arXiv subjects

Divya Oberoi

Publications and source records attributed to Divya Oberoi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Spectroscopic Imaging of the Sun with MeerKAT: Opening a New Frontier in Solar Physics

Solar radio emissions provide several unique diagnostics to estimate different physical parameters of the solar corona, which are otherwise simply inaccessible. However, imaging the highly dynamic solar coronal emissions spanning a large range of angular scales at radio wavelengths is extremely challenging. At GHz frequencies, MeerKAT radio telescope is possibly globally the best-suited instrument at present for providing high-fidelity spectroscopic snapshot solar images. Here, we present the first published spectroscopic images of the Sun made using the observations with MeerKAT in the 880-1670 MHz band. This work demonstrates the high fidelity of spectroscopic snapshot MeerKAT solar images through a comparison with simulated radio images at MeerKAT frequencies. The observed images show extremely good morphological similarities with the simulated images. Our analysis shows that below ~900 MHz MeerKAT images can recover essentially the entire flux density from the large angular scale solar disc. Not surprisingly, at higher frequencies, the missing flux density can be as large as ~50%. However, it can potentially be estimated and corrected for. We believe once solar observation with MeerKAT is commissioned, it will enable a host of novel studies, open the door to a large unexplored phase space with significant discovery potential, and also pave the way for solar science with the upcoming Square Kilometre Array-Mid telescope, for which MeerKAT is a precursor.

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arXiv2023

Characterizing the Spectral Structure of Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emissions

Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emissions (WINQSEs) are a newly discovered class of radio emission from the solar corona. These emissions are characterized by their extremely impulsive, narrowband and ubiquitous nature. We have systematically been working on their detailed characterization, including their strengths, morphologies, temporal characteristics, energies, etc. This work is the next step in this series and focuses on the spectral nature of WINQSEs. Given that their strength is only a few percent of the background solar emission, we have adopted an extremely conservative approach to reliably identify WINQSES. Only a handful of WINQSEs meet all of our stringent criteria. Their flux densities lie in the 20 $-$ 50 Jy range and they have compact morphologies. For the first time, we estimate their bandwidths and find them to be less than 700 kHz, consistent with expectations based on earlier observations. Interestingly, we also find similarities between the spectral nature of WINQSEs and the solar radio spikes. This is consistent with our hypothesis that the WINQSEs are the weaker cousins of the type-III radio bursts and are likely to be the low-frequency radio counterparts of the nanoflares, originally hypothesized as a possible explanation for coronal heating.

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arXiv2023

An unsupervised machine learning based algorithm for detecting Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emissions and characterizing their morphology

The solar corona is extremely dynamic. Every leap in observational capabilities has been accompanied by unexpected revelations of complex dynamic processes. The ever more sensitive instruments now allow us to probe events with increasingly weaker energetics. A recent leap in the low-frequency radio solar imaging ability has led to the discovery of a new class of emissions, namely Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emissions \citep[WINQSEs;][]{mondal2020}. They are hypothesized to be the radio signatures of coronal nanoflares and could potentially have a bearing on the long standing coronal heating problem. In view of the significance of this discovery, this work has been followed up by multiple independent studies. These include detecting WINQSEs in multiple datasets, using independent detection techniques and software pipelines, and looking for their counterparts at other wavelengths. This work focuses on investigating morphological properties of WINQSEs and also improves upon the methodology used for detecting WINQSEs in earlier works. We present a machine learning based algorithm to detect WINQSEs, classify them based on their morphology and model the isolated ones using 2D Gaussians. We subject multiple datasets to this algorithm to test its veracity. Interestingly, despite the expectations of their arising from intrinsically compact sources, WINQSEs tend to be resolved in our observations. We propose that this angular broadening arises due to coronal scattering. WINQSEs can, hence, provide ubiquitous and ever-present diagnostic of coronal scattering (and, in turn, coronal turbulence) in the quiet sun regions, which has not been possible till date.

