Hinode Data Research Articles

Rapid changes of sunspot structure associated with solar eruptions

AbstractIn this paper we summarize the studies of flare-related changes of photospheric magnetic fields. When vector magnetograms are available, we always find an increase of transverse field at the polarity inversion line (PIL). We also discuss 1 minute cadence line-of-sight MDI magnetogram observations, which usually show prominent changes of magnetic flux contained in the flaring δ spot region. The observed limb-ward flux increases while disk-ward flux decreases rapidly and irreversibly after flares. These observations provides evidences, either direct or indirect, for the theory and prediction of Hudson, Fisher & Welsch (2008) that the photospheric magnetic fields would respond to coronal field restructuring and turn to a more horizontal state near the PIL after eruptions. From the white-light observations, we find that at flaring PIL, the structure becomes darker after an eruption, while the peripheral penumbrae decay. Using high-resolution Hinode data, we find evidence that only dark fibrils in the “uncombed” penumbral structure disappear while the bright grains evolve to G-band bright points after flares.

ON THE SOLAR CHROMOSPHERE OBSERVED AT THE LIMB WITHHINODE

Broad-band images in the Ca II H line, from the BFI instrument on the Hinode spacecraft, show emission from spicules emerging from and visible right down to the observed limb. Surprisingly, little absorption of spicule light is seen along their lengths. We present formal solutions to the transfer equation for given (ad-hoc) source functions, including a stratified chromosphere from which spicules emanate. The model parameters are broadly compatible with earlier studies of spicules. The visibility of Ca II spicules down to the limb in Hinode data seems to require that spicule emission be Doppler shifted relative to the stratified atmosphere, either by supersonic turbulent or organized spicular motion. The non-spicule component of the chromosphere is almost invisible in the broad band BFI data, but we predict that it will be clearly visible in high spectral resolution data. Broad band Ca II H limb images give the false impression that the chromosphere is dominated by spicules. Our analysis serves as a reminder that the absence of a signature can be as significant as its presence.

HIGH-RESOLUTION HELIOSEISMIC IMAGING OF SUBSURFACE STRUCTURES AND FLOWS OF A SOLAR ACTIVE REGION OBSERVED BYHINODE

We analyze a solar active region observed by the Hinode CaII H line using the time-distance helioseismology technique, and infer wave-speed perturbation structures and flow fields beneath the active region with a high spatial resolution. The general subsurface wave-speed structure is similar to the previous results obtained from SOHO/MDI observations. The general subsurface flow structure is also similar, and the downward flows beneath the sunspot and the mass circulations around the sunspot are clearly resolved. Below the sunspot, some organized divergent flow cells are observed, and these structures may indicate the existence of mesoscale convective motions. Near the light bridge inside the sunspot, hotter plasma is found beneath, and flows divergent from this area are observed. The Hinode data also allow us to investigate potential uncertainties caused by the use of phase-speed filter for short travel distances. Comparing the measurements with and without the phase-speed filtering, we find out that inside the sunspot, mean acoustic travel times are in basic agreement, but the values are underestimated by a factor of 20-40% inside the sunspot umbra for measurements with the filtering. The initial acoustic tomography results from Hinode show a great potential of using high-resolution observations for probing the internal structure and dynamics of sunspots.

