arXiv subjects

Gabriel Pelouze

Publications and source records attributed to Gabriel Pelouze.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and heating in oscillating loops perturbed by power-law transverse wave drivers

Instabilities in oscillating loops are believed to be essential for dissipating the wave energy and heating the solar coronal plasma. Our aim is to study the development of the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability in an oscillating loop that is driven by random footpoint motions. Using the PLUTO code, we performed 3D simulations of a straight gravitationally stratified flux tube. The loop footpoints are embedded in chromospheric plasma, in the presence of thermal conduction and an artificially broadened transition region. Using drivers with a power-law spectrum, one with a red noise spectrum and one with the low-frequency part subtracted, we excited standing oscillations and the KH instability in our loops, after one-and-a-half periods of the oscillation. We see that our broadband drivers lead to fully deformed, turbulent loop cross-sections over the entire coronal part of the loop due to the spatially extended KH instability. The low RMS velocity of our driver without the low-frequency components supports the working hypothesis that the KH instability can easily manifest in oscillating coronal loops. We report for the first time in driven transverse oscillations of loops the apparent propagation of density perturbations due to the onset of the KH instability, from the apex towards the footpoints. Both drivers input sufficient energy to drive enthalpy and mass flux fluctuations along the loop, while also causing heating near the driven footpoint of the oscillating loop, which becomes more prominent when a low-frequency component is included in the velocity driver. Finally, our power-law driver with the low-frequency component provides a RMS input Poynting flux of the same order as the radiative losses of the quiet-Sun corona, giving us promising prospects for the contribution of decayless oscillations in coronal heating.

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arXiv2023

Evolution of dynamic fibrils from the cooler chromosphere to the hotter corona

Dynamic fibrils (DFs) are commonly observed chromospheric features in solar active regions. Recent observations from the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) aboard the Solar Orbiter have revealed unambiguous signatures of DFs at the coronal base, in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission. However, it remains unclear if the DFs detected in the EUV are linked to their chromospheric counterparts. Simultaneous detection of DFs from chromospheric to coronal temperatures could provide important information on their thermal structuring and evolution through the solar atmosphere. In this paper, we address this question by using coordinated EUV observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), and EUI to establish a one-to-one correspondence between chromospheric and transition region DFs (observed by IRIS) with their coronal counterparts (observed by EUI and AIA). Our analysis confirms a close correspondence between DFs observed at different atmospheric layers, and reveals that DFs can reach temperatures of about 1.5 million Kelvin, typical of the coronal base in active regions. Furthermore, intensity evolution of these DFs, as measured by tracking them over time, reveals a shock-driven scenario in which plasma piles up near the tips of these DFs and, subsequently, these tips appear as bright blobs in coronal images. These findings provide information on the thermal structuring of DFs and their evolution and impact through the solar atmosphere.

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arXiv2023

Influence of the Lower Atmosphere on Wave Heating and Evaporation in Solar Coronal Loops

We model a coronal loop as a three-dimensional magnetic cylinder in a realistic solar atmosphere that extends from the chromosphere to the corona. Kink oscillations, believed ubiquitous in the solar corona, are launched in the loop. Heating is expected due to the dissipation of wave energy at small structures that develop from the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability induced by kink oscillations. Increases in temperature and internal energy can be observed in the coronal counterpart of the driven loop. With the presence of thermal conduction, chromospheric evaporation can also be seen. Although the volume averaged temperature and density changes seem slight ($\sim4\%$ relative to a non-driven loop), the enthalpy flow from the lower atmosphere redistributes the density and temperature in the vertical direction, thus enhancing the dissipation of wave energy in the corona. The efficient heating in the coronal counterpart of the loop can complement the thermal conductive losses shown in the current model and thus maintain the internal energy in the corona.

