Modulation of Acoustic Waves by Solar Convection

Abstract

Amplitude and phase of an acoustic oscillation in the solar convection zone vary in response to the local variation of the speed of sound and the convection velocity. Such wave modulation is considered by means of a two-dimensional periodic model, with alternating vertical channels of hot rising and cool sinking gas. According to this model, vertically propagating waves show only amplitude modulation. For low wave frequencies the amplitude is larger in the upflow channels, for high frequencies it is larger in the downflow channels. The transition occurs at a frequency for which the vertical wavelength is approximately equal to the horizontal period of the model. Waves with an inclined propagation direction show a similar amplitude modulation but, in addition, a modulation of their phase. The present results are compared with recent observational studies. There is evidence that wave modulation indeed occurs on the Sun, on the granular as well as on the mesogranular scale, in addition to the episodic amplitude enhancement that has been interpreted in terms of local acoustic events.