Transverse magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere and may be responsible for generating the Suns million-degree outer atmosphere. However, direct evidence of the dissipation process and heating from these waves remains
elusive. Through advanced numerical simulations combined with appropriate forward modeling of a prominence flux tube, we provide the observational signatures of transverse MHD waves in prominence plasmas. We show that these signatures are characterized by thread-like substructure, strong transverse dynamical coherence, an out-of-phase difference between plane-of-the-sky motions and LOS velocities, and enhanced line broadening and heating around most of the flux tube. A complex combination between resonant absorption and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities (KHI) takes place in which the KHI extracts the energy from the resonant layer and dissipates it through vortices and current sheets, which rapidly degenerate into turbulence. An inward enlargement of the boundary is produced in which the turbulent flows conserve the characteristic dynamics from the resonance, therefore guaranteeing detectability of the resonance imprints. We show that the features described in the accompanying paper (Okamoto et al. 2015) through coordinated Hinode and IRIS observations match well the numerical results.
Transverse magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves have been shown to be ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere and can in principle carry sufficient energy to generate and maintain the Suns million-degree outer atmosphere or corona. However, direct evidence of
the dissipation process of these waves and subsequent heating has not yet been directly observed. Here we report on high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution observations of a solar prominence that show a compelling signature of so-called resonant absorption, a long hypothesized mechanism to efficiently convert and dissipate transverse wave energy into heat. Aside from coherence in the transverse direction, our observations show telltale phase differences around 180 degrees between transverse motions in the plane-of-sky and line-of-sight velocities of the oscillating fine structures or threads, and also suggest significant heating from chromospheric to higher temperatures. Comparison with advanced numerical simulations support a scenario in which transverse oscillations trigger a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) at the boundaries of oscillating threads via resonant absorption. This instability leads to numerous thin current sheets in which wave energy is dissipated and plasma is heated. Our results provide direct evidence for wave-related heating in action, one of the candidate coronal heating mechanisms.
We have obtained H$alpha$ high spatial and time resolution observations of the upper solar chromosphere and supplemented these with multi-wavelength observations from the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) and the {it Hinode} ExtremeUltraviolet Imaging
Spectrometer (EIS). The H$alpha$ observations were conducted on 11 February 2012 with the Hydrogen-Alpha Rapid Dynamics Camera (HARDcam) instrument at the National Solar Observatorys Dunn Solar Telescope. Our H$alpha$ observations found large downflows of chromospheric material returning from coronal heights following a failed prominence eruption. We have detected several large condensations (blobs) returning to the solar surface at velocities of $approx$200 km s$^{-1}$ in both H$alpha$ and several SDO AIA band passes. The average derived size of these blobs in H$alpha$ is 500 by 3000 km$^2$ in the directions perpendicular and parallel to the direction of travel, respectively. A comparison of our blob widths to those found from coronal rain, indicate there are additional smaller, unresolved blobs in agreement with previous studies and recent numerical simulations. Our observed velocities and decelerations of the blobs in both H$alpha$ and SDO bands are less than those expected for gravitational free-fall and imply additional magnetic or gas pressure impeding the flow. We derived a kinetic energy $approx$2 orders of magnitude lower for the main eruption than a typical CME, which may explain its partial nature.
Diagnostics of MHD waves in the solar atmosphere is a topic which often encounters problems of interpretation, due partly to the high complexity of the solar atmospheric medium. Forward modeling can significantly guide interpretation, bridging the ga
p between numerical simulations and observations, and increasing the reliability of mode identification for application of MHD seismology. In this work we aim at determining the characteristics of the fast MHD sausage mode in the corona on the modulation of observable quantities such as line intensity and spectral line broadening. Effects of line-of-sight angle, and spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions are considered. We take a cylindrical tube simulating a loop in a low-{beta} coronal environment with an optically thin background, and let it oscillate with the fast sausage mode. A parametric study is performed. Among other results, we show that regardless of the ionisation state of the plasma, the variation of spectral line broadening can be significant, even for low intensity modulation. The nature of this broadening is not thermal but is mostly turbulent. This places spectrometers in clear advantage over imaging instruments for the detection of the sausage mode. The modulation of all quantities is considerably affected by the line-of-sight angle, and especially by the spatial and temporal resolution when these are on the order of the modes wavelength and period. This places high constraints on instrumentation.
