Transverse oscillations and an energy source in a strongly magnetized sunspot

Yuan, Ding; Fu, Libo; Cao, Wenda; Kuźma, BłaŻej; Geeraerts, Michaël; Trelles Arjona, Juan C.; Murawski, Kris; Van Doorsselaere, Tom; Srivastava, Abhishek K.; Miao, Yuhu; Feng, Song; Feng, Xueshang; Quintero Noda, Carlos; Ruiz Cobo, Basilio; Su, Jiangtao
Bibliographical reference

Nature Astronomy

Advertised on:
7
2023
Number of authors
15
IAC number of authors
3
Citations
18
Refereed citations
16
Description
The solar corona is two to three orders of magnitude hotter than the underlying photosphere, and the energy loss of coronal plasma is extremely strong, requiring a heating flux of over 1,000 W m−2 to maintain its high temperature. Using the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope, we report a detection of ubiquitous and persistent transverse waves in umbral fibrils in the chromosphere of a strongly magnetized sunspot. The energy flux carried by these waves was estimated to be 7.52 × 106 W m−2, three to four orders of magnitude stronger than the energy loss rate of plasma in active regions. Two-fluid magnetohydrodynamic simulations reproduced the high-resolution observations and showed that these waves dissipate significant energy, which is vital for coronal heating. Such transverse oscillations and the associated strong energy flux may exist in a variety of magnetized regions on the Sun, and could be the observational target of next-generation solar telescopes.
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