周知的幂律频率大小分布。具体来说，与幂律分布相比，观测到的GOES C级耀斑太少，没有M级耀斑（Wheatland in Astrophys. J. 710，1324，2010）。这被认为是由于该地区没有足够的磁能来为大型事件提供动力。我们构造的非线性无力外推的活动区AR 11029的日冕磁场使用的数据10月24日由SOLIS矢量分光磁力仪（SOLIS/VSM），并于10月27日由日之出太阳光学望远镜分光偏振仪（日之出/SP）。用光球磁图数据进行无力建模遇到了问题，因为磁图数据与无力模型不一致，我们采用了最近开发的“自洽”程序，该程序解决了这一问题，并适应了边界数据中的不确定性（Wheatland和Regnier in Astrophys. J. 700，L88，2009）。我们计算了自洽解的总能量和自由能，发现10月24日的自由能为4 × 10^29尔格，10月27日的自由能为7 × 10^31尔格。RHESSI非热能和GOES峰值X射线通量之间的一个数量级标度建立从一个样本的耀斑从文献中，并用于估计耀斑能量从观测到的GOES峰值X射线通量。基于标度，我们得出结论，估计的自由能AR 11029 10月27日的耀斑速率达到峰值时，是足够的权力M级或X级耀斑，因此，模…
Context: Many previous studies have shown that the magnetic precursor of a coronal mass ejection (CME) takes the form of a magnetic flux rope, and a subset of them have become known as `hot flux ropes' due to their emission signatures in $\sim$10 MK plasma. Aims: We seek to identify the processes by which these hot flux ropes form, with a view of developing our understanding of CMEs and thereby improving space weather forecasts. Methods: Extreme-ultraviolet observations were used to identify five pre-eruptive hot flux ropes in the solar corona and study how they evolved. Confined flares were o…
Solar active region jets are small-scale collimated plasma eruptions that are triggered from magnetic sites embedded in sunspot penumbral regions. Multiple trigger mechanisms for recurrent jets are under debate. Vector magnetic field data from SDO-HMI observations are used to analyze a prolific photospheric configuration, identified in extreme ultraviolet observations as a `Coronal Geyser', that triggered a set of at least 10 recurrent solar active region jets. We focus on interpreting the magnetic fields of small-scale flaring sites aiming to understand the processes that govern recurrent jet…
