Debi Prasad Choudhary

Successive solar flares and coronal mass ejections on 2005 September 13 from NOAA AR 10808

We present a multiwavelength study of the 2005 September 13 eruption from NOAA AR 10808 that produced total four flares and two fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) within ~1.5 hr. Our primary attention is paid to the fact that these eruptions occurred in close succession in time, and that all of them were located along an S-shaped magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL) of the active region. In our analysis, (1) the disturbance created by the first flare propagated southward along the PIL to cause a major filament eruption that led to the first CME and the associated second flare underneath. (2) The first CME partially removed the overlying magnetic fields over the northern ? spot to allow the third flare and the second CME. (3) The ribbon separation during the fourth flare would indicate reclosing of the overlying field lines opened by the second CME. It is thus concluded that these series of flares and CMEs are interrelated to each other via magnetic reconnections between the expanding magnetic structure and the nearby magnetic fields. These results complement previous works made on this event with the suggested causal relationship among the successive eruptions.

A STUDY OF THE HEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRY OF SUNSPOT AREA DURING SOLAR CYCLES 23 AND 24

Solar activity indices vary over the Suns disk, and various activity parameters are not considered to be symmetric between the northern and southern hemispheres of the Sun. The north-south asymmetry of different solar indices provides an important clue to understanding subphotospheric dynamics and solar dynamo action, especially with regard to nonlinear dynamo models. In the present work, we study the statistical significance of the north-south asymmetry of sunspot areas for the complete solar cycle 23 (1996-2008) and rising branch of cycle 24 (first 45 months). The preferred hemisphere in each year of cycles 23 and 24 has been identified by calculating the probability of hemispheric distribution of sunspot areas. The statistically significant intermediate-term periodicities of the north-south asymmetry of sunspot area data have also been investigated using Lomb-Scargle and wavelet techniques. A number of short- and mid-term periods including the best-known Rieger one (150-160 days) are detected in cycle 23 and near Rieger-type periods during cycle 24, and most of them are found to be time variable. We present our results and discuss their possible explanations with the help of theoretical models and observations.

Flow Field Evolution of a Decaying Sunspot

We study the evolution of the flows and horizontal proper motions in and around a decaying follower sunspot based on time sequences of two-dimensional spectroscopic observations in the visible and white-light imaging data obtained over 6 days from 2005 June 7 to 12. During this time period the sunspot decayed gradually to a pore. The spectroscopic observations were obtained with the Fabry-Perot-based Visible-Light Imaging Magnetograph (VIM) in conjunction with the high-order adaptive optics (AO) system operated at the 65 cm vacuum reflector of the Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO). We apply local correlation tracking (LCT) to the speckle-reconstructed time sequences of white-light images around 600 nm to infer horizontal proper motions, while the Doppler shifts of the scanned Fe I line at 630.15 nm are used to calculate line-of-sight (LOS) velocities with subarcsecond resolution. We find that the dividing line between radial inward and outward proper motions in the inner and outer penumbra, respectively, survives the decay phase. In particular the moat flow is still detectable after the penumbra disappeared. Based on our observations, three major processes removed flux from the sunspot: (1) fragmentation of the umbra, (2) flux cancelation of moving magnetic features (MMFs; of the same polarity as the sunspot) that encounter the leading opposite polarity network and plages areas, and (3) flux transport by MMFs (of the same polarity as the sunspot) to the surrounding network and plage regions that have the same polarity as the sunspot.

A practical approach to coronal magnetic field extrapolation based on the principle of minimum dissipation rate

We present a newly developed approach to solar coronal magnetic field extrapolation from vector magnetograms, based on the principle of minimum dissipation rate (MDR). The MDR system was derived from a variational problem that is more suitable for an open and externally driven system, like the solar corona. The resulting magnetic field equation is more general than force-free. Its solution can be expressed as the superposition of two linear (constant-α) force-free fields (LFFFs) with distinct α parameters, and one potential field. Thus, the original extrapolation problem is decomposed into three LFFF extrapolations, utilizing boundary data. The full MDR-based approach requires two layers of vector magnetograph measurements on the solar surface, while a slightly modified practical approach only requires one. We test both approaches against three-dimensional MHD simulation data in a finite volume. Both yield quantitatively good results. The errors in the magnetic energy estimate are within a few percent. In particular, the main features of relatively strong perpendicular current density structures, representative of the non-force-freeness of the solution, are well recovered.

FAST INVERSION OF SOLAR Ca II SPECTRA

We present a fast (<<1 s per profile) inversion code for solar Ca II lines. The code uses an archive of spectra that are synthesized prior to the inversion under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). We show that it can be successfully applied to spectrograph data or more sparsely sampled spectra from two-dimensional spectrometers. From a comparison to a non-LTE inversion of the same set of spectra, we derive a first-order non-LTE correction to the temperature stratifications derived in the LTE approach. The correction factor is close to unity up to log τ ∼ –3 and increases to values of 2.5 and 4 at log τ = –6 in the quiet Sun and the umbra, respectively.

He I D3 Observations of the 1984 May 22 M6.3 Solar Flare

The He I D3 line has a unique response to a flare impact on the low solar atmosphere and can be a powerful diagnostic tool for energy transport processes. Using images obtained from the recently digitized films of the Big Bear Solar Observatory, we report D3 observations of the M6.3 flare on 1984 May 22, which occurred in an active region with a circular magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL). The impulsive phase of the flare starts with a main elongated source that darkens in D3, inside of which bright emission kernels appear at the time of the initial small peak in hard X-rays (HXRs). These flare cores subsequently evolve into a sharp emission strand lying within the dark halo; this evolution occurs at the same time as the main peak in HXRs, reversing the overall source contrast from ?5% to 5%. The radiated energy in D3 during the main peak is estimated to be about 1030 erg, which is comparable to that carried by nonthermal electrons above 20?keV. Afterward, the flare proceeds along the circular PIL in the counterclockwise direction to form a dark circular ribbon in D3, which apparently mirrors the bright ribbons in H? and He I 10830 ?. All of these ribbons last for over one hour in the late gradual phase. We suggest that the present event resembles the so-called black-light flare that was proposed based on continuum images, and that D3 darkening and brightening features herein may be due to thermal conduction heating and the direct precipitation of high-energy electrons, respectively.

