Raum: Aquila + Bootes

Planetary Group Seminar: "The search for life on Mars, a search on two planets" (A. Steele)

"The search for life on Mars, a search on two planets" Abstract: The search for life on Mars is a journey involving high resolution analysis of meteorites on earth and highly capable robotic packages sent to the surface of Mars. The lecture will review how these two approaches are revealing new insights into the search for life elsewhere and the origin of life on earth. [mehr]

MPS Seminar: Magnetic fields of stars and their influence on the habitability of Exoplanets (T. Lüftinger)

Magnetic fields of stars and their influence on the habitability of Exoplanets [mehr]

MPS Seminar: Evolution of the Solar Luminosity During Solar Cycle 23 (L. Vieira)

Evolution of the Solar Luminosity During Solar Cycle 23 [mehr]
Separable solutions of force-free spheres and applications to solar active regions [mehr]
I will present first results obtained from a combined dataset of 700 red giant stars in two fields of the Galactic disc which have been co-observed by the CoRoT satellite and the APOGEE spectrograph. We have measured chemical abundance patterns and ages of field stars over a large radial range of the Milky Way's disc, and present recent results on the dependence of abundance distributions on age and position in the disc. A particularly intriguing result is that the tight correlation between age and chemical abundances previously seen in the Solar vicinity does not seem to be valid for the inner Galactic disc: [alpha/Fe]-rich stars are not necessarily old. [mehr]

Solar Group Seminar:Polarisation in Astrophysics (S.K. Solanki)

S3 Seminar: Heliseismologiy of Subsurface Flows (Z. Ferret)

S3 Seminar: Linear Simulations of Acoustic Waves in Spotted Stars (E. Papini)

Rosetta Seminar: Sunset Jets (X. Shi)

MPS Seminar: Understanding comets with Rosetta (M. A'Hearn)

S3 Seminar: Magnetic ux supplement to coronal bright points (C. Mou)

S3 Seminar: Comparison of Optical and Radio Observation of Coronal Mass Ejection (L. Lu)

S3 Seminar: Characterizing Plasmoid Reconnection by Turbulence Dynamics (F. Widmer)

S3 Seminar: Examination of Historical Ca II K Archives (T. Chatzistergos)

Google X-prize: Join a team which participates in the Google X-Prize to land on the Moon

Sun Climate Seminar: The contribution of energetic particleprecipitation to ozone and surface climate trends (E. Rozanov)

MPS Seminar: Plasma-Neutral Interaction - Conductivity and Field-Aligned Currents (A. Otto)

Planetary Group Seminar: Mercury´s past rotation, as indicated by its large surface craters (J. Knibbe)

One rotation of planet Mercury takes ~58 days, which is precisely two/thirds of its orbital period (~88 days). This unique 3:2 spin-orbit resonance in our solar system is stable for an object in an elliptic orbit as that of Mercury (Mercury's eccentricity is 0.206). To arrive in this rotational state from an initial rapid rotation, Mercury must have passed other rotational states which are also stable. We propose that Mercury previously attained a 2:1 spin-orbit resonance. This is supported by the hemispheric assymetry of Mercury's large surface craters, which is impossible to produce in a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance but can be produced in a 2:1 spin-orbit resonance. Mercury's largest and most recent large impact (the Caloris impact of ~3.8 billion years ago) would have destabilized the 2:1 spin-orbit resonance. Hereafter, the planet naturally de-spun to the 3:2 spin-orbit resonance under influence of tides. [mehr]

MPS Seminar: The effect of solar illumination on ion outflow from the polar ionosphere (L. Maes)

