Excitation of Oscillations in Photospheric Flux Tubes through Buffeting by External Granules

Abstract

We examine the excitation of transverse (kink) and longitudinal (sausage) waves in magnetic flux tubes by granules in the solar photosphere. The investigation is motivated by the interpretation of network oscillations in terms of flux tube waves. We model the interaction between a granule, with a specified transverse velocity, and a vertical flux tube in terms of the Klein-Gordon equation, which we solve analytically as an initial value problem for both wave modes, assuming the same external impulse. The calculations show that for magnetic field strengths typical of the network, the energy flux in transverse waves is higher than in longitudinal waves by an order of magnitude, in agreement with the chromospheric power spectrum of network oscillations observed by Lites, Rutten, & Kalkofen. But for weaker fields, such as those that might be found in internetwork regions, the energy fluxes in the two modes are comparable. This result implies that if there are internetwork oscillations in magnetic flux tubes, they must show the cutoff periods of both longitudinal and transverse modes at 3 minutes and at 7 minutes or longer. We also find that granules with speeds of about 2 km s-1 can efficiently excite transverse oscillations in frequent short-duration (typically 1 minute) bursts that can heat the corona.