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Hugh Hudson

Publications and source records attributed to Hugh Hudson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Signatures of photospheric convection throughout the solar atmosphere: the EVE Sun-as-a-star mHz continuum

Convectively driven motions in the solar photosphere can generate broadband Doppler variability across the chromosphere, transition region and corona. Here we investigate this variability using "Sun-as-a-Star" observations from the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory, constructing high signal-to-noise Doppler power spectra from incoherently summed 3-hour sequences of the centroid wavelengths of emission lines that span wavelengths 35-104 nm. The spectra reveal a broad power-spectral continuum with two Harvey-like components, one of which extends to the Nyquist frequency at 50 mHz with a steep power-law tail. Lines formed in the corona, as compared with those of the chromosphere/transition region, have substantially less Doppler amplitude in the 5 mHz Harvey component associated with granulation-scale convection. Based on the observed continuum, there is no evidence (in any of the 26 lines studied) for Kolmogorov turbulence, which predicts a flat continuum component with Doppler variance ~ f^{-5/3) as a function of frequency f. The total inferred non-thermal RMS velocities (>0.1 mHz) are of order 15 km/s, consistent with previous coronal "microturbulence" estimates from non-thermal line widths. These observations provide the first clear detection of Sun-as-a-star EUV Doppler variability above about 10 mHz and demonstrate the potential of full-disk EUV spectroscopy to probe turbulent energy transport throughout the solar atmosphere.

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arXiv2026

First time delay observation between two mid-infrared channels in solar flare footpoints

The strong correlation between energy injection and mid-infrared (mid-IR) emission observed during solar flares can be used to probe energy deposition throughout the chromosphere, since the IR tracks prompt flare-induced changes in electron density. Despite its diagnostic value, solar mid-IR observations are relatively recent, with sporadic campaigns over the last decade resulting in only a few recorded flares. Earlier studies found time lags between mid-IR emissions from spatially resolved footpoints, offering clues about flare energy transport. Building on this, we analyse the time lags between emissions at two wavelengths (5.2 micrometers and 8.2 micrometers) for each footpoint. Using a local cross-correlation function, we show for the first time that the 8.2 micrometers emission channel peaks 0.3 s-0.45 s before the 5.2 micrometer channel. We investigate the origin of this lag, obtaining infrared emission estimates using results from the RADYN radiation hydrodynamics code. The theoretical lag values fall within the range of the observed ones. Variations in opacity-primarily due to flare-induced ionization-explain the wavelength-dependent temporal shift between emission maxima. In particular, longer wavelengths exhibit a smaller lag between the peak of energy injection and peak of intensity. These results contribute to a better understanding of how energy deposition during a flare affects the chromospheric layers of the atmosphere. Future observations with higher temporal resolution could exploit measurements of these time lags to more fully characterize the dynamics of energy deposition during solar flares, opening a new avenue for studying heating and energy transport processes in the solar atmosphere.

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arXiv2026

A Statistical Survey of Faint Solar X-ray Transients Observed by NuSTAR

In this paper, we use a highly sensitive telescope to characterize solar X-ray transients ranging from microflares in active regions down to weakly energetic brightenings in the quiet Sun. X-rays are closely linked to the initial energy release and immediate heating of solar flares, making them invaluable in understanding their driving processes. NuSTAR is the first long-term, direct focusing hard X-ray observatory to have observed the Sun, offering a unique opportunity to search for and characterize X-ray events from inside and outside active regions that would be otherwise unobservable. We present the first statistical survey of NuSTAR solar observations, characterizing the thermal and possibly nonthermal properties of 113 weakly energetic transients down to $10^{26}$ erg, making this the first to directly compare events from the quiet Sun to those in active regions. Relative to RHESSI microflares, our NuSTAR transients are generally cooler, dimmer, and have slightly steeper spectra. Thermal energy content of active region transients appears to be independent of the volume of emitting plasma for transients produced by active regions. This is in contrast to those from the quiet corona, which on average have lower energy content, smaller emission volumes, and appear cool but bright rather than hot but dim, suggesting a break in trends from traditional microflares. We found no quiet Sun transients with a thermal energy content above $3^{27}$ erg, implying an upper limit on the amount of energy released in plasma above 3 MK by quiescent processes.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2026

Flare Impulsive-phase Durations

This Research Note is in response to the recent paper by S. M. Perriyil et al. (2026). They provide measurements of the time delay (delta t) between the hard X-ray and soft X-ray peak times for 96 flares observed with RHESSI and GOES. These delays are found to be dependent on the length of 9 the magnetic loop(s) joining the HXR footpoints seen in RHESSI images. We offer a possible explanation for this coincidence in terms of the duration of the electron beam heating, commonly inferred from the duration of the HXR emission, and the time taken for heated plasma to rise to the loop top as inferred in this paper from delta t. We suggest that the particle acceleration occurs at or near the top of the loop(s) and that it is quenched by the increase in density as the heated plasma reaches the acceleration site.

