Open Magnetic Field Regions Research Articles

High-latitude coronal mass ejections on the young solar-like star AB Dor

ABSTRACT AB Dor is a young solar-type star with a surface large-scale magnetic field $10^2$ to $10^3$ times stronger than the that of the Sun. Although strong magnetic fields are thought to inhibit coronal mass ejections (CMEs), dimming signatures typically associated with an eruptive CME were recently observed in AB Dor. The uninterrupted, long-duration dimming signal suggests that a CME took place at a high latitude, where it remained in view as the star rotates. A high-latitude CME is also consistent with observations that indicate that AB Dor hosts polar active regions. To investigate magnetic confinement in AB Dor, we conduct a parametric modelling study of 21 CMEs at latitudes ${\sim} 60^\circ$, varying the location, mass, and magnetic field strength of an injected flux rope. 12 models had the flux rope located in an open magnetic field region, while the remaining nine were in a closed region. Results show that CMEs in open-field regions are in general more likely to erupt. The four eruptive CMEs from closed regions had high free magnetic energies ${\gtrsim} 3\times 10^{35}$ erg, and 10 CMEs predominantly from the closed-field regions (8/10) were confined. CMEs in closed-field regions exhibited lower kinetic energies, since part of the CME energy was expended to overcome magnetic tension and break open the overlying field. In conclusion our work suggests that eruptive CMEs in AB Dor may occur in high-latitude regions of open magnetic field, as the magnetic tension in such regions does not significantly inhibit the eruption.

Adjusting the Potential Field Source Surface Height Based on Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

A potential field solution is widely used to extrapolate the coronal magnetic field above the Sun’s surface to a certain height. This model applies the current-free approximation and assumes that the magnetic field is entirely radial beyond the source surface height, which is defined as the radial distance from the center of the Sun. Even though the source surface is commonly specified at 2.5 R s (solar radii), previous studies have suggested that this value is not optimal in all cases. In this study, we propose a novel approach to specify the source surface height by comparing the areas of the open magnetic field regions from the potential field solution with predictions made by a magnetohydrodynamic model, in our case the Alfvén Wave Solar atmosphere Model. We find that the adjusted source surface height is significantly less than 2.5 R s near solar minimum and slightly larger than 2.5 R s near solar maximum. We also report that the adjusted source surface height can provide a better open flux agreement with the observations near the solar minimum, while the comparison near the solar maximum is slightly worse.

Modeling the Solar Wind during Different Phases of the Last Solar Cycle

We describe our first attempt to systematically simulate the solar wind during different phases of the last solar cycle with the Alfvén Wave Solar atmosphere Model (AWSoM) developed at the University of Michigan. Key to this study is the determination of the optimal values of one of the most important input parameters of the model, the Poynting flux parameter, which prescribes the energy flux passing through the chromospheric boundary of the model in the form of Alfvén wave turbulence. It is found that the optimal value of the Poynting flux parameter is correlated with the area of the open magnetic field regions with the Spearman’s correlation coefficient of 0.96 and anticorrelated with the average unsigned radial component of the magnetic field with the Spearman’s correlation coefficient of −0.91. Moreover, the Poynting flux in the open field regions is approximately constant in the last solar cycle, which needs to be validated with observations and can shed light on how Alfvén wave turbulence accelerates the solar wind during different phases of the solar cycle. Our results can also be used to set the Poynting flux parameter for real-time solar wind simulations with AWSoM.

