P. Preka-Papadema

On signal–noise decomposition of time-series using the continuous wavelet transform: application to sunspot index

We show that the continuous wavelet transform can provide a unique decomposition of a time-series into ‘signal-like’ and ‘noise-like’ components. From the overall wavelet spectrum, two mutually independent skeleton spectra can be extracted, allowing the separate detection and monitoring in even non-stationary time-series of the evolution of (i) both stable but also transient, evolving periodicities, such as the output of low-dimensional dynamical systems, and (ii) scale-invariant structures, such as discontinuities, self-similar structures or noise. The idea of the method is to keep from the overall wavelet expansion of the time-series only the wavelet components of locally maximal amplitude at any given time or scale, thus obtaining the instantly maximal and scale maximal wavelet skeleton spectrum, respectively. The scale maximal spectrum was previously proposed for studying possible multifractal scaling properties of time-series. The instantly maximal spectrum proposed here exhibits clearer spectral peaks and reduced noise, as compared to the overall wavelet spectrum. An indicative application to the monthly-averaged sunspot index reveals, apart from the well-known 11-yr periodicity, three of its harmonics, the 2-yr periodicity (quasi-biennial oscillation, QBO) and several more (some of which have been detected previously in various solar, Earth–solar connection and climate indices), here proposed as just harmonics of the QBO, in all supporting the double-cycle solar magnetic dynamo model. The scale maximal spectrum reveals the presence of 1/f fluctuations with time-scales up to 1 yr in the sunspot number, indicating that the solar magnetic configurations involved in the transient solar activity phenomena with those characteristic time-scales are in a self-organized critical state, as previously proposed for the solar flare occurrence.

Wavelet Analysis on Solar Wind Parameters and Geomagnetic Indices

The geomagnetic activity is the result of the solar wind–magnetosphere interaction. It varies following the basic 11-year solar cycle; yet shorter time-scale variations appear intermittently. We study the quasi-periodic behavior of the characteristics of solar wind (speed, temperature, pressure, density) and the interplanetary magnetic field (Bx, By, Bz, β, Alfvén Mach number) and the variations of the geomagnetic activity indices (DST, AE, Ap and Kp). In the analysis of the corresponding 14 time series, which span four solar cycles (1966 – 2010), we use both a wavelet expansion and the Lomb/Scargle periodograms. Our results verify intermittent periodicities in our time-series data, which correspond to already known solar activity variations on timescales shorter than the sunspot cycle; some of these are shared between the solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices.

On the relationship of shock waves to flares and coronal mass ejections

Context: Metric type II bursts are the most direct diagnostic of shock waves in the solar corona. Aims: There are two main competing views about the origin of coronal shocks: that they originate in either blast waves ignited by the pressure pulse of a flare or piston-driven shocks due to coronal mass ejections (CMEs). We studied three well-observed type II bursts in an attempt to place tighter constraints on their origins. Methods: The type II bursts were observed by the ARTEMIS radio spectrograph and imaged by the Nan\c{c}ay Radioheliograph (NRH) at least at two frequencies. To take advantage of projection effects, we selected events that occurred away from disk center. Results: In all events, both flares and CMEs were observed. In the first event, the speed of the shock was about 4200 km/s, while the speed of the CME was about 850 km/s. This discrepancy ruled out the CME as the primary shock driver. The CME may have played a role in the ignition of another shock that occurred just after the high speed one. A CME driver was excluded from the second event as well because the CMEs that appeared in the coronagraph data were not synchronized with the type II burst. In the third event, the kinematics of the CME which was determined by combining EUV and white light data was broadly consistent with the kinematics of the type II burst, and, therefore, the shock was probably CME-driven. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the diversity of conditions that may lead to the generation of coronal shocks.