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arXiv2025

Ion-rich acceleration during an eruptive flux rope event in a multiple null-point configuration

We report on the $\gamma$-ray emission above 100~MeV from the GOES M3.3 flare SOL2012-06-03. The hard X-ray (HXR) and microwave emissions have typical time profiles with a fast rise to a well-defined peak followed by a slower decay. The $>$100~MeV emission during the prompt phase displayed a double-peaked temporal structure with the first peak following the HXR and microwaves, and the second one, about three times stronger, occurring $17 \pm 2$ seconds later. The time profiles seem to indicate two separate acceleration mechanisms at work, where the second $\gamma$-ray peak reveals a potentially pure or at least largely dominant ion acceleration. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly imaging shows a bright elliptical ribbon and a transient brightening in the north-western (NW) region. Nonlinear force-free extrapolations at the time of the impulsive peaks show closed field lines connecting the NW region to the south-eastern part of the ribbon and the magnetic topology revealed clusters of nulls. These observations suggest a spine-and-fan geometry, and based on these observations we interpret the second $\gamma$-ray peak as being due to the predominant acceleration of ions in a region with multiple null points. The $>$100 MeV emission from this flare also exhibits a delayed phase with an exponential decay of roughly 350 seconds. We find that the delayed emission is consistent with ions being trapped in a closed flux tube with gradual escape via their loss cone to the chromosphere.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2024

Principles Of Heliophysics: a textbook on the universal processes behind planetary habitability

Heliophysics is the system science of the physical connections between the Sun and the solar system. As the physics of the local cosmos, it embraces space weather and planetary habitability. The wider view of comparative heliophysics forms a template for conditions in exoplanetary systems and provides a view over time of the aging Sun and its magnetic activity, of the heliosphere in different settings of the interstellar medium and subject to stellar impacts, of the space physics over evolving planetary dynamos, and of the long-term influence on planetary atmospheres by stellar radiation and wind. Based on a series of NASA-funded summer schools for early-career researchers, this textbook is intended for students in physical sciences in later years of their university training and for beginning graduate students in fields of solar, stellar, (exo-)planetary, and planetary-system sciences. The book emphasizes universal processes from a perspective that draws attention to what provides Earth (and similar (exo-)planets) with a relatively stable setting in which life as we know it could thrive. The text includes 200 "Activities" in the form of exercises, explorations, literature readings, "what if" challenges, and group discussion topics; many of the Activities provide additional information complementing the main text. Solutions and discussions are included in an Appendix for a selection of the exercises.

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arXiv2024

Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: Solar and stellar observations

Observations at (sub-)millimeter wavelengths offer a complementary perspective on our Sun and other stars, offering significant insights into both the thermal and magnetic composition of their chromospheres. Despite the fundamental progress in (sub-)millimeter observations of the Sun, some important aspects require diagnostic capabilities that are not offered by existing observatories. In particular, simultaneous observations of the radiation continuum across an extended frequency range would facilitate the mapping of different layers and thus ultimately the 3D structure of the solar atmosphere. Mapping large regions on the Sun or even the whole solar disk at a very high temporal cadence would be crucial for systematically detecting and following the temporal evolution of flares, while synoptic observations, i.e., daily maps, over periods of years would provide an unprecedented view of the solar activity cycle in this wavelength regime. As our Sun is a fundamental reference for studying the atmospheres of active main sequence stars, observing the Sun and other stars with the same instrument would unlock the enormous diagnostic potential for understanding stellar activity and its impact on exoplanets. The Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a single-dish telescope with 50\,m aperture proposed to be built in the Atacama desert in Chile, would be able to provide these observational capabilities. Equipped with a large number of detector elements for probing the radiation continuum across a wide frequency range, AtLAST would address a wide range of scientific topics including the thermal structure and heating of the solar chromosphere, flares and prominences, and the solar activity cycle. In this white paper, the key science cases and their technical requirements for AtLAST are discussed.

