arXiv subjects

Sneha Pandit

Publications and source records attributed to Sneha Pandit.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Role of SKA in Advancing Remote Measurements of Magnetic Fields of Solar Coronal Mass Ejections

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of magnetized plasma from the Sun into interplanetary space and are the primary drivers of extreme space weather variations. The strength and topology of CME magnetic fields largely determine their impact on Earth. Although visible-light coronagraphs routinely observe CMEs and provide their geometric and kinematic properties, they cannot directly measure CME vector magnetic fields. These fields evolve from initiation through the inner heliosphere due to interactions with other CMEs, coronal structures, and the ambient solar wind, leading to significant structural deformation. Such evolution complicates predictions of the CME magnetic field at Earth. Accurate measurements of CME magnetic fields in the corona and heliosphere are therefore essential for advancing space weather forecasting. Radio observations spanning MHz to GHz frequencies provide a powerful remote-sensing approach for measuring CME magnetic fields from the ground. Recent observations with Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursors and pathfinder instruments, as well as other new-generation facilities, have demonstrated the potential of these radio techniques for CME magnetic-field diagnostics. At the same time, these studies have highlighted several limitations of current instruments. The higher sensitivity, wider instantaneous bandwidth, and broader frequency coverage of the SKA will open a new observational window, enabling these techniques to be fully exploited for constraining SpWx models and improving predictive accuracy. However, such observations are non-standard and require special consideration in scheduling, calibration, and imaging. Developments achieved with SKA precursors and pathfinders are paving the way for robust CME magnetic-field measurements with the SKA.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

Near-Sun Switchbacks Show Statistical Signatures of Solar Activity

The large amplitude, Alfv\'enic deflections in the solar wind, called magnetic switchbacks, are a ubiquitous feature of the inner heliosphere, yet their origin and variability remain poorly understood. We investigate the dependence of large amplitude magnetic fluctuations in the inner heliosphere on both heliocentric distance and global solar activity. Using Parker Solar Probe observations, we quantify switchback deflections through their normalised deflection angle $z$. We examine both their distribution and the probability of large events, combining radial binning, sunspot-number-based activity classification, and regression analysis. We find a statistically significant but weak dependence of switchback properties on solar activity, with a decrease in large deflections at higher activity levels, alongside a modest increase with heliocentric distance. The weak activity trend suggests that multiple processes act simultaneously. Solar-cycle variations in coronal magnetic topology may modulate switchback generation at the source, while nonlinear in situ effects in the solar wind may partially evolve these signatures. Our results indicate that switchbacks retain only a limited imprint of solar activity, reflecting a coupled interplay between coronal origin and in situ evolution. This study provides a quantitative framework to disentangle activity and radial effects, and highlights the need for multi-parameter and multi-spacecraft analyses to fully understand the origin and evolution of switchbacks.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

A comparison of G-band brightness as a proxy-magnetometer in various magnetic configurations

We investigate the diagnostic potential of the G-band at 430.4 nm for probing small-scale magnetic fields in the solar photosphere. Combining three-dimensional MHD simulations from the MURaM code and spectral synthesis via the RH 1.5D code, we evaluate the intensity contrast in the G-band filtergrams by comparing the filter centered at 430.4 nm in comparison to the conventional 430.5 nm. Our results show that filtergrams centered at 430.4 nm provide higher contrast across varying magnetic environments, particularly at narrow filter widths. This enhancement arises from its slightly higher formation height and greater sensitivity to temperature variations in magnetized regions. These findings indicate that G-band filtergrams centered at 430.4 nm show enhanced diagnostic potential under the assumptions of the present modeling. The obtained results are also relevant and suggest potential applications in stellar contexts, where molecular bands are often used as proxies for magnetic activity.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2024

EMISSA: Exploring millimetre indicators of solar-stellar activity III. Comparison of Ca II indices and millimetre continua in a 3D model atmosphere

The Ca II H & K lines are strong chromospheric diagnostics that can be used to determine the temperature stratification and magnetic structure of the solar atmosphere. The Atacama Large Millimetre/Submillimetre Array (ALMA) offers complementary information on the thermal structure of stellar atmospheres using mm continuum radiation. The overall aim is to establish more robust solar/stellar activity indicators using ALMA observations in comparison with classical diagnostics, such as the s index and infrared triplet (IRT) index. A study was conducted using 1.5D radiative transfer codes RH1.5D and advanced radiative transfer (ART), along with an enhanced network atmosphere model generated by the state-of-the-art 3D radiation magnetohydrodynamics (rMHD) Bifrost code, to compute synthetic spectra for both Ca II lines and mm continua. To account for the limited spatial resolution of ALMA, we simulated the effect using a Gaussian point spread function (PSF). Additionally, we analysed the correlations and slopes of scatter plots between the Ca II indices and mm continuum for the original and degraded resolutions, focusing on the entire simulation box, quiet Sun regions, and enhanced network patches separately. The activity indices generated from these lines could further be used to compare the spectra of Sun-like stars with the solar spectrum. The Ca II activity indices and mm brightness temperatures are weakly correlated at the high resolution, with the highest correlation observed at a wavelength of 0.3 mm, corresponding to ALMA band 10. As the resolution decreases, the correlation consistently increases. Conversely, the slopes exhibit a decreasing trend with increasing wavelength, while the degradation of resolution does not noticeably affect the calculated slopes. Consequently, these relationships could be valuable for calibrating the mm continuum maps obtained through ALMA observations.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2023