Parameters of the Magnetic Flux inside Coronal Holes

The parameters of the magnetic flux distribution inside low-latitude coronal holes (CHs) were analyzed. A statistical study of 44 CHs based on Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/MDI full disk magnetograms and SOHO/EIT 284 Å images showed that the density of the net magnetic flux, B net, does not correlate with the associated solar wind speeds, V x . Both the area and net flux of CHs correlate with the solar wind speed and the corresponding spatial Pearson correlation coefficients are 0.75 and 0.71, respectively. A possible explanation for the low correlation between B net and V x is proposed. The observed non-correlation might be rooted in the structural complexity of the magnetic field. As a measure of the complexity of the magnetic field, the filling factor, f(r), was calculated as a function of spatial scales. In CHs, f(r) was found to be nearly constant at scales above 2 Mm, which indicates a monofractal structural organization and smooth temporal evolution. The magnitude of the filling factor is 0.04 from the Hinode SOT/SP data and 0.07 from the MDI/HR data. The Hinode data show that at scales smaller than 2 Mm, the filling factor decreases rapidly, which means a multifractal structure and highly intermittent, burst-like energy release regime. The absence of the necessary complexity in CH magnetic fields at scales above 2 Mm seems to be the most plausible reason why the net magnetic flux density does not seem to be related to the solar wind speed: the energy release dynamics, needed for solar wind acceleration, appears to occur at small scales below 1 Mm.

EVOLUTION OF OPTICAL PENUMBRAL AND SHEAR FLOWS ASSOCIATED WITH THE X3.4 FLARE OF 2006 DECEMBER 13

The rapid and irreversible decay of penumbrae related to X-class flares has been found in a number of studies. Since the optical penumbral flows are closely associated with the morphology of sunspot penumbra, we use state-of-the-art Hinode data to track penumbral flows in flaring active regions as well as shear flows close to the flaring neutral line. This paper concentrates on AR 10930 around the time of an X3.4 flare on 2006 December 13. We utilize the seeing-free solar optical telescope G-band data as a tracer to obtain the horizontal component of the penumbral and shear flows by local correlation tracking, and Stokes-V data to register positive and negative magnetic elements along the magnetic neutral line. We find that: (1) an obvious penumbral decay appears in this active region intimately associated with the X3.4 flare; (2) the mean magnitude of the horizontal speeds of the penumbral flows within the penumbral decay areas temporally and spatially varies from 0.6 to 1.1 km s?1; (3) the penumbral flow decreases before the flare eruption in two of the four penumbral decay areas; (4) the mean shear flows along the magnetic neutral line of this ?-sunspot started to decrease before the flare and continue to decrease for another hour after the flare. The magnitude of this flow apparently dropped from 0.6 to 0.3 km s?1. We propose that the decays of the penumbra and the penumbral flow are related to the magnetic rearrangement involved in the coronal mass ejection/flare events.

Jets in Coronal Holes: Hinode Observations and Three-dimensional Computer Modeling

Recent observations of coronal hole areas with the XRT and EIS instruments on board the Hinode satellite have shown with unprecedented detail the launching of fast, hot jets away from the solar surface. In some cases these events coincide with episodes of flux emergence from beneath the photosphere. In this Letter we show results of a three-dimensional numerical experiment of flux emergence from the solar interior into a coronal hole and compare them with simultaneous XRT and EIS observations of a jet-launching event that accompanied the appearance of a bipolar region in MDI magnetograms. The magnetic skeleton and topology that result in the experiment bear a strong resemblance to linear force-free extrapolations of the SOHO/MDI magnetograms. A thin current sheet is formed at the boundary of the emerging plasma. A jet is launched upward along the open reconnected field lines with values of temperature, density, and velocity in agreement with the XRT and EIS observations. Below the jet, a split-vault structure results with two chambers: a shrinking one containing the emerged field loops and a growing one with loops produced by the reconnection. The ongoing reconnection leads to a horizontal drift of the vault-and-jet structure. The timescales, velocities, and other plasma properties in the experiment are consistent with recent statistical studies of this type of event made with Hinode data.

