arXiv subjects

Zongjun Ning

Publications and source records attributed to Zongjun Ning.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Quasi-Periodic Pulsations Detected in Ly$α$ and Nonthermal Emissions During Solar Flares

We report quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) with double periods during three solar flares (viz. SOL2011-Feb-15T01:44, SOL2011-Sep-25T04:31, SOL2012-May-17T01:25). The flare QPPs were observed from light curves in Ly$α$, hard X-ray (HXR) and microwave emissions, with the Ly$α$ emission recorded by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, the HXR emission recorded by the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager and the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, and the microwave emission recorded by the Nobeyama Radio Polarimeters and Radioheliograph. By using the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, QPPs with double periods of about two minutes and one minute were first found in the Ly$α$ emission. Then using the same method, a QPP with nearly the same period of about two minutes was also found in HXR and microwave emissions. Considering the possible common origin (nonthermal electrons) between Ly$α$ and HXR/microwave emission, we suggest that the two-minute QPP results from the periodic acceleration of nonthermal electrons during magnetic reconnections. The ratio between the double periods in the Ly$α$ emission was found to be close to two, which is consistent with the theoretical expectation between the fundamental and harmonic modes. However, we cannot rule out other possible driving mechanisms for the one-minute QPPs in HXR/microwave emissions due to their relatively large deviations.

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arXiv2021

Detection of flare multi-periodic pulsations in mid-ultraviolet Balmer continuum, Ly-alpha, hard X-ray, and radio emissions simultaneously

Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs), which usually appear as temporal pulsations of the total flux, are frequently detected in the light curves of solar/stellar flares. In this study, we present the investigation of non-stationary QPPs with multiple periods during the impulsive phase of a powerful flare on 2017 September 06, which were simultane- ously measured by the Large-Yield RAdiometer (LYRA) and the Hard X-ray Modula- tion Telescope (Insight-HXMT), as well as the ground-based BLENSW. The multiple periods, detected by applying a wavelet transform and Lomb-Scargle periodogram to the detrended light curves, are found to be about 20-55 s in the Ly-alpha and mid-ultraviolet Balmer continuum emissions during the flare impulsive phase. Similar QPPs with multi- ple periods are also found in the hard X-ray emission and low-frequency radio emission. Our observations suggest that the flare QPPs could be related to nonthermal electrons accelerated by the repeated energy release process, i.e., triggering of repetitive magnetic reconnection, while the multiple periods might be modulated by the sausage oscillation of hot plasma loops. For the multi-periodic pulsations, other generation mechanisms could not be completely ruled out.

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arXiv2020

An investigation of flare emissions at multiple wavelengths

We report multi-wavelength observations of four solar flares on 2014 July 07. We firstly select these flares according to the soft X-ray (SXR) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emissions recorded by the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment and Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellites. Then their locations and geometries are identified from the full-disk images measured by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), and the time delays among the light curves in different channels are identified. The electron number densities are estimated using the Differential Emission Measure method. We find that three of four flares show strong emissions in SXR channels and high temperature (>6 MK) EUV wavelengths during the impulsive phase, i.e., AIA 131 A and 94 A, and then they emit peak radiation subsequently in the middle temperature (~0.6-3 MK) EUV channels. Moreover, they last for a long time and have smaller electron densities, which are probably driven by the interaction of hot diffuse flare loops. Only one flare emits radiation at almost the same time in all the observed wavelengths, lasts for a relatively short time, and has a larger electron density. It is also accompanied by a type III radio burst. The bright emission at the EUV channel could be corresponding to the associated erupting filament.