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arXiv2023

The existence of hot X-ray onsets in solar flares

It is well known among the scientific community that solar flare activity often begins well before the main impulsive energy release. Our aim is to investigate the earliest phase of four distinct flares observed by Solar Orbiter/STIX and determine the relationships of the newly heated plasma to flare structure and dynamics. The analysis focuses on four events that were observed from both Earth and Solar Orbiter, which allows for a comparison of STIX observations with those of GOES/XRS and SDO/AIA. The early phases of the events were studied using STIX and GOES spectroscopic analysis to investigate the evolution of the physical parameters of the plasma, including the isothermal temperature and emission measure. Furthermore, to determine the location of the heated plasma, STIX observations were combined with AIA images. The events with clear emission prior to the impulsive phase show elevated temperatures ($> 10\,\mathrm{MK}$) from the very beginning, which indicates that energy release started before any detection by STIX. Although the temperature shows little variation during the initial phase, the emission measure increases by about two orders of magnitude, implying a series of incrementally greater energy releases. The spectral analysis of STIX and GOES from the very first time bins suggests that the emission has a multi-thermal nature, with a hot component of more than $10\,\mathrm{MK}$. This analysis confirms the existence of "hot onsets," with STIX detecting the hot onset pattern even earlier than GOES. These elevated temperatures imply that energy release actually begins well before any detection by STIX. Therefore, hot onsets may be significant in the initiation, early development, or even prediction of solar flares.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2023

The greatest GOES soft X-ray flares: Saturation and recalibration over two Hale cycles

The solar soft X-ray observations from the GOES satellites provide one of the best quantitative records of solar activity, with nearly continuous flare records since 1975. We present a uniform analysis of the entire time series for 1975 to 2022 at NOAA class C1 level or above, to characterize the occurrence distribution function (ODF) of the flares observed in the 1-8 A spectral band. The analysis includes estimations of the peak fluxes of the 12 flares that saturated the 1-8 A time series. Our new estimates include NOAA's recently established correction factor (1.43) to adjust the GOES-1 through GOES-15 data covering 1975-2016. For each of the 12 saturated events we have made new estimates of peak fluxes based on fits to the rise and fall of the flare time profile, and have validated our extrapolation schemes by comparing with artificially truncated but unsaturated X10-class events. SOL2003-11-04 now has a peak flux of 4.32e-3 W/m^2. This corresponds to X43 on the new scale, or X30 on the old scale. We provide a list in the Appendix for peak fluxes of all 38 events above 10^-3 W/m^2, the GOES X10 level, including the 12 saturated events. The full list now gives us a first complete sample from which we obtain an occurrence distribution function (ODF) for peak energy flux , often represented as a power law dF/dE ~ E^-alpha, for which we find alpha = 1.973 +- 0.014 in the range M1 to X3. The power-law description fails at the high end, requiring a downward break in the ODF above the X10 level. We give a tapered powerlaw description of the resulting CCDF (complementary cumulative distribution function) and extrapolate it into the domain of "superflares," i.e. flares with bolometric energies > 10^33 erg. Extrapolation of this fit provides estimates of 100-yr and 1000-yr GOES peak fluxes that agree reasonably well with other such estimates using different data sets and methodology.

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arXiv2023

Behaviour of molecular hydrogen emission in three solar flares

We have systematically investigated ultraviolet (UV) emission from molecular hydrogen (H$_{2}$) using the Interface Region Imaging Spectrometer (IRIS), during three X-ray flares of C5.1, C9.7 and X1.0 classes on Oct. 25, 2014. Significant emission from five H$_{2}$ spectral lines appeared in the flare ribbons, interpreted as photo-excitation (fluorescence) due to the absorption of UV radiation from two Si IV spectral lines. The H$_{2}$ profiles were broad and consisted of two non-stationary components in red and in the blue wings of the line in addition to the stationary component. The red (blue) wing components showed small redshifts (blue shifts) of ~5-15 km s$^{-1}$ (~5-10 km s$^{-1}$). The nonthermal velocities were found to be ~5-15 km s$^{-1}$. The interrelation between intensities of H$_{2}$ lines and their branching ratios confirmed that H$_{2}$ emission formed under optically thin plasma conditions. There is a strong spatial and temporal correlation between Si IV and H$_{2}$ emission, but the H$_{2}$ emission is more extended and diffuse, further suggesting H$_{2}$ fluorescence, and - by analogy with flare ''back-warming'' providing a means to estimate the depth from which the H$_{2}$ emission originates. We find that this is 1871$\pm$157 km and 1207$\pm$112 km below the source of the Si IV emission, in two different ribbon locations.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2023