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arXiv2023

Slow Solar Wind Connection Science during Solar Orbiter's First Close Perihelion Passage

The Slow Solar Wind Connection Solar Orbiter Observing Plan (Slow Wind SOOP) was developed to utilise the extensive suite of remote sensing and in situ instruments on board the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter mission to answer significant outstanding questions regarding the origin and formation of the slow solar wind. The Slow Wind SOOP was designed to link remote sensing and in situ measurements of slow wind originating at open-closed field boundaries. The SOOP ran just prior to Solar Orbiter's first close perihelion passage during two remote sensing windows (RSW1 and RSW2) between 2022 March 3-6 and 2022 March 17-22, while Solar Orbiter was at a heliocentric distance of 0.55-0.51 and 0.38-0.34 au from the Sun, respectively. Coordinated observation campaigns were also conducted by Hinode and IRIS. The magnetic connectivity tool was used, along with low latency in situ data, and full-disk remote sensing observations, to guide the target pointing of Solar Orbiter. Solar Orbiter targeted an active region complex during RSW1, the boundary of a coronal hole, and the periphery of a decayed active region during RSW2. Post-observation analysis using the magnetic connectivity tool along with in situ measurements from MAG and SWA/PAS, show that slow solar wind, with velocities between 210 and 600 km/s, arrived at the spacecraft originating from two out of the three of the target regions. The Slow Wind SOOP, despite presenting many challenges, was very successful, providing a blueprint for planning future observation campaigns that rely on the magnetic connectivity of Solar Orbiter.

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arXiv2023

Cut-off of transverse waves through the solar transition region

Context. Transverse oscillations are ubiquitously observed in the solar corona, both in coronal loops and open magnetic flux tubes. Numerical simulations suggest that their dissipation could heat coronal loops, counterbalancing radiative losses. These models rely on a continuous driver at the footpoint of the loops. However, analytical works predict that transverse waves are subject to a cut-off in the transition region. It is thus unclear whether they can reach the corona, and indeed heat coronal loops. Aims. Our aims are to determine how the cut-off of kink waves affects their propagation into the corona, and to characterize the variation of the cut-off frequency with altitude. Methods. Using 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we modelled the propagation of kink waves in a magnetic flux tube, embedded in a realistic atmosphere with thermal conduction, that starts in the chromosphere and extends into the corona. We drove kink waves at four different frequencies, and determined whether they experienced a cut-off. We then calculated the altitude at which the waves were cut-off, and compared it to the prediction of several analytical models. Results. We show that kink waves indeed experience a cut-off in the transition region, and we identified the analytical model that gives the best predictions. In addition, we show that waves with periods shorter than approximately 500 s can still reach the corona by tunnelling through the transition region, with little to no attenuation of their amplitude. This means that such waves can still propagate from the footpoints of loop, and result in heating in the corona.

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arXiv2022

Image enhancement with wavelet-optimized whitening

Due to its physical nature, the solar corona exhibits large spatial variations of intensity that make it difficult to simultaneously visualize the features present at all levels and scales. Many general-purpose and specialized filters have been proposed to enhance coronal images. However, most of them require the ad hoc tweaking of parameters to produce subjectively good results. Our aim was to develop a general purpose image enhancement technique that would produce equally good results, but based on an objective criterion. The underlying principle of the method is the equalization, or whitening, of power in the {\it à trous} wavelet spectrum of the input image at all scales and locations. An edge-avoiding modification of the {\it à trous} transform that uses bilateral weighting by the local variance in the wavelet planes is used to suppress the undesirable halos otherwise produced by discontinuities in the data. Results are presented for a variety of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and white light images of the solar corona. The proposed filter produces sharp and contrasted output, without requiring the manual adjustment of parameters. Furthermore, the built-in denoising scheme prevents the explosion of high-frequency noise typical of other enhancement methods, without smoothing statistically significant small-scale features. The standard version of the algorithm is about two times faster than the widely used multiscale Gaussian normalization (MGN). The bilateral version is slower, but provides significantly better results in the presence of spikes or edges. Comparisons with other methods suggest that the whitening principle may correspond to the subjective criterion of most users when adjusting free parameters.