The improved ARTEMIS IV multichannel solar radio spectrograph of the University of Athens

We present the improved solar radio spectrograph of the University of Athens operating at the Thermopylae Satellite Telecommunication Station. Observations now cover the frequency range from 20 to 650 MHz. The spectrograph has a 7-meter moving parabola fed by a log-periodic antenna for 100–650 MHz and a stationary inverted V fat dipole antenna for the 20–100 MHz range. Two receivers are operating in parallel, one swept frequency for the whole range (10 spectrums/sec, 630 channels/spectrum) and one acousto-optical receiver for the range 270 to 450 MHz (100 spectrums/sec, 128 channels/spectrum). The data acquisition system consists of two PCs (equipped with 12 bit, 225 ksamples/sec ADC, one for each receiver). Sensitivity is about 3 SFU and 30 SFU in the 20–100 MHz and 100–650 MHz range respectively. The daily operation is fully automated: receiving universal time from a GPS, pointing the antenna to the sun, system calibration, starting and stopping the observations at preset times, data acquisition, and archiving on DVD. We can also control the whole system through modem or Internet. The instrument can be used either by itself or in conjunction with other instruments to study the onset and evolution of solar radio bursts and associated interplanetary phenomena.

Thermal and Chemical Structure Variations in Titan's Stratosphere during the Cassini Mission

We have developed a line-by-line Atmospheric Radiative Transfer for Titan code that includes the most recent laboratory spectroscopic data and haze descriptions relative to Titans stratosphere. We use this code to model Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer data taken during the numerous Titan flybys from 2006 to 2012 at surface-intercepting geometry in the 600-1500 cm–1 range for latitudes from 50°S to 50°N. We report variations in temperature and chemical composition in the stratosphere during the Cassini mission, before and after the Northern Spring Equinox (NSE). We find indication for a weakening of the temperature gradient with warming of the stratosphere and cooling of the lower mesosphere. In addition, we infer precise concentrations for the trace gases and their main isotopologues and find that the chemical composition in Titans stratosphere varies significantly with latitude during the 6 years investigated here, with increased mixing ratios toward the northern latitudes. In particular, we monitor and quantify the amplitude of a maximum enhancement of several gases observed at northern latitudes up to 50°N around mid-2009, at the time of the NSE. We find that this rise is followed by a rapid decrease in chemical inventory in 2010 probably due to a weakening north polar vortex with reduced lateral mixing across the vortex boundary.

Solar type II and type IV radio bursts observed during 1998–2000 with the ARTEMIS-IV radiospectrograph

A catalogue of the type II and type IV solar radio bursts in the 110-687 MHz range, observed with the radio spectrograph ARTEMIS-IV operated by the University of Athens at Thermopylae, Greece from 1998-2000 is presented. These observations are compared with the LASCO archives of Coronal Mass Ejections and the Solar Geophysical Reports of solar flares (Ha & SXR) and examined for possible associations. The main results are: - 68% of the catalogue events were associated with CMEs. - 67% of the type II events were associated with CMEs, in accordance with previous results. This percentage rises to 79% in the case of composite type II/IV events. - 77% of the type IV continua were associated with CMEs, which is higher that the CME-type II association probability. - The type II associated CMEs had an average velocity of (835 ± 380) km s -1 , while the CMEs not associated with type IIs had an average velocity of (500 ± 150) km s -1 . - All events, but one, were well associated with Ha and/or SXR flares. - Most of the CME launch times precede by 5-60 min (30 min on average) the associated SXR flare peak; an important fraction (72%) precede the flare onset as well.