Coronal Loop Heating by Nearly Incompressible Magnetohydrodynamic and Reduced Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence Models

The transport of waves and turbulence beyond the photosphere is central to the coronal heating problem. Turbulence in the quiet solar corona has been modeled on the basis of the nearly incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (NI MHD) theory to describe the transport of low-frequency turbulence in open magnetic field regions. It describes the evolution of the coupled majority quasi-2D and minority slab component, driven by the magnetic carpet and advected by a subsonic, sub-Alfvénic flow from the lower corona. In this paper, we couple the NI MHD turbulence transport model with an MHD model of the solar corona to study the heating problem in a coronal loop. In a realistic benchmark coronal loop problem, we find that a loop can be heated to ∼1.5 million K by transport and dissipation of MHD turbulence described by the NI MHD model. We also find that the majority 2D component is as important as the minority slab component in the heating of the coronal loop. We compare our coupled MHD/NI MHD model results with a reduced MHD (RMHD) model. An important distinction between these models is that RMHD solves for small-scale velocity and magnetic field fluctuations and obtains the actual viscous/resistive dissipation associated with their evolution whereas NI MHD evolves scalar moments of the fluctuating velocity and magnetic fields and approximates dissipation using an MHD turbulence phenomenology. Despite the basic differences between the models, their simulation results match remarkably well, yielding almost identical heating rates inside the corona.

Existence of the Closed Magnetic Field Lines Crossing the Coronal Hole Boundaries

Coronal holes (CHs) are regions with unbalanced magnetic flux and have been associated with open magnetic field (OMF) structures. However, it has been reported that some CHs do not intersect with OMF regions. To investigate the inconsistency, we apply a potential-field (PF) model to construct the magnetic fields of the CHs. As a comparison, we also use a thermodynamic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model to synthesize coronal images and identify CHs from the synthetic images. The results from both the potential-field CHs and synthetic MHD CHs reveal that there is a significant percentage of closed field lines extending beyond the CH boundaries and more than 50% (17%) of PF (MHD) CHs do not contain OMF lines. The boundary-crossing field lines are more likely to be found in the lower latitudes during active times. While they tend to be located slightly closer than the non-boundary-crossing ones to the CH boundaries, nearly 40% (20%) of them in PF (MHD) CHs are not located in the boundary regions. The CHs without open field lines are often smaller and less unipolar than those with open field lines. The MHD model indicates higher temperature variations along the boundary-crossing field lines than the non-boundary-crossing ones. The main difference between the results of the two models is that the dominant field lines in the PF and MHD CHs are closed and open field lines, respectively.

An Interplanetary Type IIIb Radio Burst Observed by Parker Solar Probe and Its Emission Mechanism

Abstract Type IIIb radio bursts were identified as a chain of quasi-periodic striae in dynamic spectra, drifting from high to low frequencies in a manner similar to type III bursts, which fine structures may provide a clue to a better understanding of emission mechanisms. The approaching observation of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft provides a new chance of probing type IIIb bursts in the vicinity of the Sun. In this Letter, combining the in situ measurement of PSP and the empirical model of solar atmospheres in open magnetic field regions, we analyze in detail a typical event of interplanetary (IP) type IIIb bursts observed by PSP, which was first reported by Pulupa et al. Our results show that the electron cyclotron maser (ECM) emission can probably play an important role in the excitation mechanism of the IP type IIIb burst and the formation of the fine striae structure may be attributed to the modulation of Alfvén waves on the growth rate of the ECM instability.

Could Switchbacks Originate in the Lower Solar Atmosphere? I. Formation Mechanisms of Switchbacks

Abstract The recent rediscovery of magnetic field switchbacks or deflections embedded in the solar wind flow by the Parker Solar Probe mission lead to a huge interest in the modeling of the formation mechanisms and origin of these switchbacks. Several scenarios for their generation were put forth, ranging from lower solar atmospheric origins by reconnection, to being a manifestation of turbulence in the solar wind, and so on. Here we study some potential formation mechanisms of magnetic switchbacks in the lower solar atmosphere, using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations. The model is that of an intense flux tube in an open magnetic field region, aiming to represent a magnetic bright point opening up to an open coronal magnetic field structure, e.g., a coronal hole. The model is driven with different plasma flows in the photosphere, such as a fast up-shooting jet, as well as shearing flows generated by vortex motions or torsional oscillations. In all scenarios considered, we witness the formation of magnetic switchbacks in regions corresponding to chromospheric heights. Therefore, photospheric plasma flows around the foot-points of intense flux tubes appear to be suitable drivers for the formation of magnetic switchbacks in the lower solar atmosphere. Nevertheless, these switchbacks do not appear to be able to enter the coronal heights of the simulation in the present model. In conclusion, based on the presented simulations, switchbacks measured in the solar wind are unlikely to originate from photospheric or chromospheric dynamics.