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arXiv2020

An ultra-long and quite thin coronal loop without significant expansion

Context. Coronal loops are the basic building blocks of the solar corona, which are related to the mass supply and heating of solar plasmas in the corona. However, their fundamental magnetic structures are still not well understood. Most coronal loops do not expand significantly, whereas the diverging magnetic field would have an expansion factor of about 5-10 over one pressure scale height. Aims. In this study, we investigate a unique coronal loop with a roughly constant cross section, it is ultra long and quite thin. A coronal loop model with magnetic helicity is presented to explain the small expansion of the loop width. Methods. This coronal loop was predominantly detectable in the 171 A channel of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). Then, the local magnetic field line was extrapolated by a Potential-Field-Source-Surface model. Finally, the differential emission measure analysis made from six AIA bandpasses was applied to obtain the thermal properties of this loop. Results. This coronal loop has a projected length of roughly 130 Mm, a width of about 1.5 +(-) 0.5 Mm and a lifetime of around 90 minutes. It follows an open magnetic field line. The cross section expanded very little (i.e., 1.5-2.0) along the loop length during its whole lifetime. This loop has a nearly constant temperature at about 0.7 +(-) 0.2 MK, whereas its density exhibits the typical structure of a stratified atmosphere. Conclusions. We use a thin twisted flux tube theory to construct a model for this non-expanding loop, and find that indeed with sufficient twist a coronal loop can attain equilibrium. However, we can not rule out other possibilities such as footpoint heating by small-scale reconnection, elevated scale height by a steady flow along the loop etc.

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arXiv2020

Observations of a quasi-periodic pulsation in the coronal loop and microwave flux during a solar preflare phase

We report a quasi-periodic pulsation (QPP) event simultaneously detected from the spatial displacements of coronal loop at both EUV images and microwave emission during the preflare phase of a C1.1 flare on 2016 March 23. Using the motion magnification technique, a low-amplitude transverse oscillation with the growing period is discovered in a diffuse coronal loop in Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) image sequences at wavelength of 171 A, and the initial oscillation period is estimated to be ~397 s with a slow growth rate of 0.045. At the same time, a QPP with growing periods from roughly 300 s to nearly 500 s is discovered in the microwave flux in the same active region. Based on the imaging observations measured at EUV wavelengths by the AIA and at microwave 17 GHz by Nobeyama Radioheliograph, the diffuse coronal loop and the microwave radiation source are found to be connected through a hot loop seen in AIA images at wavelength of 94 A. The growing period of the QPP should be related to the modulation of LRC-circuit oscillating process in a current-carrying plasma loop. The existence of electric currents may imply the non-potentialities in the source region during the preflare phase.

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arXiv2020

Quasi-periodic pulsation detected in Lyman-alpha emission during solar flares

We investigated the quasi-periodic pulsation (QPP) in Lyman-alpha, X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) emissions during two solar flares, i.e., an X-class (SOL2012-01-27T) and a C-class (SOL2016-02-08T). The full-disk Lyman-alpha and X-Ray flux during these solar flares were recorded by the EUV Sensor and X-Ray Sensor on board the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite. The °are regions were located from the EUV images measured by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. The QPP could be identified as a series of regular and periodic peaks in the light curves, and its quasi-periodicity was determined from the global wavelet and Fourier power spectra. A quasi-periodicity at about 3 minutes is detected during the impulsive phase of the X-class flare, which could be explained as the acoustic wave in the chromosphere (e.g., Milligan et al. 2017). Interestingly, a quasi-periodicity at roughly 1 minute is discovered during the entire evolutionary phases of solar flares, including the precursor, impulsive, and gradual phases. This is the first report of 1-minute QPP in the Lyman-alpha emission during solar flares, in particular during the flare precursor. It may be interpreted as a self-oscillatory regime of the magnetic reconnection, such as magnetic dripping.

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arXiv2019

Spectroscopic and Stereoscopic Observations of the Solar Jets

We present a comprehensive study of a series of recurrent jets that occurred at the periphery of the NOAA active region 12114 on 2014 July 7. These jets were found to share the same source region and exhibited rotational motions as they propagated outward. The multi-wavelength imaging observations made by the AIA and {\it IRIS} telescopes reveal that some of the jets contain cool plasma only, while some others contain not only cool but also hot plasma. The Doppler velocities calculated from the {\it IRIS} spectra show a continuous evolution from blue to red shifts as the jet motions change from upward to downward. Additionally, some jets exhibit opposite Doppler shifts on their both sides, indicative of rotating motions along their axes. The inclination angle and three-dimensional velocity of the largest jet were inferred from the imaging and spectroscopic observations, which show a high consistence with those derived from the stereoscopic analysis using dual-perspective observations by {\it SDO}/AIA and {\it STEREO}-B/EUVI. By relating the jets to the local UV/EUV and full-disk {\it GOES} X-ray emission enhancements, we found that the previous five small-scale jets were triggered by five bright points while the last/largest one was triggered by a C1.6 solar flare. Together with a number of type III radio bursts generated during the jet eruptions as well as a weak CME that was observed in association with the last jet, our observations provide evidences in support of multi-scale magnetic reconnection processes being responsible for the production of jet events.