CME Expansion as the Driver of Metric Type II Shock Emission as Revealed by Self-consistent Analysis of High-Cadence EUV Images and Radio Spectrograms

On 13 June 2010, an eruptive event occurred near the solar limb. It included a small filament eruption and the onset of a relatively narrow coronal mass ejection (CME) surrounded by an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wave front recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory’s (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) at high cadence. The ejection was accompanied by a GOES M1.0 soft X-ray flare and a Type-II radio burst; high-resolution dynamic spectra of the latter were obtained by the Appareil de Routine pour le Traitement et l’Enregistrement Magnetique de l’Information Spectral (ARTEMIS IV) radio spectrograph. The combined observations enabled a study of the evolution of the ejecta and the EUV wave front and its relationship with the coronal shock manifesting itself as metric Type-II burst. By introducing a novel technique, which deduces a proxy of the EUV compression ratio from AIA imaging data and compares it with the compression ratio deduced from the band-split of the Type-II metric radio burst, we are able to infer the potential source locations of the radio emission of the shock on that AIA images. Our results indicate that the expansion of the CME ejecta is the source for both EUV and radio shock emissions. Early in the CME expansion phase, the Type-II burst seems to originate in the sheath region between the EUV bubble and the EUV shock front in both radial and lateral directions. This suggests that both the nose and the flanks of the expanding bubble could have driven the shock.

Time evolution of cosmic-ray intensity and solar flare index at the maximum phase of cycles 21 and 22

Abstract Analysis of the time series into trigonometric series allows the investigation of cosmic-ray (CR) intensity variations in a range of periodicities from a few days to 1 year. By this technique the amplitude and the phase of all observed fluctuations can be given. For this purpose, daily CR intensity values recorded at Climax Neutron Monitor station for the time intervals 1979–1982 and 1989–1991, which correspond to the epochs of maximum activity for solar cycles 21 and 22, respectively, have been studied. The data analysis revealed the occurrence of new periodicities, common or not, in the two solar maxima. A search of our results was done by a power spectral analysis determining independently possible systematic periodic or quasi-periodic variations. Based on the fact that during these maxima the CR intensity tracks the solar flare index better than the sunspot number, the same analysis was performed on these data, which are equivalent to the total energy emitted by the solar flares. Both analyses result in periodicities with different probability of occurrence in different epochs. Occurrence at peaks of 70, 56, 35, 27, 21 and 14- days were observed in all time series, while the periods of 140–154 and 105 days are reported only in the 21st solar maximum and are of particular importance. All of the short-term periods except of those at 27 and 154-days are recorded for first time in CR data, but they had already been observed in the solar activity parameters. Moreover, each parameter studied here has a very different power spectrum distribution in periods larger than 154 days. The possible origin of the observed variations in terms of the CR interaction in the upper atmosphere and the solar cavity dynamics is also discussed here.

28 OCTOBER 2003 FLARE: HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA EMISSION, TYPE II RADIO EMISSION AND SOLAR PARTICLE OBSERVATIONS

The 28 October 2003 flare gave us the unique opportunity to compare the acceleration time of high-energy protons with the escaping time of those particles which have been measured onboard spacecraft and by neutron monitors network as GLE event. High-energy emission time scale and shock wave height and velocity time dependencies were also studied.

The relativistic solar particle event of 2005 January 20: origin of delayed particle acceleration

The highest energies of solar energetic nucleons detected in space or through gamma-ray emission in the solar atmosphere are in the GeV range. Where and how the particles are accelerated is still controversial. We search for observational information on the location and nature of the acceleration region(s) by comparing the timing of relativistic protons detected on Earth and radiative signatures in the solar atmosphere during the particularly well-observed 2005 Jan. 20 event. This investigation focuses on the post-impulsive flare phase, where a second peak was observed in the relativistic proton time profile by neutron monitors. This time profile is compared in detail with UV imaging and radio spectrography over a broad frequency band from the low corona to interplanetary space. It is shown that the late relativistic proton release to interplanetary space was accompanied by a distinct new episode of energy release and electron acceleration in the corona traced by the radio emission and by brightenings of UV kernels. These signatures are interpreted in terms of magnetic restructuring in the corona after the coronal mass ejection passage. We attribute the delayed relativistic proton acceleration to magnetic reconnection and possibly to turbulence in large-scale coronal loops. While Type II radio emission was observed in the high corona, no evidence of a temporal relationship with the relativistic proton acceleration was found.