Comparison of chromospheric diagnostics in a 3D model atmosphere: H$\alpha$ linewidth and mm continua

The Ha line, one of the most studied chromospheric diagnostics, is a tracer for magnetic field structures, while its line core intensity provides an estimate of the mass density. The brightness temperatures from Atacama Large Millimetre-submm Array (ALMA) observations provide a complementary view of the activity and the thermal structure of stellar atmospheres. These two diagnostics together can provide insights into the physical properties of stellar atmospheres. In this paper, we present a comparative study between synthetic continuum brightness temperature maps for mm wavelengths (0.3 mm to 8.5 mm) and the width of the Ha 6565{\AA} line. The 3D radiative transfer codes Multi3D and Advanced Radiative Transfer (ART) are used to calculate synthetic spectra for the Ha line and the mm continua respectively, from an enhanced network atmosphere model with non-equilibrium hydrogen ionisation generated with the state-of-the-art 3D rMHD code Bifrost. We use Gaussian Point Spread Function (PSF) for simulating the effect of ALMA's limited spatial resolution and calculate the Ha vs. mm continuum correlations and slopes of scatter plots for the original and degraded resolution of the whole box, quiet sun and enhanced network patches separately. The Ha linewidth and mm brightness temperatures are highly correlated and the correlation is highest at a wavelength 0.8 mm i.e. ALMA Band 7. The correlation increases with decreased resolution. On the other hand, the slopes decrease with increasing wavelength. The degradation of resolution does not have a significant impact on the calculated slopes. With decreasing spatial resolution the standard deviations of the observables, Ha linewidth and brightness temperatures decrease and the correlations between them increase, but the slopes do not change significantly. Hence, these relations may prove useful to calibrate the mm continuum maps observed with ALMA.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2022

EMISSA -- Exploring Millimetre Indicators of Solar-Stellar Activity II. Towards a robust indicator of stellar activity

An activity indicator, which can provide a robust quantitative mapping between the stellar activity and the physical properties of its atmosphere, is important in exploring the physics of activity across spectral types. But the common activity indicators show large variability in their values which makes defining a robust quantitative scale difficult. Millimetre (mm) wavelengths probe the different atmospheric layers within the stellar chromosphere providing a tomographic view of the atmospheric dynamics. The project aims to define a robust mm-based activity indicator for the cool main-sequence stars ($\mathrm{T_{eff}} \sim$ 5000 - 7000 K). We derive the mm-brightness temperature ($\mathrm{T_B(ν)}$) spectral indices ($\mathrm{α_{mm}}$) for cool stars including the Sun using archival data in the 30 - 1000 GHz range. The derived values for $\mathrm{α_{mm}}$ are explored as a function of various physical parameters and empirical power-law functions were derived. $\mathrm{α_{mm}}$ estimates were also compared with other activity indicators. Despite the estimation errors, $\mathrm{α_{mm}}$ values could well distinguish the cool stars, unlike common activity indicators. The low estimation errors on the derived trends of $\mathrm{α_{mm}}$ versus physical parameters suggest that $\mathrm{α_{mm}}$ could be a robust activity indicator. $\mathrm{α_{mm}}$, which is linked to chromospheric thermal stratification and activity in cool stars can well distinguish and physically characterise the stars more robustly than common activity indicators. We emphasise the need for multi-frequency data across the mm-band for stars, with a range of physical parameters and gathered at multiple epochs during activity cycles. This will help explore $\mathrm{α_{mm}}$ in a statistically robust manner and study the emergence of chromospheric heating on the main-sequence.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2021

EMISSA -- Exploring Millimeter Indicators of Solar-Stellar Activity I. The Initial mm-cm Main Sequence Star Sample

Due to their wide wavelength coverage across the millimetre to centimetre (mm - cm) range and their increased sensitivity, modern interferometric arrays facilitate observations of the thermal and non-thermal emission from different stellar atmospheric layers. We study the spectral energy distribution ($S_{obs}(ν)$) of main sequence stars using archival mm - cm data with the aim to study their atmospheric stratification as a function of stellar type. The main-sequence stars with significant detection in mm bands were identified in the ALMA Science Archive. These data were complemented with spectral flux data in the Ultra violet to centimetre range as compiled from various catalogues and observatory archives. We compare the resultant $S_{obs}(ν)$ of each star with a photospheric emission model ($S_{mod}(ν)$) calculated with the PHOENIX code. The departures of $S_{obs}(ν)$ from the model are quantified in terms of a "spectral flux excess" parameter ($ΔS/S_{mod} (ν)$) for every star in the sample. The initial sample consists of 12 stars across a range of spectral type from A1 to M3.5 and the Sun-as-a-star as reference. The stars with $T_{eff} = 4000 - 7000\,K$ (F - M type) showed a systematically higher $ΔS/S_{mod}$ in the mm - cm range, with the values rising with decreasing $ν$. The steepness of this rise is higher for cooler stars, though the fully convective 3000 K star in the sample deviated from this trend. For the A-type stars, $ΔS/S_{mod} \sim 0$ within errors. The high $ΔS/S_{mod}$ in cool stars points to the presence of hotter upper atmospheric layers, i.e. a chromosphere and corona, like for the Sun. The mm - cm $ΔS/S_{mod}$ spectrum offers a way to estimate the efficiency of the heating mechanisms across various atmospheric layers and thereby to understand their structure and activity. We emphasise the need for more mm - cm data.

astro-ph.SR↗