Development of Magnetic Topology During the Growth Phase of the Substorm Inducing the Onset of the Near‐Earth Neutral Line

AbstractThe transition of magnetic topology is analyzed during the substorm. During the growth phase in the polar ionosphere, magnetic fields consist of three categories: closed magnetic field, open magnetic field leading to the northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), and open field leading to the southward IMF. While the open magnetic field region leading to the southward IMF expands consistently during the growth phase, the ionospheric onset starts inside the closed field line region. There should be triple points where three kinds of magnetic field coexist in the ionosphere. Connected to the triple points, complex magnetic topologies appear in the magnetosphere. There occur definitive changes in the global magnetic topology such as retreat of cusp nulls generated under the northward IMF, generation of plasma sheet magnetic fields with reverse curvature, generation of bifurcation areas on the magnetopause, formation of new dayside nulls, development of null lines on the flank, and generation of bifurcation areas (group of nulls) on the magnetopause. During the late growth phase, divergence Vx flow is excited in the central plasma sheet associated with the appearance of reverse curvature. The plasma sheet reconnection starts 5 min before the ionospheric onset from a localized area at X = −17.5 Re due to the reduction of the normal component Bz caused by divergence Vx flow. It occurs in the residual magnetic structure formed under the northward IMF as a three‐dimensional reconnection with a guide field By. The resulting two‐turn coil of magnetic field forms a plasmoid, which is ejected downtail.

Examining the optical intensity and magnetic field expansion factor in the open magnetic field regions associated with coronal holes

AbstractCoronal holes can be identified as the darkest regions in EUV or soft X-ray images with predominantly unipolar magnetic fields (LIRs) or as the regions with open magnetic fields (OMF). Our study reveals that only 12% of OMF regions are coincident with LIRs. The aim of this study is to investigate the conditions that affect the EUV intensity of OMF regions. Our results indicate that the EUV intensity and the magnetic field expansion factor of the OMF regions are weakly positively correlated when plotted in logarithmic scale, and that the bright OMF regions are likely to locate inside or next to the regions with closed field lines. We empirically determined a linear relationship between the expansion factor and the EUV intensity. The relationship is demonstrated to improve the consistency from 12% to 23%. The results have been published in Astrophysical Journal (Huang et al. 2019).

Examination of the EUV Intensity in the Open Magnetic Field Regions Associated with Coronal Holes

Abstract Coronal holes can be identified as the regions with magnetic field lines extending far away from the Sun, or the darkest regions in EUV/X-ray images with predominantly unipolar magnetic fields. A comparison between the locations of our determined regions with open magnetic field lines (OMF) and regions with low EUV intensity (LIR) reveals that only 12% of the OMF regions coincide with the LIRs. The aim of this study is to investigate the conditions leading to the different brightnesses of OMF regions, and to provide a means to predict whether an OMF region would be bright or dark. Examining the statistical distribution profiles of the magnetic field expansion factor (f s ) and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly 193 Å intensity (I 193) reveals that both profiles are approximately log-normal. The analysis of the spatial and temporal distributions of f s and I 193 indicates that the bright OMF regions often are inside or next to regions with closed field lines, including quiet-Sun regions and regions with strong magnetic fields. Examining the relationship between I 193 and f s reveals a weak positive correlation between log I 193 and log f s , with a correlation coefficient ≈0.39. As a first-order approximation, the positive relationship is determined to be log I 193 = 0.62 log f s + 1.51 based on the principle of the whitening/dewhitening transformation. This linear relationship is demonstrated to increase the consistency between the OMF regions and LIRs from 12% to 23%.