The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI)

FOXSI is a direct-imaging, hard X-ray (HXR) telescope optimized for solar flare observations. It detects hot plasma and energetic electrons in and near energy release sites in the solar corona via bremsstrahlung emission, measuring both spatial structure and particle energy distributions. It provides two orders of magnitude faster imaging spectroscopy than previously available, probing physically relevant timescales (<1s) never before accessible to address fundamental questions of energy release and efficient particle acceleration that have importance far beyond their solar application (e.g., planetary magnetospheres, flaring stars, accretion disks). FOXSI measures not only the bright chromospheric X-ray emission where electrons lose most of their energy, but also simultaneous emission from electrons as they are accelerated in the corona and propagate along magnetic field lines. FOXSI detects emission from high in the tenuous corona, where previous instruments have been blinded by nearby bright features and will fully characterizes the accelerated electrons and hottest plasmas as they evolve in energy, space, and time to solve the mystery of how impulsive energy release leads to solar eruptions, the primary drivers of space weather at Earth, and how those eruptions are energized and evolve.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2023

The need for focused, hard X-ray investigations of the Sun

Understanding the nature of energetic particles in the solar atmosphere is one of the most important outstanding problems in heliophysics. Flare-accelerated particles compose a huge fraction of the flare energy budget; they have large influences on how events develop; they are an important source of high-energy particles found in the heliosphere; and they are the single most important corollary to other areas of high-energy astrophysics. Despite the importance of this area of study, this topic has in the past decade received only a small fraction of the resources necessary for a full investigation. For example, NASA has selected no new Explorer-class instrument in the past two decades that is capable of examining this topic. The advances that are currently being made in understanding flare-accelerated electrons are largely undertaken with data from EOVSA (NSF), STIX (ESA), and NuSTAR (NASA Astrophysics). This is despite the inclusion in the previous Heliophysics decadal survey of the FOXSI concept as part of the SEE2020 mission, and also despite NASA's having invested heavily in readying the technology for such an instrument via four flights of the FOXSI sounding rocket experiment. Due to that investment, the instrumentation stands ready to implement a hard X-ray mission to investigate flare-accelerated electrons. This white paper describes the scientific motivation for why this venture should be undertaken soon.

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arXiv2023

The First Survey of Quiet Sun Features Observed in Hard X-Rays With NuSTAR

We present the first survey of quiet Sun features observed in hard X-rays (HXRs), using the the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray (NuSTAR), a HXR focusing optics telescope. The recent solar minimum combined with NuSTAR's high sensitivity has presented a unique opportunity to perform the first HXR imaging spectroscopy on a range of features in the quiet Sun. By studying the HXR emission of these features we can detect or constrain the presence of high temperature (>5 MK) or non-thermal sources, to help understand how they relate to larger more energetic solar phenomena, and determine their contribution to heating the solar atmosphere. We report on several features observed in the 28 September 2018 NuSTAR full-disk quiet Sun mosaics, the first of the NuSTAR quiet Sun observing campaigns, which mostly include steady features of X-ray bright points and an emerging flux region which later evolved into an active region, as well as a short-lived jet. We find that the features' HXR spectra are well fitted with isothermal models with temperatures ranging between 2.0-3.2 MK. Combining the NuSTAR data with softer X-ray emission from Hinode/XRT and EUV from SDO/AIA we recover the differential emission measures, confirming little significant emission above 4 MK. The NuSTAR HXR spectra allow us to constrain the possible non-thermal emission that would still be consistent with a null HXR detection. We found that for only one of the features (the jet) was there a potential non-thermal upper limit capable of powering the heating observed. However, even here the non-thermal electron distribution had to be very steep (effectively mono-energetic) with a low energy cut-off between 3-4 keV. The higher temperature or non-thermal sources in the typical quiet Sun features found in this September 2018 data are therefore found to be very weak, if present at all.

