No Arabic abstract
We investigate the influence of the geometry of the solar filament magnetic structure on the large-amplitude longitudinal oscillations. A representative filament flux tube is modeled as composed of a cool thread centered in a dipped part with hot coronal regions on either side. We have found the normal modes of the system, and establish that the observed longitudinal oscillations are well described with the fundamental mode. For small and intermediate curvature radii and moderate to large density contrast between the prominence and the corona, the main restoring force is the solar gravity. In this full wave description of the oscillation a simple expression for the oscillation frequencies is derived in which the pressure-driven term introduces a small correction. We have also found that the normal modes are almost independent of the geometry of the hot regions of the tube. We conclude that observed large-amplitude longitudinal oscillations are driven by the projected gravity along the flux tubes, and are strongly influenced by the curvature of the dips of the magnetic field in which the threads reside.
Solar prominences are subject to both field-aligned (longitudinal) and transverse oscillatory motions, as evidenced by an increasing number of observations. Large-amplitude longitudinal motions provide valuable information on the geometry of the filament-channel magnetic structure that supports the cool prominence plasma against gravity. Our pendulum model, in which the restoring force is the gravity projected along the dipped field lines of the magnetic structure, best explains these oscillations. However, several factors can influence the longitudinal oscillations, potentially invalidating the pendulum model. The aim of this work is to study the influence of large-scale variations in the magnetic field strength along the field lines, i.e., variations of the cross-sectional area along the flux tubes supporting prominence threads. We studied the normal modes of several flux tube configurations, using linear perturbation analysis, to assess the influence of different geometrical parameters on the oscillation properties. We found that the influence of the symmetric and asymmetric expansion factors on longitudinal oscillations is small.}{We conclude that the longitudinal oscillations are not significantly influenced by variations of the cross-section of the flux tubes, validating the pendulum model in this context.
Longitudinal oscillations of solar filament have been investigated via numerical simulations continuously, but mainly in one dimension (1D), where the magnetic field line is treated as a rigid flux tube. Whereas those one-dimensional simulations can roughly reproduce the observed oscillation periods, implying that gravity is the main restoring force for filament longitudinal oscillations, the decay time in one-dimensional simulations is generally longer than in observations. In this paper, we perform a two-dimensional (2D) non-adiabatic magnetohydrodynamic simulation of filament longitudinal oscillations, and compare it with the 2D adiabatic case and 1D adiabatic and non-adiabatic cases. It is found that, whereas both non-adiabatic processes (radiation and heat conduction) can significantly reduce the decay time, wave leakage is another important mechanism to dissipate the kinetic energy of the oscillating filament when the magnetic field is weak so that gravity is comparable to Lorentz force. In this case, our simulations indicate that the pendulum model might lead to an error of ~100% in determining the curvature radius of the dipped magnetic field using the longitudinal oscillation period when the gravity to Lorentz force ratio is close to unity.
Small amplitude oscillations are a commonly observed feature in prominences/filaments. These oscillations appear to be of local nature, are associated to the fine structure of prominence plasmas, and simultaneous flows and counterflows are also present. The existing observational evidence reveals that small amplitude oscillations, after excited, are damped in short spatial and temporal scales by some as yet not well determined physical mechanism(s). Commonly, these oscillations have been interpreted in terms of linear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, and this paper reviews the theoretical damping mechanisms that have been recently put forward in order to explain the observed attenuation scales. These mechanisms include thermal effects, through non-adiabatic processes, mass flows, resonant damping in non-uniform media, and partial ionization effects. The relevance of each mechanism is assessed by comparing the spatial and time scales produced by each of them with those obtained from observations. Also, the application of the latest theoretical results to perform prominence seismology is discussed, aiming to determine physical parameters in prominence plasmas that are difficult to measure by direct means.
We follow the eruption of two related intermediate filaments observed in H$alpha$ (from GONG) and in EUV (from SDO/AIA) and the resulting large-amplitude longitudinal oscillations of the plasma in the filament channels. The events occurred in and around the decayed active region AR12486 on 2016 January 26. Our detailed study of the oscillation reveals that the periods of the oscillations are about one hour. In H$alpha$ the period decreases with time and exhibits strong damping. The analysis of 171~AA images shows that the oscillation has two phases, an initial long period phase and a subsequent oscillation with a shorter period. In this wavelength the damping appears weaker than in H$alpha$. The velocity is the largest ever detected in a prominence oscillation, approximately 100 $mathrm{, km , s^{-1}}$. Using SDO/HMI magnetograms we reconstruct the magnetic field of the filaments modeled as flux ropes by using a flux-rope insertion method. Applying seismological techniques we determine that the radii of curvature of the field lines in which cool plasma is condensed are in the range 75-120~Mm, in agreement with the reconstructed field. In addition, we infer a field strength of $ge7$ to 30 gauss, depending on the electron density assumed; that is also in agreement with the values from the reconstruction (8-20 gauss). The poloidal flux is zero and the axis flux is of the order of 10$^{20}$ to 10$^{21}$ Mx, confirming the high shear existing even in a non-active filament.
We investigate signatures of magnetic fields and activity at the surface and in the prominence system of the ultra-rapid rotator V530 Per, a G-type solar-like member of the young open cluster $alpha$~Persei. This object has a rotation period shorter than all stars with available magnetic maps. With a time-series of spectropolarimetric observations gathered with ESPaDOnS over 2 nights on the CFHT, we reconstruct the surface brightness and large-scale magnetic field of V530 Per using the Zeeman-Doppler imaging method, assuming an oblate stellar surface. We also estimate the short term evolution of the brightness distribution through latitudinal differential rotation. Using the same data set, we finally map the spatial distribution of prominences through tomography of the Halpha emission. The brightness map is dominated by a large, dark spot near the pole, accompanied by a complex distribution of bright and dark features at lower latitudes. The magnetic field map is reconstructed as well, most of the large-scale magnetic field energy is stored in the toroidal field component. The main radial field structure is a positive region of about 500 G, at the location of the dark polar spot. The brightness map of V530 Per is sheared by solar-like differential rotation, with a roughly solar value for the difference in rotation rate between the pole and equator. halpha~is observed in emission, and is mostly modulated by the stellar rotation period. The prominence system is organized in a ring at the approximate location of the co-rotation radius, with significant evolution between the two observing nights. V530 Per is the first example of a solar-type star to have its surface magnetic field and prominences mapped together, which will bring important observational constraints to better understand the role of slingshot prominences in the angular momentum evolution of the most active stars.