Due to its interaction with the magnetic field of the Earth, the solar wind imparts a large amount of energy to the Earth’s atmosphere. This can result in intense ionospheric outflow. It contributes to atmospheric erosion, and these outflowing ions may also affect magnetospheric dynamics. The magnetic polar cap does not receive much of this energy, however, and thus the main source of energy there is solar illumination. Nonetheless it is an important region of ionospheric outflow. Because the Earth’s magnetic field at the polar caps is directly connected with the interplanetarymagnetic field, a steady but low-energy type of ion outflow occurs there, called the polar wind. Because of the low energy of the ions, the polar wind is very difficult to measure due to spacecraft charging. There is an alternative technique to measure the polar wind, exploiting the spacecraft charging. Another type of outflow that also commonly occurs in the magnetic polar cap is ion outflow above polar cap arcs. The ions are strongly accelerated in this process, yet this outflow has some similarities to polar wind outflow. Since it is such an important source of energy for outflow in the polar ionosphere, we will look in this presentation at the dependence of these ion outflow processes on solar illumination. [mehr]
The coupling of fast and Alfven magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves is of fundamental interest in astrophysical plasmas. Under certain conditions, Alfven waves can be resonantly excited by fast mode waves, resulting in a localised accumulation of energy in the plasma. In the solar community this is often referred to as resonant absorption, while in the magnetospheric community it's known as field line resonance. These processes have applications in coronal heating and in magnetospheric dynamics.Alfven resonances are well understood in 1D and 2D, but not so in 3D, particularly in non-Cartesian geometries. We present a theoretical way of understanding the structure and temporal development of Alfven resonances in 3D, which is corroborated by numerical simulations. [mehr]

MPS Seminar: Ion and electron acceleration to suprathermal energies during dipolarizations (E. Grigorenko)

ESP Online Seminar: Ca II 8542 Å Brightenings Induced by a Solar Microflare (C. Kuckein)

ESPOS
We study small-scale brightenings in Ca II 8542 Å line-core images to determine their nature and effect on localized heating and mass transfer in active regions. To that end, we analyzed high-resolution 2D spectroscopic observations of an active region acquired with the GREGOR Fabry-Perot Interferometer attached to the 1.5-meter GREGOR telescope onTenerife, Spain. The ground-based data were complemented with AIA and HMI images from SDO. Inversions of the spectra were carried out using NICOLE. We identified three brightenings of sizes up to 2”x2”. We found evidence that the brightenings belonged to the footpoints of a microflare (MF). The properties of the observed brightenings disqualified the scenarios of Ellerman bombs or IRIS bombs. However, this MF shared some common properties with flaring active-region fibrils or flaring arch filaments (FAFs): (1) FAFs and MFs are both apparent in chromospheric and coronal layers according to the AIA channels, and (2) both show flaring arches with lifetimes of about 3.0-3.5 min and lengths of about 20”. Moreover, the inversions revealed heating by 600 K at the footpoint location in the ambient chromosphere during the impulsive phase. Bidirectional flows were present in the footpoints of the MF. [mehr]

ESP Online Seminar: The Magnetic Nature of the Umbra-Penumbra Boundary in Sunspots (J. Jurčák)

ESPOS
Sunspots are the longest known manifestation of solar activity and their magnetic nature has been known for more than a century. Despite this, the boundary between umbrae and penumbrae, the two fundamental sunspot regions, has hitherto been solely defined by an intensity threshold. We now unveil the empirical law of the magnetic nature of the umbra-penumbra boundary in stable sunspots: an invariant vertical component of the magnetic field. We study the magnetic nature of umbra-penumbra boundaries in sunspots of different sizes, morphology, evolutionary stage, and phase of the solar cycle. We use a sample of 88 scans of Hinode/SOT spectropolarimeter to infer the magnetic field properties at the umbral boundaries. We define these boundaries by an intensity threshold and perform a statistically analysis of the magnetic field properties at these boundaries. We statistically prove that the umbra-penumbra boundary in stable sunspots is characterised by an invariant value of the vertical component of the magnetic field: The vertical component of the magnetic field strength does not depend on the umbra size, its morphology, and phase of the solar cycle. With statistical Bayesian inference, we find that the vertical component of the magnetic field strength is, with 99\% likelihood, in the range of 1849-1885 G with the most probable value of 1867 G. In contrast, the magnetic field strength and inclination averaged along individual boundaries are found to be dependent on the umbral size: The larger the umbra, the stronger and more horizontal the magnetic field at its boundary is. [mehr]
Propagating slow magneto-acoustic waves are regularly observed in the solar corona, particularly in sunspot related loop structures. These waves exhibit rapid damping as they propagate along the loops. Several physical and geometrical effects were found to produce the observed decay in the wave amplitude. It has also been shown that the damping is frequency dependent. A majority of the observed characteristics have been attributed to damping by thermal conduction in the solar corona. Although it is believed that these waves originate in the photosphere, their damping behaviour in the sub-coronal layers is relatively less studied. Using high spatial and temporal resolution images of a sunspot, we investigated propagation and damping characteristics of slow magnetoacoustic waves up to transition region heights. The major conclusions from this study will be discussed in the talk which include: 1) The energy flux in slow waves estimated from the relative amplitudes decays gradually right from the photosphere even when the oscillation amplitude is increasing. 2) The damping displayed by slow waves is frequency dependent well below coronal heights. 3) A spatial comparison of power spectra across the umbra highlights enhancement of high-frequency waves near the umbral center. [mehr]

