Bo Nyborg Andersen

Virgo: Experiment for Helioseismology and Solar Irradiance Monitoring

The scientific objective of the VIRGO experiment (Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations) is to determine the characteristics of pressure and internal gravity oscillations by observing irradiance and radiance variations, to measure the solar total and spectral irradiance and to quantify their variability over periods of days to the duration of the mission. With these data helioseismological methods can be used to probe the solar interior. Certain characteristics of convection and its interaction with magnetic fields, related to, for example, activity, will be studied from the results of the irradiance monitoring and from the comparison of amplitudes and phases of the oscillations as manifest in brightness from VIRGO, in velocity from GOLF, and in both velocity and continuum intensity from SOI/MDI. The VIRGO experiment contains two different active-cavity radiometers for monitoring the solar ‘constant‘, two three-channel sunphotometers (SPM) for the measurement of the spectral irradiance at 402, 500 and 862 nm, and a low-resolution imager (LOI) with 12 pixels, for the measurement of the radiance distribution over the solar disk at 500 nm. In this paper the scientific objectives of VIRGO are presented, the instruments and the data acquisition and control system are described in detail, and their measured performance is given.

Observational Upper Limits to Low-Degree Solar g-Modes

Observations made by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) and Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations (VIRGO) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and by the ground-based Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON) and Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG) have been used in a concerted effort to search for solar gravity oscillations. All spectra are dominated by solar noise in the frequency region from 100 to 1000 μHz, where g-modes are expected to be found. Several methods have been used in an effort to extract any g-mode signal present. These include (1) the correlation of data—both full-disk and imaged (with different spatial-mask properties)—collected over different time intervals from the same instrument, (2) the correlation of near-contemporaneous data from different instruments, and (3) the extraction—through the application of complex filtering techniques—of the coherent part of data collected at different heights in the solar atmosphere. The detection limit is set by the loss of coherence caused by the temporal evolution and the motion (e.g., rotation) of superficial structures. Although we cannot identify any g-mode signature, we have nevertheless set a firm upper limit to the amplitudes of the modes: at 200 μHz, they are below 10 mm s-1 in velocity, and below 0.5 parts per million in intensity. The velocity limit corresponds very approximately to a peak-to-peak vertical displacement of δR/R☉ = 2.3 × 10-8 at the solar surface. These levels which are much lower than prior claims, are consistent with theoretical predictions.

The quest for the solar g modes

Solar gravity modes (or g modes)—oscillations of the solar interior on which buoyancy acts as the restoring force—have the potential to provide unprecedented inference on the structure and dynamics of the solar core, inference that is not possible with the well-observed acoustic modes (or p modes). The relative high amplitude of the g-mode eigenfunctions in the core and the evanesence of the modes in the convection zone make the modes particularly sensitive to the physical and dynamical conditions in the core. Owing to the existence of the convection zone, the g modes have very low amplitudes at photospheric levels, which makes the modes extremely hard to detect. In this article, we review the current state of play regarding attempts to detect g modes. We review the theory of g modes, including theoretical estimation of the g-mode frequencies, amplitudes and damping rates. Then we go on to discuss the techniques that have been used to try to detect g modes. We review results in the literature, and finish by looking to the future, and the potential advances that can be made—from both data and data-analysis perspectives—to give unambiguous detections of individual g modes. The review ends by concluding that, at the time of writing, there is indeed a consensus amongst the authors that there is currently no undisputed detection of solar g modes.

FIRST RESULTS FROM VIRGO, THE EXPERIMENT FOR HELIOSEISMOLOGY AND SOLAR IRRADIANCE MONITORING ON SOHO

First results from the VIRGO experiment (Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations) on the ESA/NASA Mission SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) are reported. The observations started mid-January 1996 for the radiometers and sunphotometers and near the end of March for the luminosity oscillation imager. The performance of all the instruments is very good, and the time series of the first 4 - 6 months are evaluated in terms of solar irradiance variability, solar background noise characteristics and -mode oscillations. The solar irradiance is modulated by the passage of active regions across the disk, but not all of the modulation is straightforwardly explained in terms of sunspot flux blocking and facular enhancement. Helioseismic inversions of the observed -mode frequencies are more-or-less in agreement with the latest standard solar models. The comparison of VIRGO results with earlier ones shows evidence that magnetic activity plays a significant role in the dynamics of the oscillations beyond its modulation of the resonant frequencies. Moreover, by comparing the amplitudes of different components of -mode multiplets, each of which are influenced differently by spatial inhomogeneity, we have found that activity enhances excitation.

Tri-Phonic Helioseismology: Comparison of Solar p Modes Observed by the Helioseismology Instruments Aboard SOHO

The three helioseismology instruments aboard SOHO observe solar p modes in velocity (GOLF and MDI) and in intensity (VIRGO and MDI). Time series of two months duration are compared and confirm that the instruments indeed observe the same Sun to a high degree of precision. Power spectra of 108 days are compared showing systematic differences between mode frequencies measured in intensity and in velocity. Data coverage exceeds 97% for all the instruments during this interval. The weighted mean differences (V-I) are −0.1 µHz for l=0, and −0.16 µHz for l=1. The source of this systematic difference may be due to an asymmetry effect that is stronger for modes seen in intensity. Wavelet analysis is also used to compare the shape of the forcing functions. In these data sets nearly all of the variations in mode amplitude are of solar origin. Some implications for structure inversions are discussed.

Virgo-solar irradiance and radiance monitoring on SOHO

Abstract The main scientific objective of the VIRGO Experiment (Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations) on SOHO is to probe the solar interior by helioseismology with p- and g-mode solar oscillations determined from spectral irradiance (SPM) and radiance (LOI) variations on time scales of minutes to the mission time. The emphasis will be on the physical and dynamic structure in the vicinity of the solar core. In combination with the two other Helioseismology experiments on SOHO one will study excitation and damping of p and possibly global g-modes. Moreover, the measurements of the variability of the solar “constant” and spectral irradiance over periods of days to the mission time will yield information about solar surface structures, the solar flux budget and accurate inputs for terrestrial climate modelling. The VIRGO experiment contains two types of active cavity radiometers for monitoring of the solar “constant”, two three channel sunphotometers (SPM) for the measurement of spectral irradiance at 395, 500 and 865 nm and a low resolution imager (LOI) with 12 pixels. The status of the instrument development will be described.

IN-FLIGHT PERFORMANCE OF THE VIRGO LUMINOSITY OSCILLATIONS IMAGER ABOARD SOHO

The Luminosity Oscillations Imager (LOI) is a part of the VIRGO instrument aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The scientific objective of the LOI experiment is to identify and characterize pressure and internal gravity oscillations of the Sun by observing the radiance variations. The LOI is a low-resolution imager with 12 pixels, for the measurement of the radiance distribution over the solar disk at 500 nm. The low resolution capability of the instrument allows the identification of individual azimuthal orders for 0 to 7, without suffering the mixing that affects integrated solar disk instruments. The performance, calibrations and instrumental effects of the LOI are described together with the procedures for extracting the solar modes.

Wavelet decomposition of global solar oscillations

The authors have calculated the wavelet transform of so-called helio-seismological data from the IPHIR experiment onboard the Soviet Phobos spacecraft. The mother wavelet was a modified Morlet-Grossmann wavelet. The results show that the solar oscillations have a non-stationary character, with global oscillation modes being excited and damped out at apparently random times.<<ETX>>