SYMPATHETIC SOLAR FILAMENT ERUPTIONS

ABSTRACT The 2015 March 15 coronal mass ejection as one of the two that together drove the largest geomagnetic storm of solar cycle 24 so far was associated with sympathetic filament eruptions. We investigate the relations between the different filaments involved in the eruption. A surge-like small-scale filament motion is confirmed as the trigger that initiated the erupting filament with multi-wavelength observations and using a forced magnetic field extrapolation method. When the erupting filament moved to an open magnetic field region, it experienced an obvious acceleration process and was accompanied by a C-class flare and the rise of another larger filament that eventually failed to erupt. We measure the decay index of the background magnetic field, which presents a critical height of 118 Mm. Combining with a potential field source surface extrapolation method, we analyze the distributions of the large-scale magnetic field, which indicates that the open magnetic field region may provide a favorable condition for F2 rapid acceleration and have some relation with the largest solar storm. The comparison between the successful and failed filament eruptions suggests that the confining magnetic field plays an important role in the preconditions for an eruption.

Case studies of multi-day3He-rich solar energetic particle periods

Context. Impulsive solar energetic particle events in the inner heliosphere show the long-lasting enrichment of 3He. Aims. We study the source regions of long-lasting 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events Methods. We located the responsible open magnetic field regions, we combined potential field source surface extrapolations (PFSS) with the Parker spiral, and compared the magnetic field of the identified source regions with in situ magnetic fields. The candidate open field regions are active region plages. The activity was examined by using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and STEREO together with radio observations from STEREO and WIND. Results. Multi-day periods of 3He-rich SEP events are associated with ion production in single active region. Small flares or coronal jets are their responsible solar sources. We also find that the 3He enrichment may depend on the occurrence rate of coronal jets.

CORONAL HEATING BY SURFACE ALFVÉN WAVE DAMPING: IMPLEMENTATION IN A GLOBAL MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS MODEL OF THE SOLAR WIND

The heating and acceleration of the solar wind is an active area of research. Alfv´ en waves, because of their ability to accelerate and heat the plasma, are a likely candidate in both processes. Many models have explored wave dissipation mechanisms which act either in closed or open magnetic field regions. In this work, we emphasize the boundary between these regions, drawing on observations which indicate unique heating is present there. We utilize a new solar corona component of the Space Weather Modeling Framework, in which Alfvwave energy transport is self-consistently coupled to the magnetohydrodynamic equations. In this solar wind model, the wave pressure gradient accelerates and wave dissipation heats the plasma. Kolmogorov-like wave dissipation as expressed by Hollweg along open magnetic field lines was presented in van der Holst et al. Here, we introduce an additional dissipation mechanism: surface Alfv´ en wave (SAW) damping, which occurs in regions with transverse (with respect to the magnetic field) gradients in the local Alfvspeed. For solar minimum conditions, we find that SAW dissipation is weak in the polar regions (where Hollweg dissipation is strong), and strong in subpolar latitudes and the boundaries of open and closed magnetic fields (where Hollweg dissipation is weak). We show that SAW damping reproduces regions of enhanced temperature at the boundaries of open and closed magnetic fields seen in tomographic reconstructions in the low corona. Also, we argue that Ulysses data in the heliosphere show enhanced temperatures at the boundaries of fast and slow solar wind, which is reproduced by SAW dissipation. Therefore, the model's temperature distribution shows best agreement with these observations when both dissipation mechanisms are considered. Lastly, we use observational constraints of shock formation in the low corona to assess the Alfv´ speed profile in the model. We find that, compared to a polytropic solar wind model, the wave-driven model with physical dissipation mechanisms presented in this work is more aligned with an empirical Alfv´ en speed profile. Therefore, a wave-driven model which includes the effects of SAW damping is a better background to simulate coronal-mass-ejection-driven shocks.