ESP Online Seminar: Recurrent CME-like Eruptions in Flux Emergence Simulations (P. Syntelis)

ESPOS
Ellerman bombs and UV bursts are transient brightenings that are ubiquitously observed in the lower atmospheres of active and emerging flux regions. While some Ellerman bombs display clear UV burst signatures, not all have correlated UV signal or vice versa, suggesting the underlying atmospheric and magnetic properties may differ between events. As both are believed to pinpoint sites of magnetic reconnection in reconfiguring fields, understanding their occurrence and detailed evolution may provide helpful insights in the overall evolution of active regions. Here we present results from observations and inversions of SST/CRISP and CHROMIS, as well as IRIS data of these transient events. At unprecedented spatial resolution the CHROMIS Ca II H & K observations reveal dynamic fine structure suggesting a plasmoid-mediated reconnection process. We investigate several cases, combining information from the Mg II h & k and Ca II 8542Å and H & K lines in order to infer the temperature stratification and magnetic field configuration within which these events occur. I’ll address the difficulties of successfully inverting their Si IV profiles and will discuss our results in light of the current debate on the connection between UV bursts and Ellerman bombs, their occurrence heights and in particular the temperatures that they may (or may not) reach. [mehr]

MPS Seminar: Theory of dipolar mixed modes of red-giant stars (M. Takata)

I will talk about my recent effort in developing the asymptotic theory of solar-like oscillations in red-giant stars. The asymptotic parameters that explain the frequency spectrum include not only the large frequency separation and the period spacing but also the coupling factor and the gravity offset, to which I will pay special attention. I will particularly discuss the reason why we sometimes observe the coupling factor larger than 1/4, and how the physical origins of the gravity offset can be identified. [mehr]

Solar and Stellar Group Seminar: Coronal bright points: a review (M. Madjarska)

ESP Online Seminar: Multi-height spectropolarimetric study of MHD waves in a big sunspot observed with IBIS (M. Stangalini)

ESPOS
We present preliminary results derived from the analysis of spectropolarimetric measurements of active region AR12546, which represents one of the largest sunspots to have emerged onto the solar surface over the last 20 years. The region was observed with full-Stokes scans of the Fe I 617.3 nm and Ca II 854.2 nm lines with the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer (IBIS) instrument at the Dunn Solar Telescope over an uncommon, extremely long time interval exceeding three hours. We show preliminary results from the phase lag analysis of different quantities and discuss the results in terms of the literature on the subject and MHD wave propagation theory. [mehr]

ESP Online Seminar: Machine learning assisted parallel inversions (R. Gafeira)