Diagnostics of Radio Fine Structures around 3 GHz with Hinode Data in the Impulsive Phase of an X3.4/4B Flare Event on 2006 December 13

On 2006 December 13 during the solar minimum, the superactive region NOAA 10930 at the S05W33 disk location produced an X3.4/4B flare at 02:40UT. Fine structures were observed in the radio spectra, which included spikes, reverse slope-type III bursts, type-U burst, V-shaped burst, pulsations, zebra patterns, and firstly discovered sub-second spiky zebra-like structures, superimposed on the 2.6–3.8 GHz type IV bursts. The radio fine structures during the impulsive phase of the flare may be closely associated with coronal structures during the magnetic-reconnection process, as revealed by Hinode soft X-ray images. Thus, these microwave fine structure observations may provide very useful diagnostics at the primary energy release sites when they occur in the impulsive flare phase. For this flare event, the estimated coronal magnetic field is about 50–170G in the rising phase of the flare with a source density of about 1$\times$10$^{11}$cm$^{-3}$. The field strength and plasma density are about 90–200G and 1.27$\times$10$^{11}$cm$^{-3}$ around the flare maximum.

Hinode Observations of the Onset Stage of a Solar Filament Eruption

Abstract We used Hinode X-Ray Telescope (XRT) and Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) filtergraph (FG) Stokes-V magnetogram observations, to study the early onset of a solar eruption that includes an erupting filament that we observe in TRACE EUV images. The filament undergoes a slow rise for at least 20 min prior to its fast eruption and strong soft X-ray (SXR) flaring; such slow rises have been previously reported, and the new Hinode data elucidate the physical processes occurring during this period. XRT images show that during the slow-rise phase, an SXR sigmoid forms from apparent reconnection low in the sheared core field traced by the filament, and there is a low-level intensity peak in both EUV and SXRs during the slow rise. MDI and SOT FG Stokes-V magnetograms show that the pre-eruption filament is along a neutral line between opposing-polarity enhanced network cells, and the SOT magnetograms show that these opposing fields are flowing together and canceling for at least six hours prior to eruption. From the MDI data we measured the canceling network fields to be $\sim$ 40G, and we estimated that $\sim$10$^{19}$Mx of flux canceled during the five hours prior to eruption; this is only $\sim$5% of the total flux spanned by the eruption and flare, but apparently its tether-cutting cancellation was enough to destabilize the sigmoid field holding the filament and resulted in that field’s eruption.

Coronal Dimming Observed with Hinode: Outflows Related to a Coronal Mass Ejection

Abstract Coronal dimming has been a signature used to determine the source of plasma that forms part of a coronal mass ejection (CME) for many years. Generally dimming is detected through imaging instruments such as SOHO EIT by taking difference images. Hinode tracked active region 10930 from which there were a series of flares. We combined dimming observations from EIT with Hinode data to show the impact of flares and coronal mass ejections on the region surrounding the flaring active region, and we discuss evidence that the eruption resulted in a prolonged steady outflow of material from the corona. The dimming region shows clear structure with extended loops whose footpoints are the source of the strongest outflow ($\approx$ 40 km s$^{-1}$). This confirms that the loops that are disrupted during the event do lose plasma and hence are likely to form part of the CME. This is the first time the velocity of the coronal plasma has been measured in an extended dimming region away from the flare core. In addition there was a weaker steady outflow from extended, faint loops outside the active region before the eruption, which is also long lasting. These were disturbed and the velocity increased following the flare. Such outflows could be the source of the slow solar wind.

Spatial Distribution of Magnetic Reconnection in the 2006 December 13 Solar Flare as Observed by Hinode

A massive two-ribbon flare and its source magnetic field region were well captured by the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on board Hinode in the Ca II H spectral line and by the Spectro-Polarimeter of SOT, respectively. Using the high-resolution Hinode data sets, we compare the spatial distribution of the local magnetic reconnection rate and the energy release rate along the ribbons with that of G-band kernels that serve as a proxy for the primary energy release. The G-band kernels spatially coincide with the maximum of both modeled quantities, which gives strong support for the reconnection model. We also investigate the magnitude scaling correlation between the ribbon separation speed Vr and magnetic field strength Bn at four 2 minute time bins around the maximum phase of the flare. It is found that Vr is weakly and negatively correlated with Bn. An empirical relation of Vr ∝ Bn−0.15 is obtained at the flare peak time with an correlation coefficient ~–0.33. The correlation is weaker at other time bins.