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arXiv2018

Two Kinds of Dynamic Behavior in a Quiescent Prominence Observed by the NVST

We present high-resolution observations of two kinds of dynamic behavior in a quiescent prominence using the New Vacuum Solar Telescope, i.e., Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities (KHIs) and small-scale oscillations. The KHIs were identified as rapidly developed vortex-like structures with counter-clockwise/clockwise rotations in the Ha red-wing images at +0.3 A, which were produced by the strong shear-flows motions on the surface/interface of prominence plumes. The KHI growth rates are estimated to be about 0.0135 +(-)0.0004 and 0.0138 +(-) 0.0004. Our observational results further suggest that the shear velocities (i.e, supersonic) of the mass flows are fast enough to produce the strong deformation of the boundary and overcome the restraining surface tension force. This flow-driven instability might play a significant role in the process of plasma transfer in solar prominences. The small-scale oscillations perpendicular to the prominence threads are observed in the Ha line-center images. The oscillatory periods changed non-monotonically and showed two changing patterns, in which one firstly decreased slowly and then it changed to increase, while the other grew fast at the beginning and then it changed to decrease. Both of these two thread oscillations with changing periods were observed to be unstable for an entire cycle, and they were local in nature. All our findings indicate that the small-scale thread oscillations could be magnetohydrodynamic waves in the solar corona.

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arXiv2018

Spectroscopic and imaging observations of small-scale reconnection events

We present spectroscopic and imaging observations of small-scale reconnection events on the Sun. Using the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) observations, one reconnection event is first detected as IRIS jets with fast bi-directional velocities in the chromosphere and transition region, which are identified as non-Gaussian broadenings with two extended wings in the line profiles of Si iv, C ii, and Mg ii k. The magnetograms under the IRIS jets from Helioseismic and Magnetic Images exhibit magnetic flux cancellation simultaneously, supporting that the IRIS jets are driven by magnetic reconnection. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly images also show an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) brightening which is shortly after the underlying IRIS jets, i.e., in the 131 A, 171 A, 193 A, 211 A, and 94 A channels, implying that the over-lying EUV brightening in the corona is caused by the IRIS jets in the chromosphere and transition region. We also find another three reconnection events which show the same features during this IRIS observation. Our observational results suggest that the small-scale reconnection events might contribute to the coronal heating. The new result is that the process of magnetic reconnection is detected from the photosphere through chromosphere and transition region to the corona.

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arXiv2018

Observations of Electron-driven Evaporation during a Flare Precursor

We investigate the relationship between the blue shifts of a hot emission line and the nonthermal emissions in microwave and hard X-ray (HXR) wavelengths during the precursor of a solar flare on 2014 October 27. The flare precursor is identified as a small but well-developed peak in soft X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet passbands before the GOES flare onset, which is accompanied by a pronounced burst in microwave 17 & 34 GHz and HXR 25-50 keV. The slit of Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) stays at one ribbon-like transient during the flare precursor, where shows visible nonthermal emissions in NoRH and RHESSI images. The IRIS spectroscopic observations show that the hot line of Fe XXI 1354.09 A (logT ~ 7.05) displays blue shifts, while the cool line of Si IV 1402.77 A (logT ~ 4.8) exhibits red shifts. The blue shifts and red shifts are well correlated to each other, indicative of an explosive chromospheric evaporation during the flare precursor particularly combining with a high nonthermal energy flux and a short characteristic timescale. In addition, the blue shifts of Fe XXI 1354.09 A are well correlated with the microwave and HXR emissions, implying that the explosive chromospheric evaporation during the flare precursor is driven by nonthermal electrons.