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arXiv2023

Deciphering Faint Gyrosynchrotron Emission from Coronal Mass Ejection using Spectro-polarimetric Radio Imaging

Measurements of the plasma parameters of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), particularly the magnetic field and nonthermal electron population entrained in the CME plasma, are crucial to understand their propagation, evolution, and geo-effectiveness. Spectral modeling of gyrosynchrotron (GS) emission from CME plasma has been regarded as one of the most promising remote-sensing techniques for estimating spatially resolved CME plasma parameters. Imaging the very low flux density CME GS emission in close proximity to the Sun with orders of magnitude higher flux density has, however, proven to be rather challenging. This challenge has only recently been met using the high dynamic range imaging capability of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Although routine detection of GS is now within reach, the challenge has shifted to constraining the large number of free parameters in GS models, a few of which are degenerate, using the limited number of spectral points at which the observations are typically available. These degeneracies can be broken using polarimetric imaging. For the first time, we demonstrate this using our recently developed capability of high-fidelity polarimetric imaging on the data from the MWA. We show that spectropolarimetric imaging, even when only sensitive upper limits on circularly polarization flux density are available, is not only able to break the degeneracies but also yields tighter constraints on the plasma parameters of key interest than possible with total intensity spectroscopic imaging alone.

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arXiv2023

Tackling the Unique Challenges of Low-frequency Solar Polarimetry with the Square Kilometre Array Low Precursor: Pipeline Implementation

The dynamics and the structure of the solar corona are determined by its magnetic field. Measuring coronal magnetic fields is, however, extremely hard. The polarization of low-frequency radio emissions has long been recognized as one of the few effective observational probes of magnetic fields in the mid and high corona. However, the extreme intrinsic variability of this emission, the limited ability of most of the available existing instrumentation (until recently) to capture it, and the technical challenges involved have all contributed to its use being severely limited. The high dynamic-range spectropolarimetric snapshot imaging capability that is needed for radio coronal magnetography is now within reach. This has been enabled by the confluence of data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursor, and our unsupervised and robust polarization calibration and imaging software pipeline dedicated to the Sun-Polarimetry using the Automated Imaging Routine for Compact Arrays of the Radio Sun (P-AIRCARS). Here, we present the architecture and implementation details of P-AIRCARS. Although the present implementation of P-AIRCARS is tuned to the MWA, the algorithm itself can easily be adapted for future arrays, such as SKA1-Low. We hope and expect that P-AIRCARS will enable exciting new science with instruments like the MWA, and that it will encourage the wider use of radio imaging in the larger solar physics community.

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arXiv2023

Space Weather Research using Spectropolarimetric Radio Imaging Combined With Aditya-L1 and PUNCH Missions

Low-frequency radio observations have been expected to serve as a powerful tool for Space Weather (SW) observations for decades. Radio observations are sensitive to a wide range of SW-related observations ranging from emissions from coronal mass ejections (CMEs) to the solar wind. Ground-based radio observatories allow one gathering of high-sensitivity data at high time and spectral resolution for an extended period, which remains a challenge for most space-based observatories. While radio techniques like Interplanetary Scintillation (IPS) are well established, radio imaging studies have remained technically challenging. This is now changing with the confluence of data from instruments, like the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), and robust unsupervised analysis pipelines. This pipeline delivers full Stokes radio images with unprecedented fidelity and dynamic range. This will serve as a powerful tool for coronal and heliospheric studies. We present the recent developments and achievements to measure the magnetic fields of the CME plasma and shock front at coronal heights and also share the current status of the objective to measure the heliospheric Faraday rotation towards numerous background linearly polarised radio sources with the Sun in the field of view. We envision that in the coming years, the availability of new-generation radio instruments combined with the Aditya-L1 and PUNCH mission will mark the start of a new era in Space Weather modeling and prediction.

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arXiv2022

Imaging-spectroscopy of a band-split type II solar radio burst with the Murchison Widefield Array

Type II solar radio bursts are caused by magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) shocks driven by solar eruptive events such as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). Often both fundamental and harmonic bands of type II bursts are split into sub-bands, generally believed to be coming from upstream and downstream regions of the shock; however this explanation remains unconfirmed. Here we present combined results from imaging analysis of type II radio burst band-splitting and other fine structures, observed by the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and extreme ultraviolet observations from Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on 2014-Sep-28. The MWA provides imaging-spectroscopy in the range of 80-300 MHz with a time resolution of 0.5 s and frequency resolution of 40 kHz. Our analysis shows that the burst was caused by a piston-driven shock with a driver speed of $\sim$112 km s$^{-1}$ and shock speed of $\sim$580 km s$^{-1}$. We provide rare evidence that band-splitting is caused by emission from multiple parts of the shock (as opposed to the upstream/downstream hypothesis). We also examine the small-scale motion of type II fine structure radio sources in MWA images. We suggest that this small-scale motion may arise due to radio propagation effects from coronal turbulence, and not because of the physical motion of the shock location. We present a novel technique that uses imaging spectroscopy to directly determine the effective length scale of turbulent density perturbations, which is found to be 1 - 2 Mm. The study of the systematic and small-scale motion of fine structures may therefore provide a measure of turbulence in different regions of the shock and corona.