With the increase of data volume and the need of more complex inversion codes to interpret and analyze solar observations, it is necessary to develop new tools to boost inversions and reduce computation times and costs. In this presentation, I discuss the possibilities and limitations of using machine learning as a tool to estimate optimum initial physical atmospheric models necessary for initializing spectral line inversions. Tests have been carried out for the SIR and DeSIRer inversion codes. This approach allows firstly to reduce the number of cycles in the inversion and increase the number of nodes and secondly to automatically cluster pixels which is an important step to invert maps where completely different regimes are present. Finally, I also present a warp for SIR and DeSIRer inversion codes that allows the user to easily set up parallel inversions. [mehr]
The ubiquitous presence of small magnetic elements in the Quiet Sun represents a prominent coupling between the photosphere and the upper layers of the Sun’s atmosphere. Small magnetic element tracking has been widely used to study the transport and diffusion of the magnetic field on the solar photosphere. From the analysis of the displacement spectrum of these tracers, it has been recently agreed that a regime of super-diffusivity dominates the solar surface. In this talk we will focus on the analysis of the bipolar magnetic pairs in the solar photosphere and their diffusion properties, using a 25-h dataset from the HINODE satellite. Interestingly, the displacement spectrum for bipolar couples behaves similarly to the case where all magnetic pairs are considered. We also measure, from the same dataset, the magnetic emergence rate of the bipolar magnetic pairs and we interpret them as the magnetic footpoints of emerging magnetic loops. The measured magnetic emergence rate is used to constrain a simplified model that mimics the advection on the solar surface and evolves the position of a great number of loops, taking into account emergence, reconnection and cancellation events. In particular we compute the energy released by the reconnection between different magnetic loops in the nano-flares energy range. Our model gives a quantitative estimate of the energy released by the reconfiguration of the magnetic loops in a quiet Sun area as a function of height in the solar atmosphere, from hundreds of Km above the photosphere up to the corona, suggesting that an efficiency of ~10% in the energy deposition might sustain the million degree corona. [mehr]

MPS Seminar: Origin of high-speed streams in solar coronal holes (Stefan Hofmeister)

Plasma Physics Online Seminar: Plasmoid Instability in Magnetic Reconnection and Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence (Yi-Min Huang)

The ubiquitous thin current sheets in high-Lundquist-number space and astrophysical plasmas are known to be unstable to the plasmoid instability, which disrupts current sheets to form smaller structures such as flux ropes and secondary current sheets. The plasmoid instability thus plays a significant role in magnetic reconnection and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. In this talk, I will discuss the role of the plasmoid instability in triggering the transition from slow to fast reconnection. Then I will talk about the interplay between plasmoid instability and MHD turbulence, including self-generated 3D turbulent reconnection mediated by the plasmoid instability, as well as more recent results on plasmoid-mediated energy cascade in MHD turbulence. Finally, I will also present some evidence of the plasmoid instability in solar observations, investigated in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, which is made possible by the Max Planck Princeton Center. [mehr]
The magnetic Rayleigh–Taylor instability is a fundamental MHD instability and recent observations show that this instability develops in the solar prominences. We analyze the observations from Solar Dynamic Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly of a MRT unstable loop-like prominence. Initially, some small-scale perturbations are developed horizontally and vertically at the prominence-cavity interface. These perturbations are associated with the hot and low dense coronal plasma as compared to the surrounding prominence. The interface supports magneto-thermal convection process, which acts as a buoyancy to launch the hot and low denser plumes (P1 and P2) propagating with the speed of 35–46 km s-1 in the overlying prominence. The self-similar plume formation initially shows the growth of a linear MRT-unstable plume (P1), and thereafter the evolution of a nonlinear single-mode MRT-unstable second plume (P2). A differential emission measure analysis shows that plumes are less denser and hotter than the prominence. We have estimated the observational growth rate for both the plumes as 1.32±0.29×10−3 s−1 and 1.48±0.29×10^−3 s^−1, respectively, which are comparable to the estimated theoretical growth rate (1.95×10^−3 s^−1). Later, these MRT unstable plumes get stabilize via formation of rolled (vortex-like) plasma structures at the prominence-cavity interface in the downfalling plasma. These rolled-plasma structures depict Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which corresponds to the nonlinear phase of MRT instability. However, even after the full development of MRT instability, the overlying prominence is not erupted. Later, a Rayleigh-Taylor unstable tangled plasma thread is evident in the rising segment of this prominence. This tangled thread is subjected to the compression between eruption site and overlying dense prominence at the interface. This compression initiates strong shear at the prominence-cavity interface and causes Kelvin-Helmholtz vortex-like structures. Due to this shear motion, the plasma downfall is occurred at the right part of the prominence–cavity boundary. It triggers the characteristic KH unstable vortices and MRT-unstable plasma bubbles propagating at different speeds and merging with each other. The shear motion and lateral plasma downfall may initiate hybrid KH-RT instability there. [mehr]