The Heliospheric Magnetic Field

The heliospheric magnetic field (HMF) is an important component of the heliospheric medium. It has been the subject of extensive studies for the past thirty five years. There is a very large observational data base, mostly from the vantage point of the ecliptic plane, but now also from the solar polar regions, from the Ulysses mission. This review aims to present its most important large scale characteristics. A key to understand the HMF is to understand the source functions of the solar wind and magnetic fields close to the sun. The development of new modelling techniques for determining the extent and geometry of the open magnetic field regions in the corona, the sources of the solar wind and the HMF has provided a new insight into the variability of the source functions. These are now reasonably well understood for the state of the corona near solar minimum. The HMF at low-to-medium heliolatitudes is dominated, near solar minimum, by the Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) which arise from the interaction of alternating slow and fast solar wind streams, and which, in turn, interact in the outer heliosphere to form the large scale Merged Interaction Regions. The radial component of the HMF is independent of heliolatitude; the average direction is well organised by the Parker geometry, but with wide distributions around the mean, due, at high latitudes, to the presence of large amplitude, Alfvenic fluctuations. The HMF at solar maximum is less well understood, due in part to the complexity of the solar source functions, and partly to the lack of three dimensional observations which Ulysses is planned to remedy at the next solar maximum. It is suggested that the in-ecliptic conditions in the HMF, largely determined by the dynamics of transients (Coronal Mass Ejections) may also be found at high latitudes, due to the wide latitude distribution of the CMEs.

Characterization of the slow wind in the outer corona

The study concerns the streamer belt observed at high spectral resolution during the minimum of solar cycle 23 with the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) onboard SOHO. On the basis of a spectroscopic analysis of the O VI doublet, the solar wind plasma parameters are inferred in the extended corona. The analysis accounts for the coronal magnetic topology, extrapolated through a 3D magneto-hydrodynamic model, in order to define the streamer boundary and to analyse the edges of coronal holes. The results of the analysis allow an accurate identification of the source regions of the slow coronal wind that are confirmed to be along the streamer boundary in the open magnetic field region.

Magnetohydrodynamic simulation of non–flux rope coronal mass ejections

Observations at 1 AU indicate that only 1/3 of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have a flux rope structure, while the other 2/3 of CMEs have a complex disordered magnetic field. The initiation of the flux rope CMEs has been extensively simulated with various magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models. However, the initiation of the non–flux rope CMEs is rarely done in numerical modeling. In this paper, we numerically simulate the physical origin and characteristics of the non–flux rope CMEs by using a three‐dimensional, axisymmetric, time‐dependent, self‐consistent MHD model. The results show that the emergence of a counterclockwise flux rope from the lower coronal boundary at the open magnetic field region, near the closed magnetic field lines, can initiate a magnetic configuration, which causes the magnetic reconnection at the coronal base. Physically, the magnetic field of the emerged counterclockwise flux rope has antipolarity with the background open field, and the location of the magnetic flux emergence is at the edge of a coronal hole. This magnetic reconnection between closed and open field lines at the coronal base generates an Alfvénic jet‐like plasma outflow. It could further develop into a non–flux rope CME if enough magnetic energy is deposited. Solar energetic particle (SEP) events in association with the non–flux rope CMEs are usually impulsive because the magnetic topology obtained from this simulation of non–flux rope CMEs corresponds to that proposed by Reames (2002) to lead impulsive SEP events.