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arXiv2022

Study of radio transients from the quiet Sun during an extremely quiet time

In this work we study a class of recently discovered metrewave solar transients referred to as Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emission \citep[WINQSEs,][]{mondal2020}. Their strength is a few percent of the quiet Sun background and are characterised by their very impulsive, narrow-band and ubiquitous presence in quiet Sun regions. \citet{mondal2020} hypothesised that these emissions might be the radio counterparts of the nanoflares and their potential significance warrants detailed studies. Here we present an analysis of data from an extremely quiet time and with an improved methodology over the previous work. As before, we detect numerous WINQSEs, which we have used for their further characterisation. Their key properties, namely, their impulsive nature and ubiquitous presence on the quiet Sun are observed in these data as well. Interestingly, we also find some of the observed properties to differ significantly from the earlier work. With this demonstration of routine detection of WINQSEs, we hope to engender interest in the larger community to build a deeper understanding of WINQSEs.

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arXiv2022

Preparing for Solar and Heliospheric Science with the SKAO: An Indian Perspective

The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) is perhaps the most ambitious radio telescope envisaged yet. It will enable unprecedented studies of the Sun, the corona and the heliosphere and help to answer many of the outstanding questions in these areas. Its ability to make a vast previously unexplored phase space accessible, also promises a large discovery potential. The Indian solar and heliospheric physics community have been preparing for this science opportunity. A significant part of this effort has been towards playing a leading role in pursuing science with SKAO precursor instruments. This article briefly summarises the current status of the various aspects of work done as a part of this enterprise and our future goals.

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arXiv2022

Plans for building a prototype SKA regional centre in India

In order to deliver the full science potential of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) telescope, several SKA Regional Centres (SRCs) will be required to be constructed in different SKA member countries around the world. These SRCs will provide high performance compute and storage for the generation of advanced science data products from the basic data streams generated by the SKA Science Data Handling and Processing system, critically necessary to the success of the key science projects to be carried out by the SKA user community. They will also provide support to astronomers to enable them to carry out analysis on very large SKA datasets. Construction of such large data centres is a technical challenge for all SKA member nations. In such a situation, each country plans to construct a smaller SRC over the next few years (2022 onwards), known as a proto-SRC. In India, we propose to construct a proto-SRC which will be used for the analysis of data from SKA pathfinders and precursors with strong Indian involvement such as uGMRT, Meerkat and MWA. We describe our thinking on some aspects of the the storage, compute and network of the proto-SRC and how it will be used for data analysis as well as for carrying out various simulations related to SKA key science projects led by Indian astronomers. We also present our thoughts on how the proto-SRC plans to evaluate emerging hardware and software technologies and to also begin software development in areas of relevance to SKA data processing and analysis such as algorithm implementation, pipeline development and data visualisation software.

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arXiv2022

Detection of weak ubiquitous impulsive nonthermal emissions from the solar corona

A ubiquitous presence of weak energy releases is one of the most promising hypotheses to explain coronal heating, referred to as the nanoflare hypothesis. The accelerated electrons associated with such weak heating events are also expected to give rise to coherent impulsive emission via plasma instabilities in the meterwave radio band, making this a promising spectral window to look for their presence. Recently \citet{Mondal2020b} reported the presence of weak impulsive emissions from quiet Sun regions which seem to meet the requirements of being radio counterparts of the hypothesized nanoflares. Detection of such low-contrast weak emission from the quiet Sun is challenging and, given their implications, it is important to confirm their presence. In this work, using data from the Murchison Widefield Array, we explore the use of an independent robust approach for their detection by separating the dominant slowly varying component of emission from the weak impulsive one in the visibility domain. We detect milli-SFU level bursts taking place all over the Sun and characterize their brightness temperatures, distributions, morphologies, durations and association with features seen in EUV images. We also attempt to constraint the energies of the nonthermal particles using inputs from the FORWARD coronal model along with some reasonable assumptions and find them to lie in the sub-pico flare ($\sim 10^{19}-10^{21}$ ergs) range. In the process, we also discover perhaps the weakest type III radio burst and another one that shows clear signatures of weakest quasi-periodic pulsations.