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arXiv2022

Signatures of dynamic fibrils at the coronal base: Observations from Solar Orbiter/EUI

The solar chromosphere hosts a wide variety of transients, including dynamic fibrils (DFs) that are characterised as elongated, jet-like features seen in active regions, often through H$α$ diagnostics. So far, these features have been difficult to identify in coronal images primarily due to their small size and the lower spatial resolution of the current EUV imagers. Here we present the first unambiguous signatures of DFs in coronal EUV data using high-resolution images from the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on board Solar Orbiter. Using the data acquired with the 174~Å High Resolution Imager (HRI$_{EUV}$) of EUI, we find many bright dot-like features (of size 0.3-0.5 Mm) that move up and down (often repeatedly) in the core of an active region. In a space-time map, these features produce parabolic tracks akin to the chromospheric observations of DFs. Properties such as their speeds (14 km~s$^{-1}$), lifetime (332~s), deceleration (82 m~s$^{-2}$) and lengths (1293~km) are also reminiscent of the chromospheric DFs. The EUI data strongly suggest that these EUV bright dots are basically the hot tips (of the cooler chromospheric DFs) that could not be identified unambiguously before because of a lack of spatial resolution.

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arXiv2022

Plasma composition measurements in an active region from Solar Orbiter/SPICE and Hinode/EIS

A key goal of the Solar Orbiter mission is to connect elemental abundance measurements of the solar wind enveloping the spacecraft with EUV spectroscopic observations of their solar sources, but this is not an easy exercise. Observations from previous missions have revealed a highly complex picture of spatial and temporal variations of elemental abundances in the solar corona. We have used coordinated observations from Hinode and Solar Orbiter to attempt new abundance measurements with the SPICE (Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment) instrument, and benchmark them against standard analyses from EIS (EUV Imaging Spectrometer). We use observations of several solar features in AR 12781 taken from an Earth-facing view by EIS on 2020 November 10, and SPICE data obtained one week later on 2020 November 17; when the AR had rotated into the Solar Orbiter field-of-view. We identify a range of spectral lines that are useful for determining the transition region and low coronal temperature structure with SPICE, and demonstrate that SPICE measurements are able to differentiate between photospheric and coronal Mg/Ne abundances. The combination of SPICE and EIS is able to establish the atmospheric composition structure of a fan loop/outflow area at the active region edge. We also discuss the problem of resolving the degree of elemental fractionation with SPICE, which is more challenging without further constraints on the temperature structure, and comment on what that can tell us about the sources of the solar wind and solar energetic particles.

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arXiv2022

What drives decayless kink oscillations in active region coronal loops on the Sun?

We study here the phenomena of decayless kink oscillations in a system of active region (AR) coronal loops. Using high resolution observations from two different instruments, namely the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on board Solar Orbiter and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we follow these AR loops for an hour each on three consecutive days. Our results show significantly more resolved decayless waves in the higher-resolution EUI data compared with the AIA data. Furthermore, the same system of loops exhibits many of these decayless oscillations on Day-2, while on Day-3, we detect very few oscillations and on Day-1, we find none at all. Analysis of photospheric magnetic field data reveals that at most times, these loops were rooted in sunspots, where supergranular flows are generally absent. This suggests that supergranular flows, which are often invoked as drivers of decayless waves, are not necessarily driving such oscillations in our observations. Similarly, our findings also cast doubt on other possible drivers of these waves, such as a transient driver or mode conversion of longitudinal waves near the loop footpoints. In conclusion, through our analysis we find that none of the commonly suspected sources proposed to drive decayless oscillations in active region loops seems to be operating in this event and hence, the search for that elusive wave driver needs to continue.

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arXiv2022

Observation of Magnetic Switchback in the Solar Corona

Switchbacks are sudden, large radial deflections of the solar wind magnetic field, widely revealed in interplanetary space by the Parker Solar Probe. The switchbacks' formation mechanism and sources are still unresolved, although candidate mechanisms include Alfvénic turbulence, shear-driven Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, interchange reconnection, and geometrical effects related to the Parker spiral. This Letter presents observations from the Metis coronagraph onboard Solar Orbiter of a single large propagating S-shaped vortex, interpreted as first evidence of a switchback in the solar corona. It originated above an active region with the related loop system bounded by open-field regions to the East and West. Observations, modeling, and theory provide strong arguments in favor of the interchange reconnection origin of switchbacks. Metis measurements suggest that the initiation of the switchback may also be an indicator of the origin of slow solar wind.