CME interactions with coronal holes and their interplanetary consequences

A significant number of interplanetary shocks (∼17%) during cycle 23 were not followed by drivers. The number of such “driverless” shocks steadily increased with the solar cycle with 15%, 33%, and 52% occurring in the rise, maximum, and declining phase of the solar cycle. The solar sources of 15% of the driverless shocks were very close the central meridian of the Sun (within ∼15°), which is quite unexpected. More interestingly, all the driverless shocks with their solar sources near the solar disk center occurred during the declining phase of solar cycle 23. When we investigated the coronal environment of the source regions of driverless shocks, we found that in each case there was at least one coronal hole nearby, suggesting that the coronal holes might have deflected the associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) away from the Sun‐Earth line. The presence of abundant low‐latitude coronal holes during the declining phase further explains why CMEs originating close to the disk center mimic the limb CMEs, which normally lead to driverless shocks due to purely geometrical reasons. We also examined the solar source regions of shocks with drivers. For these, the coronal holes were located such that they either had no influence on the CME trajectories, or they deflected the CMEs toward the Sun‐Earth line. We also obtained the open magnetic field distribution on the Sun by performing a potential field source surface extrapolation to the corona. It was found that the CMEs generally move away from the open magnetic field regions. The CME–coronal hole interaction must be widespread in the declining phase and may have a significant impact on the geoeffectiveness of CMEs.

Evolution of stellar winds from the Sun to red giants

AbstractBy performing global 1D MHD simulations, we investigate the heating and acceleration of solar and stellar winds in open magnetic field regions. Our simulation covers from photosphere to 20-60 stellar radii, and takes into account radiative cooling and thermal conduction. We do not adopt ad hoc heating function; heating is automatically calculated from the solutions of Riemann problem at the cell boundaries. In the solar wind case we impose transverse photospheric motions with velocity ~1 km/s and period between 20 seconds and 30 minutes, which generate outgoing Alfvén waves. We have found that the dissipation of Alfvén waves through compressive wave generation by decay instability is quite effective owing to the density stratification, which leads to the sufficient heating and acceleration of the coronal plasma. Next, we study the evolution of stellar winds from main sequence to red giant phases. When the stellar radius becomes ~10 times of the Sun, the steady hot corona with temperature 106K, suddenly disappears. Instead, many hot and warm (105– 106K) bubbles are formed in cool (T< 2 × 104K) chromospheric winds because of the thermal instability of the radiative cooling function; the red giant wind is not a steady stream but structured outflow.

Coronal heating and wind acceleration by nonlinear Alfvén waves – global simulations with gravity, radiation, and conduction

Abstract. We review our recent results of global one-dimensional (1-D) MHD simulations for the acceleration of solar and stellar winds. We impose transverse photospheric motions corresponding to the granulations, which generate outgoing Alfvén waves. We treat the propagation and dissipation of the Alfvén waves and consequent heating from the photosphere by dynamical simulations in a self-consistent manner. Nonlinear dissipation of Alfven waves becomes quite effective owing to the stratification of the atmosphere (the outward decrease of the density). We show that the coronal heating and the solar wind acceleration in the open magnetic field regions are natural consequence of the footpoint fluctuations of the magnetic fields at the surface (photosphere). We find that the properties of the solar wind sensitively depend on the fluctuation amplitudes at the solar surface because of the nonlinearity of the Alfvén waves, and that the wind speed at 1 AU is mainly controlled by the field strength and geometry of flux tubes. Based on these results, we point out that both fast and slow solar winds can be explained by the dissipation of nonlinear Alfvén waves in a unified manner. We also discuss winds from red giant stars driven by Alfvén waves, focusing on different aspects from the solar wind.

Dependence of the open-closed field line boundary in Saturn's ionosphere on both the IMF and solar wind dynamic pressure: comparison with the UV auroral oval observed by the HST

Abstract. We model the open magnetic field region in Saturn's southern polar ionosphere during two compression regions observed by the Cassini spacecraft upstream of Saturn in January 2004, and compare these with the auroral ovals observed simultaneously in ultraviolet images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. The modelling employs the paraboloid model of Saturn's magnetospheric magnetic field, whose parameters are varied according to the observed values of both the solar wind dynamic pressure and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) vector. It is shown that the open field area responds strongly to the IMF vector for both expanded and compressed magnetic models, corresponding to low and high dynamic pressure, respectively. It is also shown that the computed open field region agrees with the poleward boundary of the auroras as well as or better than those derived previously from a model in which only the variation of the IMF vector was taken into account. The results again support the hypothesis that the auroral oval at Saturn is associated with the open-closed field line boundary and hence with the solar wind interaction.