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arXiv2022

A novel algorithm for high fidelity spectro-polarimetric snapshot imaging of the low-frequency radio Sun using SKA-low precursor

Magnetic field couples the solar interior to the solar atmosphere, known as the corona. The coronal magnetic field is one of the crucial parameters which determines the coronal structures and regulates the space weather phenomena like flares, coronal mass ejections, energetic particle events, and solar winds. Measuring the magnetic field at middle and higher coronal heights are extremely difficult problem and to date there is no single measurement technique available to measure the higher coronal magnetic fields routinely. polarization measurements of the low-frequency radio emissions are an ideal tool to probe the coronal magnetic fields at higher coronal heights ($>1R_\odot$). To date, most of the low-frequency polarization observations of the Sun were limited to bright solar radio bursts. Here we developed a novel algorithm for performing precise polarization calibration of the solar observations done with the Murchison Widefield Array, a future Square Kilometer Array (SKA) precursor. We have brought down the instrumental polarization $<1\%$. We anticipate this method will allow us to detect very low-level polarised emissions from coronal thermal emissions, which will become a tool for routine measurements of the global coronal magnetic fields at higher coronal heights. This method can be easily adapted for future SKA and open a window of new discoveries using high fidelity spectro-polarimetric snapshot imaging of the Sun at low radio frequencies.

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arXiv2022

Tackling the Unique Challenges of Low-frequency Solar Polarimetry with the Square Kilometre Array Low Precursor: The Algorithm

Coronal magnetic fields are well known to be one of the crucial parameters defining coronal physics and space weather. However, measuring the global coronal magnetic fields remains challenging. The polarization properties of coronal radio emissions are sensitive to coronal magnetic fields. While they can prove to be useful probes of coronal and heliospheric magnetic fields, their usage has been limited by technical and algorithmic challenges. We present a robust algorithm for precise polarization calibration and imaging of low-radio frequency solar observations and demonstrate it on data from the Murchison Widefield Array, a Square Kilometer Array (SKA) precursor. This algorithm is based on the Measurement Equation framework, which forms the basis of all modern radio interferometric calibration and imaging. It delivers high dynamic range and fidelity full Stokes solar radio images with instrumental polarization leakages $<1\%$, on par with general astronomical radio imaging, and represents the state-of-the-art. Opening up this rewarding, yet unexplored, phase space will enable multiple novel science investigations and offer considerable discovery potential. Examples include detection of low-level of circularly polarization from thermal coronal emission to estimate large-scale quiescent coronal fields; polarization of faint gyrosynchrotron emissions from coronal mass ejections for robust estimation of plasma parameters; and detection of the first-ever linear polarization at these frequencies. This method has been developed with the SKA in mind and will enable a new era of high fidelity spectro-polarimetric snapshot solar imaging at low-radio frequencies.

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arXiv2022

Robust absolute solar flux density calibration for the Murchison Widefield Array

Sensitive radio instruments are optimized for observing faint astronomical sources, and usually need to attenuate the received signal when observing the Sun. There are only a handful of flux density calibrators which can comfortably be observed with the same attenuation setup as the Sun. Additionally, for wide field-of-view (FoV) instruments like the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) calibrator observations are generally done when the Sun is below the horizon to avoid the contamination from solar emissions. These considerations imply that the usual radio interferometric approach to flux density calibration is not applicable for solar imaging. A novel technique, relying on a good sky model and detailed characterization of the MWA hardware, was developed for solar flux density calibration for MWA. Though successful, this technique is not general enough to be extended to the data from the extended configuration of the MWA Phase II. Here, we present a robust flux density calibration method for solar observations with MWA independent of the array configuration. We use different approaches -- the serendipitous presence of strong sources; detection of numerous background sources using high dynamic range images in the FoV along with the Sun and observations of strong flux density calibrators with and without the additional attenuation used for solar observations; to obtain the flux scaling parameters required for the flux density calibration. Using the present method, we have achieved an absolute flux density uncertainty $\sim10\%$ for solar observations even in the absence of dedicated calibrator observations.