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arXiv2017

Simultaneous transverse and longitudinal oscillations in a quiescent prominence triggered by a coronal jet

In this paper, we report our multiwavelength observations of the simultaneous transverse and longitudinal oscillations in a quiescent prominence on 2015 June 29. A C2.4 flare took place in active region 12373, which was associated with a pair of short ribbons and a remote ribbon. During the impulsive phase of the flare, a coronal jet spurted out of the primary flare site and propagated in the northwest direction at an apparent speed of $\sim$224 km s$^{-1}$. Part of the jet stopped near the remote ribbon. The remaining part continued moving forward before stopping to the east of prominence. Once the jet encountered the prominence, it pushed the prominence to oscillate periodically. The transverse oscillation of the eastern part (EP) of prominence can be divided into two phases. In phase I, the initial amplitude, velocity, period, and damping timescale are $\sim$4.5 Mm, $\sim$20 km s$^{-1}$, $\sim$25 minutes, and $\sim$7.5 hr, respectively. In phase II, the initial amplitude increases to $\sim$11.3 Mm while the initial velocity halves to $\sim$10 km s$^{-1}$. The period increases by a factor of $\sim$3.5. The western part (WP) of prominence also experienced transverse oscillation. The initial amplitude is only $\sim$2 Mm and the velocity is less than 10 km s$^{-1}$. The period ($\sim$27 minutes) is slightly longer than that of EP in phase I. To the east of prominence, a handful of horizontal threads experienced longitudinal oscillation. The initial amplitude, velocity, period, and damping timescale are $\sim$52 Mm, $\sim$50 km s$^{-1}$, $\sim$99 minutes, and 2.5 hr, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of simultaneous transverse and longitudinal prominence oscillations triggered by a coronal jet.

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arXiv2017

Doppler shift oscillations from a hot line observed by IRIS

We present a detailed investigation of the Doppler shift oscillations in a hot loop during an M7.1 flare on 2014 October 27 observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. The periodic oscillations are observed in the Doppler shift of Fe XXI 1354.09 A (logT~7.05), and the dominant period is about 3.1 minutes. However, such 3.1-min oscillations are not found in the line-integrated intensity of Fe XXI 1354.09 A, AIA EUV fluxes, or microwave emissions. SDO/AIA and Hinode/XRT imaging observations indicate that the Doppler shift oscillations locate at the hot loop-top region (> 11MK). Moreover, the differential emission measure (DEM) results show that the temperature is increasing rapidly when the Doppler shift oscillates, but the number density does not exhibit the corresponding increases nor oscillations, implying that the flare loop is likely to oscillate in an incompressible mode. All these facts suggest that the Doppler shift oscillations at the shorter period are most likely the standing kink oscillations in a flare loop. Meanwhile, a longer period of about 10 minutes is identified in the time series of Doppler shift and line-integrated intensity, GOES SXR fluxes and AIA EUV light curves, indicating the periodic energy release in this flare, which may be caused by a slow mode wave.

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arXiv2017

Explosive chromospheric evaporation driven by nonthermal electrons around one footpoint of a solar flare loop

We explore the temporal relationship between microwave/HXR emission and Doppler velocity during the impulsive phase of a solar flare on 2014 October 27 (SOL2014-10-27), which displays a pulse on the light curves in microwave (34 GHz) and hard X-ray (HXR, 25-50 keV) bands before the flare maximum. Imaging observation shows that this pulse mainly comes from one footpoint of a solar flare loop. The slit of Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) stays at this footpoint during this solar flare. The Doppler velocities of Fe XXI 1354.09 A and Si IV 1402.77 A are extracted from the Gaussian fitting method. We find that the hot line of Fe XXI 1354.09 A (logT~7.05) in corona exhibits blue shift, while the cool line of Si IV 1402.77 A (logT~4.8) in transition region exhibits red shift, indicating explosive chromospheric evaporation. The evaporative upflows along the flare loop are also observed in the AIA 131 A image. To our knowledge, this is the first report of chromospheric evaporation evidence from both spectral and imaging observations in the same flare. Both microwave and HXR pulses are well correlated with the Doppler velocities, suggesting that the chromospheric evaporation is driven by nonthermal electrons around this footpoint of a solar flare loop.

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arXiv2016

Quasi-periodic pulsations with periods that change depending on whether the pulsations have thermal or nonthermal components