A THREE-DIMENSIONAL VIEW OF THE THERMAL STRUCTURE IN A SUPER-PENUMBRAL CANOPY

We investigate the three-dimensional (3D) thermal topology in a super-penumbral canopy of an active region (AR). We derive temperature stratifications in the AR by an inversion of the Ca II IR line at 854.2 nm, assuming local thermal equilibrium. We find that about half of the radially oriented fibrils in the super-penumbral canopy form short, low-lying (h < 1 Mm) loops in the 3D temperature cube. These closed loops connect from bright grains in or close to the penumbra to the photosphere a few Mms away from the sunspot. The other half of the fibrils monotonically rise with distance from the sunspot. Many of the fibrils show a central dark core and two lateral brightenings in line-core intensity images. The corresponding velocity image shows fibrils that are as wide as the fibrils seen in intensity without a lateral substructure. Additionally, we study a feature from a different class of structures without prominent mass flows. Its 3D topology is formed by two parallel, closed loops that connect patches of opposite polarity. We present evidence that the inverse Evershed flow into the sunspot in the lower chromosphere is the consequence of siphon flows along short loops that connect photospheric foot points. The dark-cored structure of the chromospheric fibrils cannot have a convective origin because of their location above regular granulation. The dark core most likely results from an opacity difference between the central axis and the lateral edges caused by the significant flow speed along the fibrils.

Multiwavelength Diagnostics of the Precursor and Main Phases of an M1.8 Flare on 2011 April 22

We study the temporal, spatial and spectral evolution of the M1.8 flare, which occurred in the active region 11195 (S17E31) on 2011 April 22, and explore the underlying physical processes during the precursor phase and their relation to the main phase. The study of the source morphology using the composite images in 131 wavelength observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and 6-14 kiloelectronvolts [from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)] revealed a multi-loop system that destabilized systematically during the precursor and main phases. In contrast, hard X-ray emission (20-50 kiloelectronvolts) was absent during the precursor phase, appearing only from the onset of the impulsive phase in the form of foot-points of emitting loops. This study also revealed the heated loop-top prior to the loop emission, although no accompanying foot-point sources were observed during the precursor phase. We estimate the flare plasma parameters, namely temperature (T), emission measure (EM), power-law index (gamma) and photon turn-over energy (to), and found them to be varying in the ranges 12.4-23.4 megakelvins, 0.0003-0.6 x 10 (sup 49) per cubic centimeter, 5-9 and 14-18 kiloelectronvolts, respectively, by forward fitting RHESSI spectral observations. The energy released in the precursor phase was thermal and constituted approximately 1 percent of the total energy released during the flare. The study of morphological evolution of the filament in conjunction with synthesized T and EM maps was carried out, which reveals (a) partial filament eruption prior to the onset of the precursor emission and (b) heated dense plasma over the polarity inversion line and in the vicinity of the slowly rising filament during the precursor phase. Based on the implications from multiwavelength observations, we propose a scheme to unify the energy release during the precursor and main phase emissions in which the precursor phase emission was originated via conduction front that resulted due to the partial filament eruption. Next, the heated leftover S-shaped filament underwent slow-rise and heating due to magnetic reconnection and finally erupted to produce emission during the impulsive and gradual phases.

Large Field-of-view KD*P Modulator for Solar Polarization Measurements

This paper will describe the evolution of the Marshall Space Flight Centers (MSFC) electro-optical polarimeter with emphasis on the field-of-view characteristics of the KD*P modulator. Understanding those characteristics was essential to the success of the MSFC solar vector magnetograph. The paper will show how the field-of-view errors of KD*P look similar to the linear polarization patterns seen in simple sunspots and why the placement of the KD*P in a collimated beam was essential in separating the instrumental polarization from the solar signal. Finally, this paper will describe a modulator design which minimizes those field-of-view errors.

Statistical Investigation of Supersonic Downflows in the Transition Region above Sunspots

Downflows at supersonic speeds have been observed in the transition region (TR) above sunspots for more than three decades. These downflows are often seen in different TR spectral lines above sunspots. We have performed a statistical investigation of these downflows using a large sample which was missing earlier. The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) has provided a wealth of observational data of sunspots at high spatial and spectral resolution in the past few years. We have identified sixty datasets obtained with IRIS raster scans. Using an automated code, we identified the locations of strong downflows within these sunspots. We found that around eighty percent of our sample show supersonic downflows in the Si IV 1403 {\AA} line. These downflows mostly appear in the penumbral regions, though some of them are found in the umbrae. We also found that almost half of these downflows show signatures in chromospheric lines. Furthermore, a detailed spectral analysis was performed by selecting a small spectral window containing the O IV 1400/1401 {\AA} and Si IV 1403 {\AA} lines. Six Gaussian functions were simultaneously fitted to these three spectral lines and their satellite lines associated with the supersonic downflows. We calculated the intensity, Doppler velocity and line width for these lines. Using the O IV 1400/1401 {\AA} line ratio, we find that the downflow components are around one order of magnitude less dense than the regular components. Results from our statistical analysis suggest that these downflows may originate from the corona and that they are independent of the background TR plasma.