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arXiv2023

An overview of HMI off-disk flare observations

Context: White-light continuum observations of solar flares often have coronal counterparts, including the classical ``white-light prominence'' (WLP) phenomenon. Aims: Coronal emissions by flares, seen in white-light continuum, have only rarely been reported previously. We seek to use modern data to understand the morphology of WLP events. Methods: We have identified a set of 14 examples of WLP detected by the HMI (Heliospheric and Magnetic Imager) experiment on board SDO (the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite), using a new on-line catalogue covering 2011-2017. These invariably accompanied white-light flares (WLF) emission from the lower atmosphere by flares near the limb, as identified by hard X-ray images from RHESSI (the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Spectroscopic Imager). HMI provides full Stokes information, and we have used the linear polarisations (Q~and~U) to distinguish Thomson scattering from cool material. Results: The event morphologies fit roughly into three categories: Ejection, Loop, and Spike, but many events show multiple phenomena. Conclusions: The coronal white-light continuum, observed by HMI analogously to the observations made by a coronagraph, detects many examples of coronal emission and dynamics. Using the Stokes linear polarisation, we estimate the masses of hot coronal plasma in 11 of the 14 events and find them to be similar to typical CME masses, but not exceeding 10$^{15}$\,g. We note that the HMI observations do not occult the bright solar disk and were not designed for coronal observations, resulting in relatively low signal-to-noise ratios. We therefore believe that future such observations with better optimisation will be even more fruitful.

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arXiv2022

Observations of Thomson scattering from a loop-prominence system

We describe observations of the white-light structures in the low corona following the X8.2 flare SOL2017-09-10, as observed in full Stokes parameters by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) of the Solar Dynamics Observatory. These data show both bright loops and a diffuse emission region above them. We interpret the loops as the white-light counterpart of a classical loop-prominence system, intermediate between the hot X-ray loops and coronal rain. The diffuse emission external to the loops is linearly polarized and has a natural interpretation in terms of Thomson scattering from the hot plasma seen prior to its cooling and recombination. The polarimetric data from HMI enable us to distinguish this contribution of scattering from the HMI pseudo-continuum measurement, and to make a direct estimation of the coronal mass in the polarized source. For a snapshot at 16:19~UT, we estimate a mass $8 \times 10^{14}$~g. We further conclude that the volumetric filling factor of this source is near unity.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2020

NuSTAR Observation of Energy Release in Eleven Solar Microflares

Solar flares are explosive releases of magnetic energy. Hard X-ray (HXR) flare emission originates from both hot (millions of Kelvin) plasma and nonthermal accelerated particles, giving insight into flare energy release. The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray (NuSTAR) utilizes direct focusing optics to attain much higher sensitivity in the HXR range than that of previous indirect imagers. This paper presents eleven NuSTAR microflares from two active regions (AR 12671 on 2017 August 21, and AR 12712 on 2018 May 29). The temporal, spatial, and energetic properties of each are discussed in context with previously published HXR brightenings. They are seen to display several 'large-flare' properties, such as impulsive time profiles and earlier peaktimes in higher energy HXRs. For two events where active region background could be removed, microflare emission did not display spatial complexity: differing NuSTAR energy ranges had equivalent emission centroids. Finally, spectral fitting showed a high energy excess over a single thermal model in all events. This excess was consistent with additional higher-temperature plasma volumes in 10/11 microflares, and consistent only with an accelerated particle distribution in the last. Previous NuSTAR studies focused on one or a few microflares at a time, making this the first to collectively examine a sizable number of events. Additionally, this paper introduces an observed variation in the NuSTAR gain unique to the extremely low-livetime (<1%) regime, and establishes a correction method to be used in future NuSTAR solar spectral analysis.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2020

Active Region Irradiance During Quiescent Periods: New Insights from Sun-as-a-star Spectra

How much energy do solar active regions (ARs) typically radiate during quiescent periods? This is a fundamental question for storage and release models of flares and ARs, yet it is presently poorly answered by observations. Here we use the "Sun-as-a-point-source" spectra from the EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to provide a novel estimate of radiative energy losses of an evolving active region. Although EVE provides excellent spectral (5-105nm) and temperature (2-25MK) coverage for AR analysis, to our knowledge, these data have not been used for this purpose due to the lack of spatial resolution and the likelihood of source confusion. Here we present a way around this problem. We analyze EVE data time series, when only one large AR 11520 was present on the disk. By subtracting the quiet Sun background, we estimate the radiative contribution in EUV from the AR alone. We estimate the mean AR irradiance and cumulative AR radiative energy losses in the 1-300A and astronomical standard ROSAT-PSPC, 3-124A, passbands and compare these to the magnetic energy injection rate through the photosphere, and to variations of the solar cycle luminosity. We find that while AR radiative energy losses are ~100 times smaller than typical magnetic energy injection rates at the photosphere, they are an order of magnitude larger or similar to the bolometric radiated energies associated with large flares. This study is the first detailed analysis of AR thermal properties using EVE Sun-as-a-star observations, opening doors to AR studies on other stars.

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