ESP Online Seminar: Learning to Invert Solar Flares with RADYN Physics

ESPOS
During a solar flare, it is believed that reconnection takes place in the corona followed by fast energy transport to the chromosphere. The resulting intense heating strongly disturbs the chromospheric structure and induces complex radiation hydrodynamic effects. Interpreting the physics of the flaring solar atmosphere is one of the most challenging tasks in solar physics. We present a novel deep learning approach, an invertible neural network, to understanding the chromospheric physics of a flaring solar atmosphere via the inversion of observed solar line profiles in Hα and Ca II λ8542. The network is trained using flare simulations from the 1D radiation hydrodynamic code RADYN as the expected atmosphere and line profile. This model is then applied to whole images from an observation of an M1.1 solar flare taken with the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope/CRisp Imaging SpectroPolarimeter instrument. The inverted atmospheres obtained from observations provide physical information on the electron number density, temperature and bulk velocity flow of the plasma throughout the solar atmosphere ranging in height from 0 to 10 Mm. Our method can invert a 1k x 1k field-of-view in approximately 30 minutes and we show results from the whole image inversions and error calculations on the inversions. Furthermore, we delve into the mammoth task of analysing the wealth of data we have accumulated through these inversions. The magnetic Rayleigh–Taylor instability is a fundamental MHD instability and recent observations show that this instability develops in the solar prominences. We analyze the observations from Solar Dynamic Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly of a MRT unstable loop-like prominence. Initially, some small-scale perturbations are developed horizontally and vertically at the prominence-cavity interface. These perturbations are associated with the hot and low dense coronal plasma as compared to the surrounding prominence. The interface supports magneto-thermal convection process, which acts as a buoyancy to launch the hot and low denser plumes (P1 and P2) propagating with the speed of 35–46 km s-1 in the overlying prominence. The self-similar plume formation initially shows the growth of a linear MRT-unstable plume (P1), and thereafter the evolution of a nonlinear single-mode MRT-unstable second plume (P2). A differential emission measure analysis shows that plumes are less denser and hotter than the prominence. We have estimated the observational growth rate for both the plumes as 1.32±0.29×10−3 s−1 and 1.48±0.29×10^−3 s^−1, respectively, which are comparable to the estimated theoretical growth rate (1.95×10^−3 s^−1). Later, these MRT unstable plumes get stabilize via formation of rolled (vortex-like) plasma structures at the prominence-cavity interface in the downfalling plasma. These rolled-plasma structures depict Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which corresponds to the nonlinear phase of MRT instability. However, even after the full development of MRT instability, the overlying prominence is not erupted. Later, a Rayleigh-Taylor unstable tangled plasma thread is evident in the rising segment of this prominence. This tangled thread is subjected to the compression between eruption site and overlying dense prominence at the interface. This compression initiates strong shear at the prominence-cavity interface and causes Kelvin-Helmholtz vortex-like structures. Due to this shear motion, the plasma downfall is occurred at the right part of the prominence–cavity boundary. It triggers the characteristic KH unstable vortices and MRT-unstable plasma bubbles propagating at different speeds and merging with each other. The shear motion and lateral plasma downfall may initiate hybrid KH-RT instability there. [mehr]