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arXiv2021

The role of asymmetries in coronal rain formation during thermal non-equilibrium cycles

Context: Thermal non-equilibrium (TNE) produces several observables that can be used to constrain the spatial and temporal distribution of solar coronal heating. Its manifestations include prominence formation, coronal rain, and long-period intensity pulsations in coronal loops. The recent observation of abundant periodic coronal rain associated with intensity pulsations by Auchère et al. allows to unify these two phenomena as the result of TNE condensation and evaporation cycles. On the other hand, many intensity pulsation events observed by Froment et al. show little to no coronal rain formation. Aims: Our goal is to understand why some TNE cycles produce such abundant coronal rain, while others produce little to no rain. Methods: We reconstruct the geometry of the event reported by Auchère et al., using images from STEREO/SECCHI/EUVI and magnetograms from SDO/HMI. We then perform 1D hydrodynamic simulations of this event, for different heating parameters and variations of the loop geometry (9000 simulations in total). We compare the resulting behaviour to simulations of TNE cycles by Froment et al. that do not produce coronal rain. Results: Our simulations show that both prominences and TNE cycles (with and without coronal rain) can form within the same magnetic structure. We show that the formation of coronal rain during TNE cycles depends on the asymmetry of the loop and of the heating. Asymmetric loops are overall less likely to produce coronal rain, regardless of the heating. In symmetric loops, coronal rain forms when the heating is also symmetric. In asymmetric loops, rain forms only when the heating compensates the asymmetry.

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arXiv2021

Linking the Sun to the Heliosphere Using Composition Data and Modelling. A Test Case with a Coronal Jet

Our understanding of the formation and evolution of the corona and the heliosphere is linked to our capability of properly interpreting the data from remote sensing and in-situ observations. In this respect, being able to correctly connect in-situ observations with their source regions on the Sun is the key for solving this problem. In this work we aim at testing a diagnostics method for this connectivity. This paper makes use of a coronal jet observed on 2010 August 2nd in active region 11092 as a test for our connectivity method. This combines solar EUV and in-situ data together with magnetic field extrapolation, large scale MHD modeling and FIP (First Ionization Potential) bias modeling to provide a global picture from the source region of the jet to its possible signatures at 1AU. Our data analysis reveals the presence of outflow areas near the jet which are within open magnetic flux regions and which present FIP bias consistent with the FIP model results. In our picture, one of these open areas is the candidate jet source. Using a back-mapping technique we identified the arrival time of this solar plasma at the ACE spacecraft. The in-situ data show signatures of changes in the plasma and magnetic field parameters, with FIP bias consistent with the possible passage of the jet material. Our results highlight the importance of remote sensing and in-situ coordinated observations as a key to solve the connectivity problem. We discuss our results in view of the recent Solar Orbiter launch which is currently providing such unique data.

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arXiv2019

On the spectroscopic detection of periodic plasma flows in loops undergoing thermal non-equilibrium

Context: Long-period intensity pulsations were recently detected in the EUV emission of coronal loops, and have been attributed to cycles of plasma evaporation and condensation driven by thermal non-equilibrium (TNE). Numerical simulations that reproduce this phenomenon also predict the formation of periodic flows of plasma at coronal temperatures along some of the pulsating loops. Aims: In this paper, we aim at detecting these predicted flows of coronal-temperature plasma in pulsating loops. Methods: To this end, we use time series of spatially resolved spectra from the EUV imaging spectrometer (EIS) onboard Hinode, and track the evolution of the Doppler velocity in loops in which intensity pulsations have previously been detected in images of SDO/AIA. Results: We measure signatures of flows that are compatible with the simulations, but only in a fraction of the observed events. We demonstrate that this low detection rate can be explained by line of sight ambiguities, combined with instrumental limitations such as low signal to noise ratio or insufficient cadence.

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arXiv2019

Comprehensive Determination of the Hinode/EIS Roll Angle

We present a new coalignment method for the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on board the Hinode spacecraft. In addition to the pointing offset and spacecraft jitter, this method determines the roll angle of the instrument, which has never been systematically measured, and is therefore usually not corrected. The optimal pointing for EIS is computed by maximizing the cross-correlations of the Fe XII 195.119 Å line with images from the 193 Å band of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). By coaligning 3336 rasters with high signal-to-noise ratio, we estimate the rotation angle between EIS and AIA and explore the distribution of its values. We report an average value of (-0.387 $\pm$ 0.007)°. We also provide a software implementation of this method that can be used to coalign any EIS raster.

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