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1.
Alfvén waves, transverse incompressible magnetic oscillations, have been proposed as a possible mechanism to heat the Sun's corona to millions of degrees by transporting convective energy from the photosphere into the diffuse corona. We report the detection of Alfvén waves in intensity, line-of-sight velocity, and linear polarization images of the solar corona taken using the FeXIII 1074.7-nanometer coronal emission line with the Coronal Multi-Channel Polarimeter (CoMP) instrument at the National Solar Observatory, New Mexico. Ubiquitous upward propagating waves were seen, with phase speeds of 1 to 4 megameters per second and trajectories consistent with the direction of the magnetic field inferred from the linear polarization measurements. An estimate of the energy carried by the waves that we spatially resolved indicates that they are too weak to heat the solar corona; however, unresolved Alfvén waves may carry sufficient energy.  相似文献   

2.
Alfvén waves have been invoked as a possible mechanism for the heating of the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, to millions of degrees and for the acceleration of the solar wind to hundreds of kilometers per second. However, Alfvén waves of sufficient strength have not been unambiguously observed in the solar atmosphere. We used images of high temporal and spatial resolution obtained with the Solar Optical Telescope onboard the Japanese Hinode satellite to reveal that the chromosphere, the region sandwiched between the solar surface and the corona, is permeated by Alfvén waves with strong amplitudes on the order of 10 to 25 kilometers per second and periods of 100 to 500 seconds. Estimates of the energy flux carried by these waves and comparisons with advanced radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations indicate that such Alfvén waves are energetic enough to accelerate the solar wind and possibly to heat the quiet corona.  相似文献   

3.
Pulsating aurora, a spectacular emission that appears as blinking of the upper atmosphere in the polar regions, is known to be excited by modulated, downward-streaming electrons. Despite its distinctive feature, identifying the driver of the electron precipitation has been a long-standing problem. Using coordinated satellite and ground-based all-sky imager observations from the THEMIS mission, we provide direct evidence that a naturally occurring electromagnetic wave, lower-band chorus, can drive pulsating aurora. Because the waves at a given equatorial location in space correlate with a single pulsating auroral patch in the upper atmosphere, our findings can also be used to constrain magnetic field models with much higher accuracy than has previously been possible.  相似文献   

4.
The first direct images of the Jovian aurora at ultraviolet wavelengths were obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Camera near the time of the Ulysses spacecraft encounter with Jupiter on 8 February 1992. The auroral oval is not uniformly luminous. It exhibits a brightness minimum in the vicinity of longitude 180 degrees . In the few images available, the brightest part of the oval occurs in late afternoon Jovian time. The observed oval is not concentric with calculated ovals in the O(6) model of Connerney. The size of the oval is consistent with auroral particles on field lines with magnetic L parameter >8, indicating significant migration from lo, its torus, or both, if these are their origins.  相似文献   

5.
Solar prominences are cool 10(4) kelvin plasma clouds supported in the surrounding 10(6) kelvin coronal plasma by as-yet-undetermined mechanisms. Observations from Hinode show fine-scale threadlike structures oscillating in the plane of the sky with periods of several minutes. We suggest that these represent Alfvén waves propagating on coronal magnetic field lines and that these may play a role in heating the corona.  相似文献   

6.
Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet images of Saturn obtained with the Faint Object Camera near 220 nanometers reveal a dark oval encircling the north magnetic pole of the planet. The opacity has an equivalent width of approximately 11 degrees in latitude and is centered around approximately 79 degrees N. The oval shape of the dark structure and its coincidence with the aurora detected by the Voyager Ultraviolet Spectrometer suggest that the aerosol formation is related to the auroral activity.  相似文献   

7.
Much has been learned about the electromagnetic interaction between Jupiter and its satellite Io from in situ observations. Io, in its motion through the Io plasma torus at Jupiter, continuously generates an Alfvén wing that carries two billion kilowatts of power into the jovian ionosphere. Concurrently, Io is acted upon by a J x B force tending to propel it out of the jovian system. The energy source for these processes is the rotation of Jupiter. This unusual planet-satellite coupling serves as an archetype for the interaction of a large moving conductor with a magnetized plasma, a problem of general space and astrophysical interest.  相似文献   

8.
Coronal magnetic fields are dynamic, and field lines may misalign, reassemble, and release energy by means of magnetic reconnection. Giant releases may generate solar flares and coronal mass ejections and, on a smaller scale, produce x-ray jets. Hinode observations of polar coronal holes reveal that x-ray jets have two distinct velocities: one near the Alfvén speed ( approximately 800 kilometers per second) and another near the sound speed (200 kilometers per second). Many more jets were seen than have been reported previously; we detected an average of 10 events per hour up to these speeds, whereas previous observations documented only a handful per day with lower average speeds of 200 kilometers per second. The x-ray jets are about 2 x 10(3) to 2 x 10(4) kilometers wide and 1 x 10(5) kilometers long and last from 100 to 2500 seconds. The large number of events, coupled with the high velocities of the apparent outflows, indicates that the jets may contribute to the high-speed solar wind.  相似文献   

