No Arabic abstract
The Standard Solar Model (SSM) is no more sufficient to interpret all the observations of the radiative zone obtained with the SoHO satellite. We recall our present knowledge of this internal region and compare the recent results to models beyond the SSM assumptions. Then we discuss the missing processes and quantify some of them in using young analog observations to build a more realistic view of our star. This progress will be useful for solar-like stars observed by COROT and KEPLER.
The energetic balance of the Standard Solar Model (SSM) results from an equilibrium between nuclear energy production, energy transfer, and photospheric emission. In this letter, we derive an order of magnitude of several % for the loss of energy in kinetic energy, magnetic energy, and X or UV radiation during the whole solar lifetime from the observations of the present Sun. We also estimate the mass loss from the observations of young solar analogs which could reach up to 30% of the current mass. We deduce new models of the present Sun, their associated neutrino fluxes, and their internal sound-speed profile. This approach sheds quantitative lights on the disagreement between the sound speed obtained by helioseismology and the sound speed derived from the SSM including the updated photospheric CNO abundances, based on recent observations. We conclude that about 20% of the present discrepancy could come from the incorrect description of the early phases of the Sun, its activity, its initial mass and mass-loss history. This study has obvious consequences on the solar system formation and the early evolution of the closest planets.
Aims: In this paper we focus on the occurrence of glycolaldehyde (HCOCH2OH) in young solar analogs by performing the first homogeneous and unbiased study of this molecule in the Class 0 protostars of the nearby Perseus star forming region. Methods: We obtained sub-arcsec angular resolution maps at 1.3mm and 1.4mm of glycolaldehyde emission lines using the IRAM Plateau de Bure (PdB) interferometer in the framework of the CALYPSO IRAM large program. Results: Glycolaldehyde has been detected towards 3 Class 0 and 1 Class I protostars out of the 13 continuum sources targeted in Perseus: NGC1333-IRAS2A1, NGC1333-IRAS4A2, NGC1333-IRAS4B1, and SVS13-A. The NGC1333 star forming region looks particularly glycolaldehyde rich, with a rate of occurrence up to 60%. The glycolaldehyde spatial distribution overlaps with the continuum one, tracing the inner 100 au around the protostar. A large number of lines (up to 18), with upper-level energies Eu from 37 K up to 375 K has been detected. We derived column densities > 10^15 cm^-2 and rotational temperatures Trot between 115 K and 236 K, imaging for the first time hot-corinos around NGC1333-IRAS4B1 and SVS13-A. Conclusions: In multiple systems glycolaldehyde emission is detected only in one component. The case of the SVS13-A+B and IRAS4-A1+A2 systems support that the detection of glycolaldehyde (at least in the present Perseus sample) indicates older protostars (i.e. SVS13-A and IRAS4-A2), evolved enough to develop the hot-corino region (i.e. 100 K in the inner 100 au). However, only two systems do not allow us to firmly conclude whether the primary factor leading to the detection of glycolaldehyde emission is the environments hosting the protostars, evolution (e.g. low value of Lsubmm/Lint), or accretion luminosity (high Lint).
The Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons experiment on the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission measures the three-dimensional electron velocity distribution function. We derive the parameters of the core, halo, and strahl populations utilizing a combination of fitting to model distributions and numerical integration for $sim 100,000$ electron distributions measured near the Sun on the first two PSP orbits, which reached heliocentric distances as small as $sim 0.17$ AU. As expected, the electron core density and temperature increase with decreasing heliocentric distance, while the ratio of electron thermal pressure to magnetic pressure ($beta_e$) decreases. These quantities have radial scaling consistent with previous observations farther from the Sun, with superposed variations associated with different solar wind streams. The density in the strahl also increases; however, the density of the halo plateaus and even decreases at perihelion, leading to a large strahl/halo ratio near the Sun. As at greater heliocentric distances, the core has a sunward drift relative to the proton frame, which balances the current carried by the strahl, satisfying the zero-current condition necessary to maintain quasi-neutrality. Many characteristics of the electron distributions near perihelion have trends with solar wind flow speed, $beta_e$, and/or collisional age. Near the Sun, some trends not clearly seen at 1 AU become apparent, including anti-correlations between wind speed and both electron temperature and heat flux. These trends help us understand the mechanisms that shape the solar wind electron distributions at an early stage of their evolution.
Finding solar-analog stars with fundamental properties as close as possible to the Sun and studying the characteristics of their surface magnetic activity is a very promising way to understand the solar variability and its associated dynamo process. However, the identification of solar-analog stars depends on the accuracy of the estimated stellar parameters. Thanks to the photometric CoROT and Kepler space missions, the addition of asteroseismic data was proven to provide the most accurate fundamental properties that can be derived from stellar modeling today. Here, we present our latest results on the solar-stellar connection by studying 18 solar analogs that we identified among the Kepler seismic sample (Salabert et al., 2016a). We measured their magnetic activity properties using the observations collected by the Kepler satellite and the ground-based, high-resolution HERMES spectrograph. The photospheric (Sph) and chromospheric (S) magnetic activity proxies of these seismic solar analogs are compared in relation to the solar activity. We show that the activity of the Sun is comparable to the activity of the seismic solar analogs, within the maximum-to-minimum temporal variations of the 11-year solar activity cycle. Furthermore, we report on the discovery of temporal variability in the acoustic frequencies of the young (1 Gyr-old) solar analog KIC10644253 with a modulation of about 1.5 years, which agrees with the derived photospheric activity Sph (Salabert et al, 2016b). It could be the signature of the short-period modulation, or quasi-biennal oscillation, of its magnetic activity as observed in the Sun and in the 1-Gyr-old solar analog HD30495. In addition, the lithium abundance and the chromospheric activity estimated from HERMES confirms that KIC10644253 is a young and more active star than the Sun.
Solar analogs, broadly defined as stars similar to the Sun in mass or spectral type, provide a useful laboratory for exploring the range of Sun-like behaviors and exploring the physical mechanisms underlying some of the Suns most elusive processes like coronal heating and the dynamo. We describe a series of heliophysics-motivated, but astrophysics-like studies of solar analogs. We argue for a range of stellar observations, including (a) the identification and fundamental parameter determination of new solar analogs, and (b) characterizing emergent properties like activity, magnetism, and granulation. These parameters should be considered in the framework of statistical studies of the dependences of these observables on fundamental stellar parameters like mass, metallicity, and rotation.