Context. Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) typically display periodic and regular peaks in the light curves during the flare emissions. Sometimes, QPPs show multiple periods at the same wavelength. However, changing periods in various channels are rare. Aims. We report QPPs in a solar flare on 2014 October 27. They showed a period change that depended on whether thermal or nonthermal components were included. The flare was simultaneously observed by many instruments. Methods. Using the fast Fourier transform (FFT), we decomposed the light curves at multiple wavelengths into slowly varying and rapidly varying signals. Then we identified the QPPs as the regular and periodic peaks from the rapidly varying signals. The periods are derived with the wavelet method and confirmed based on the FFT spectra of the rapidly varying signals. Results. We find a period of 50 s from the thermal emissions during the impulsive phase of the flare, that is, in the soft X-ray bands. At the same time, a period of about 100 s is detected from the nonthermal emissions, such as hard X-ray and microwave channels. The period ratio is exactly 2.0, which might be due to the modulations of the magnetic reconnection rate by the fundamental and harmonic modes of magnetohydrodynamic waves. Our results further show that the 100 s period is present over a broad wavelength, such as hard X-rays, extreme-UV/UV, and microwave emissions, indicating the periodic magnetic reconnection in this flare. Conclusions. To our knowledge, this is the first report about period changes from thermal to nonthermal components in a single flare that occur at almost the same time. This new observational finding could be a challenge to the theory of flare QPPs.

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arXiv2016

The Bi-directional Moving Structures in a Coronal Bright Point

We report the bi-directional moving structures in a coronal bright point (CBP) on 2015 July 14. It is observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). This CBP has a lifetime of about 10 minutes, and a curved shape. The observations show that many bright structures are moving intermittently outward from the CBP brightness core. Such moving structures are clearly seen at AIA 171, 193, 211, 131, 94, 335 and 304 A, slit-jaw (SJI) 1330 and 1400 A. In order to analyze these moving structures, the CBP is cut along the moving direction with a curved slit from the AIA and SJI images. Then we can obtain the time-distance slices, including the intensity and intensity-derivative diagrams, from which, the moving structures are recognized as the oblique streaks, and they are characterized by the bi-direction, simultaneity, symmetry, and periodicity. The average speed is around 300 km/s, while the typically period is about 90 s. All these features (including the bi-directional flows and their periodicity) can be detected simultaneously at all the 9 wavelengths. This CBP takes place at the site between a small pair of magnetic polarities. High time resolution observations show that they are moving close to each other during its lifetime. These facts support the magnetic reconnection model of the CBP and the bi-directional moving structures could be the observational outflows after the reconnection. Therefore, they can be as the direct observation evidence of the magnetic reconnection.

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arXiv2015

Observational Evidences of Electron-driven Evaporation in two Solar Flares

We have explored the relationship between hard X-ray (HXR) emissions and Doppler velocities caused by the chromospheric evaporation in two X1.6 class solar flares on 2014 September 10 and October 22, respectively. Both events display double ribbons and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) slit is fixed on one of their ribbons from the flare onset. The explosive evaporations are detected in these two flares. The coronal line of Fe XXI 1354.09 A shows blue shifts, but chromospheric line of C I 1354.29 A shows red shifts during the impulsive phase. The chromospheric evaporation tends to appear at the front of flare ribbon. Both Fe XXI and C I display their Doppler velocities with a `increase-peak-decrease' pattern which is well related to the `rising-maximum- decay' phase of HXR emissions. Such anti-correlation between HXR emissions and Fe XXI Doppler shifts, and correlation with C I Doppler shifts indicate the electron-driven evaporation in these two flares.

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arXiv2011

The Relationship Between Solar Radio and Hard X-ray Emission

This review discusses the complementary relationship between radio and hard X-ray observations of the Sun using primarily results from the era of the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager satellite. A primary focus of joint radio and hard X-ray studies of solar flares uses observations of nonthermal gyrosynchrotron emission at radio wavelengths and bremsstrahlung hard X-rays to study the properties of electrons accelerated in the main flare site, since it is well established that these two emissions show very similar temporal behavior. A quantitative prescription is given for comparing the electron energy distributions derived separately from the two wavelength ranges: this is an important application with the potential for measuring the magnetic field strength in the flaring region, and reveals significant differences between the electrons in different energy ranges. Examples of the use of simultaneous data from the two wavelength ranges to derive physical conditions are then discussed, including the case of microflares, and the comparison of images at radio and hard X-ray wavelengths is presented. There have been puzzling results obtained from observations of solar flares at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, and the comparison of these results with corresponding hard X-ray data is presented. Finally, the review discusses the association of hard X-ray releases with radio emission at decimeter and meter wavelengths, which is dominated by plasma emission (at lower frequencies) and electron cyclotron maser emission (at higher frequencies), both coherent emission mechanisms that require small numbers of energetic electrons. These comparisons show broad general associations but detailed correspondence remains more elusive.

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