9.
Interpretation of high-resolution angular distribution measurements of the primary auroral electron flux detected by a rocket probe launched into a visible aurora from Fort Churchill in the fall of 1966 leads to the following conclusions. The auroral electron flux is nearly monoenergetic and has a quasi-trapped as well as a precipitating component. The quasi-trapped flux appears to be limited to a region defined by magnetic-mirror points and multiple electrostatic double layers in the ionosphere. The electrostatic field of the double-layer distribution enhances the aurora by lowering the magnetic-mirror points and supplying energy to the primary auroral electrons.  相似文献   

10.
The NASA-GSFC magnetic field experiment on Mariner 10 is the first flight of a dual magnetometer system conceived to permit accurate measurements of weak magnetic fields in space in the presence of a significant and variable spacecraft magnetic field. Results from a preliminary analysis of a limted data set are summarized in this report, which is restricted primarily to Venus encounter. A detached bow shock wave that develops as the super Alfvénic solar wind interacts with the Venusian atmosphere has been observed. However, the unique coincidence of trajectory position and interplanetary field orientation at the time of bow shock crossing led to a very disturbed shock profile with considerably enhanced upstream magnetic fluctuations. At present it is not possible to ascertain the nature and characteristics of the obstacle responsible for deflecting the solar wind flow. Far downstream disturbances associated with the solar wind wake have been observed.  相似文献   

11.
Two sets of ultraviolet images of the Jovian north aurora were obtained with the Faint Object Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The first series shows an intense discrete arc in near corotation with the planet. The maximum apparent molecular hydrogen emission rate corresponds to an electron precipitation of approximately 1 watt per square meter, which is about 30,000 times larger than the solar heating by extreme ultraviolet radiation. Such a particle heating rate of the auroral upper atmosphere of Jupiter should cause a large transient temperature increase and generate strong thermospheric winds. Twenty hours after initial observation, the discrete arc had decreased in brightness by more than one order of magnitude. The time scale and magnitude of the change in the ultraviolet aurora leads us to suggest that the discrete Jovian auroral precipitation is related to large-scale variations in the current system, as is the case for Earth's discrete aurorae.  相似文献   

12.
Photoelectric measutements of the Hbeta intensity show that it continued to increase after a corona formed, and reached a maximum as the corona broke up into rays, decreasing rapidly to nearly zero within the next 10 minutes. The maximum flux of protons incident on the earth during the aurora, deduced from these measures, was at least 1.4 x 10(8) auroral protons per square centimeter, per second.  相似文献   

13.
The IMAGE spacecraft uses photon and neutral atom imaging and radio sounding techniques to provide global images of Earth's inner magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. Auroral imaging at ultraviolet wavelengths shows that the proton aurora is displaced equatorward with respect to the electron aurora and that discrete auroral forms at higher latitudes are caused almost completely by electrons. Energetic neutral atom imaging of ions injected into the inner magnetosphere during magnetospheric disturbances shows a strong energy-dependent drift that leads to the formation of the ring current by ions in the several tens of kiloelectron volts energy range. Ultraviolet imaging of the plasmasphere has revealed two unexpected features-a premidnight trough region and a dayside shoulder region-and has confirmed the 30-year-old theory of the formation of a plasma tail extending from the duskside plasmasphere toward the magnetopause.  相似文献   

14.
Auroras are caused by accelerated charged particles precipitating along magnetic field lines into a planetary atmosphere, the auroral brightness being roughly proportional to the precipitating particle energy flux. The Analyzer of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms experiment on the Mars Express spacecraft has made a detailed study of acceleration processes on the nightside of Mars. We observed accelerated electrons and ions in the deep nightside high-altitude region of Mars that map geographically to interface/cleft regions associated with martian crustal magnetization regions. By integrating electron and ion acceleration energy down to the upper atmosphere, we saw energy fluxes in the range of 1 to 50 milliwatts per square meter per second. These conditions are similar to those producing bright discrete auroras above Earth. Discrete auroras at Mars are therefore expected to be associated with plasma acceleration in diverging magnetic flux tubes above crustal magnetization regions, the auroras being distributed geographically in a complex pattern by the many multipole magnetic field lines extending into space.  相似文献   