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arXiv2021

Insights from snapshot spectroscopic radio observations of a weak Type I noise storm

We present a high fidelity snapshot spectroscopic radio imaging study of a weak type I solar noise storm which took place during an otherwise exceptionally quiet time. Using high fidelity images from the Murchison Widefield Array, we track the observed morphology of the burst source for 70 minutes and identify multiple instances where its integrated flux density and area are strongly anti-correlated with each other. The type I radio emission is believed to arise due to electron beams energized during magnetic reconnection activity. The observed anti-correlation is interpreted as evidence for presence of MHD sausage wave modes in the magnetic loops and strands along which these electron beams are propagating. Our observations suggest that the sites of these small scale reconnections are distributed along the magnetic flux tube. We hypothesise that small scale reconnections produces electron beams which quickly get collisionally damped. Hence, the plasma emission produced by them span only a narrow bandwidth and the features seen even a few MHz apart must arise from independent electron beams.

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arXiv2021

Two-stage evolution of an extended C-class eruptive flaring activity from sigmoid active region NOAA 12734: SDO and Udaipur-CALLISTO observations

We present a multi-wavelength investigation of a C-class flaring activity that occurred in the active region NOAA 12734 on 8 March 2019. The investigation utilises data from AIA and HMI on board the SDO and the Udaipur-CALLISTO solar radio spectrograph of the Physical Research Laboratory. This low intensity C1.3 event is characterised by typical features of a long duration event (LDE), viz. extended flare arcade, large-scale two-ribbon structures and twin coronal dimmings. The eruptive event occurred in a coronal sigmoid and displayed two distinct stages of energy release, manifested in terms of temporal and spatial evolution. The formation of twin dimming regions are consistent with the eruption of a large flux rope with footpoints lying in the western and eastern edges of the coronal sigmoid. The metric radio observations obtained from Udaipur-CALLISTO reveals a broad-band ($\approx$50-180 MHz), stationary plasma emission for $\approx$7 min during the second stage of the flaring activity that resemble a type IV radio burst. A type III decametre-hectometre radio bursts with starting frequency of $\approx$2.5 MHz precedes the stationary type IV burst observed by Udaipur-CALLISTO by $\approx$5 min. The synthesis of multi-wavelength observations and Non-Linear Force Free Field (NLFFF) coronal modelling together with magnetic decay index analysis suggests that the sigmoid flux rope underwent a zipping-like uprooting from its western to eastern footpoints in response to the overlying asymmetric magnetic field confinement. The asymmetrical eruption of the flux rope also accounts for the observed large-scale structures viz. apparent eastward shift of flare ribbons and post flare loops along the polarity inversion line (PIL), and provides an evidence for lateral progression of magnetic reconnection site as the eruption proceeds.

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arXiv2021

Exploring Coronal Heating Using Unsupervised Machine-Learning

The perplexing mystery of what maintains the solar coronal temperature at about a million K, while the visible disc of the Sun is only at 5800 K, has been a long standing problem in solar physics. A recent study by Mondal(2020) has provided the first evidence for the presence of numerous ubiquitous impulsive emissions at low radio frequencies from the quiet sun regions, which could hold the key to solving this mystery. These features occur at rates of about five hundred events per minute, and their strength is only a few percent of the background steady emission. One of the next steps for exploring the feasibility of this resolution to the coronal heating problem is to understand the morphology of these emissions. To meet this objective we have developed a technique based on an unsupervised machine learning approach for characterising the morphology of these impulsive emissions. Here we present the results of application of this technique to over 8000 images spanning 70 minutes of data in which about 34,500 features could robustly be characterised as 2D elliptical Gaussians.

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arXiv2021

Machine Learning for Scientific Discovery

Machine Learning algorithms are good tools for both classification and prediction purposes. These algorithms can further be used for scientific discoveries from the enormous data being collected in our era. We present ways of discovering and understanding astronomical phenomena by applying machine learning algorithms to data collected with radio telescopes. We discuss the use of supervised machine learning algorithms to predict the free parameters of star formation histories and also better understand the relations between the different input and output parameters. We made use of Deep Learning to capture the non-linearity in the parameters. Our models are able to predict with low error rates and give the advantage of predicting in real time once the model has been trained. The other class of machine learning algorithms viz. unsupervised learning can prove to be very useful in finding patterns in the data. We explore how we use such unsupervised techniques on solar radio data to identify patterns and variations, and also link such findings to theories, which help to better understand the nature of the system being studied. We highlight the challenges faced in terms of data size, availability, features, processing ability and importantly, the interpretability of results. As our ability to capture and store data increases, increased use of machine learning to understand the underlying physics in the information captured seems inevitable.

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