ESP Online Seminar: Learning to Invert Solar Flares with RADYN Physics

ESPOS
During a solar flare, it is believed that reconnection takes place in the corona followed by fast energy transport to the chromosphere. The resulting intense heating strongly disturbs the chromospheric structure and induces complex radiation hydrodynamic effects. Interpreting the physics of the flaring solar atmosphere is one of the most challenging tasks in solar physics. We present a novel deep learning approach, an invertible neural network, to understanding the chromospheric physics of a flaring solar atmosphere via the inversion of observed solar line profiles in Hα and Ca II λ8542. The network is trained using flare simulations from the 1D radiation hydrodynamic code RADYN as the expected atmosphere and line profile. This model is then applied to whole images from an observation of an M1.1 solar flare taken with the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope/CRisp Imaging SpectroPolarimeter instrument. The inverted atmospheres obtained from observations provide physical information on the electron number density, temperature and bulk velocity flow of the plasma throughout the solar atmosphere ranging in height from 0 to 10 Mm. Our method can invert a 1k x 1k field-of-view in approximately 30 minutes and we show results from the whole image inversions and error calculations on the inversions. Furthermore, we delve into the mammoth task of analysing the wealth of data we have accumulated through these inversions. The magnetic Rayleigh–Taylor instability is a fundamental MHD instability and recent observations show that this instability develops in the solar prominences. We analyze the observations from Solar Dynamic Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly of a MRT unstable loop-like prominence. Initially, some small-scale perturbations are developed horizontally and vertically at the prominence-cavity interface. These perturbations are associated with the hot and low dense coronal plasma as compared to the surrounding prominence. The interface supports magneto-thermal convection process, which acts as a buoyancy to launch the hot and low denser plumes (P1 and P2) propagating with the speed of 35–46 km s-1 in the overlying prominence. The self-similar plume formation initially shows the growth of a linear MRT-unstable plume (P1), and thereafter the evolution of a nonlinear single-mode MRT-unstable second plume (P2). A differential emission measure analysis shows that plumes are less denser and hotter than the prominence. We have estimated the observational growth rate for both the plumes as 1.32±0.29×10−3 s−1 and 1.48±0.29×10^−3 s^−1, respectively, which are comparable to the estimated theoretical growth rate (1.95×10^−3 s^−1). Later, these MRT unstable plumes get stabilize via formation of rolled (vortex-like) plasma structures at the prominence-cavity interface in the downfalling plasma. These rolled-plasma structures depict Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which corresponds to the nonlinear phase of MRT instability. However, even after the full development of MRT instability, the overlying prominence is not erupted. Later, a Rayleigh-Taylor unstable tangled plasma thread is evident in the rising segment of this prominence. This tangled thread is subjected to the compression between eruption site and overlying dense prominence at the interface. This compression initiates strong shear at the prominence-cavity interface and causes Kelvin-Helmholtz vortex-like structures. Due to this shear motion, the plasma downfall is occurred at the right part of the prominence–cavity boundary. It triggers the characteristic KH unstable vortices and MRT-unstable plasma bubbles propagating at different speeds and merging with each other. The shear motion and lateral plasma downfall may initiate hybrid KH-RT instability there. [mehr]

ESP Online Seminar: Magnetic properties of short-lived penumbral microjets (Azaymi Litzi Siu Tapi)

ESPOS
Studying the polarization properties of penumbral microjets that have the shortest durations requires spectropolarimetric observations with the fastest temporal cadence possible and is currently a challenging task. Here, we approach this task using fast-cadence spectropolarimetric measurements of the Ca II 8542 A line made with the CRISP instrument at the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope. We exploited the diagnosis capabilities of this line to retrieve the magnetic field configuration and its evolution in the upper photosphere and low chromosphere by applying the weak field approximation to its wings and line core wavelengths respectively. We found that the short-lived microjets are associated with a transient perturbation in the photospheric magnetic field and sometimes they show clear but weaker changes in the chromospheric field as well. We will describe the different types of evolution that were identified. [mehr]
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