15.
Combined analysis of helium (584 angstroms) airglow and the atmospheric occultations of the star delta Scorpii imply a vertical mixing parameter in Saturn's upper atmosphere of K (eddy diffusion coefficient) approximately 8 x 10(7) square centimeters per second, an order of magnitude more vigorous than mixing in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. Atmospheric H(2) band absorption of starlight yields a preliminary temperature of 400 K in the exosphere and a temperature near the homopause of approximately 200 K. The energy source for the mid-latitude H(2) band emission still remains a puzzle. Certain auroral emissions can be fully explained in terms of electron impact on H(2), and auroral morphology suggests a link between the aurora and the Saturn kilometric radiation. Absolute optical depths have been determined for the entire C ring andparts of the A and B rings. A new eccentric ringlet has been detected in the C ring. The extreme ultraviolet reflectance of the rings is fairly uniform at 3.5 to 5 percent. Collisions may control the distribution of H in Titan's H torus, which has a total vertical extent of approximately 14 Saturn radii normal to the orbit plane.  相似文献   

16.
Photographs taken from satellites show the form, location, and intensity of the aurora from a new perspective. They provide an effective way of monitoring auroral activity on a worldwide basis and are likely to become one of the major tools in the effort to understand this phenomenon.  相似文献   

17.
Magnetic field records at the earth's surface contain the effects of a variety of different source currents flowing in outer space. During the last decade, several computational techniques for the use of magnetometer data have been proposed to obtain the global pattern of the electric fields and currents and Joule heating in the ionosphere. The numerical algorithm has now been enormously improved, such that simultaneous more direct or in situ measurements by satellites and radars can be incorporated into the scheme. In particular, owing to recent progress in satellite-viewed auroral images, it is possible to estimate "instantaneous" patterns of the ionospheric electrodynamic quantities over the entire polar region with a time resolution of several minutes. This report demonstrates that, contrary to our conventional views, large ionospheric currents can flow in regions of low auroral activity.  相似文献   

18.
Over the past few years, the satellite topside sounders have significantly contributed to the understanding of the upper ionosphere. A great quantity of radio echo data has been accumulated, from which the ionospheric electrondensity distribution can be determined. The topside measurements of electron density essentially agree with similar measurements from the ground, except for an occasional 10-percent discrepancy near the peak of the ionosphere. While horizontal non-uniformity is a likely cause, this discrepancy has not yet been adequately explained. The electron-density scale heights measured at a constant altitude indicate both a higher temperature and a heavier mean ion mass at high latitudes. At low latitudes the topside measurements have shown the detailed latitudinal structure of the equatorial anomaly, demonstrating control by the geomagnetic field. A variety of electron-density irregularities have been studied. Most are greatly elongated along the magnetic field, and produce echoes either by lateral scattering, if they are thin, or by longitudinal ducting, if they are thick. Some of the thick irregularities are continuous between the hemispheres and support conjugate echo propagation. The topside sounders have revealed the complex structure of the ionosphere near the auroral zone and at higher latitudes. At night an east-west trough of greatly reduced electron density occurs equatorward of the auroral zone. At the auroral zone itself the electron density is high and quite variable, both in space and time. The electron density at the polar cap within the auroral zone is often uniform and smooth. Ionospheric irregularities are common in the area of the trough and the auroral zone. Among other satellites, the topside sounders have been used in various plasma studies involving the excitation and propagation of waves. These studies suggest that the ionosphere is an appropriate region for future plasma physics investigations, especially with rocket and satellite payloads designed specifically for that purpose.  相似文献   

19.
Ulysses solar wind plasma observations at high southerly latitudes   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
Solar wind plasma observations made by the Ulysses spacecraft through -80.2 degrees solar latitude and continuing equatorward to -40.1 degrees are summarized. Recurrent high-speed streams and corotating interaction regions dominated at middle latitudes. The speed of the solar wind was typically 700 to 800 kilometers per second poleward of -35 degrees . Corotating reverse shocks persisted farther south than did forward shocks because of the tilt of the heliomagnetic streamer belt. Sporadic coronal mass ejections were seen as far south as -60.5 degrees . Proton temperature was higher and the electron strahl was broader at higher latitudes. The high-latitude wind contained compressional, pressure-balanced, and Alfvénic structures.  相似文献   

20.
Plasmas are an attractive medium for the next generation of particle accelerators because they can support electric fields greater than several hundred gigavolts per meter. These accelerating fields are generated by relativistic plasma waves-space-charge oscillations-that can be excited when a high-intensity laser propagates through a plasma. Large currents of background electrons can then be trapped and subsequently accelerated by these relativistic waves. In the forced laser wake field regime, where the laser pulse length is of the order of the plasma wavelength, we show that a gain in maximum electron energy of up to 200 megaelectronvolts can be achieved, along with an improvement in the quality of the ultrashort electron beam.  相似文献   

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