Annual Progress Report

Researcher:
Bhupendra Singh
(J. R. F.)
F. No. 08/043 (0009)/2009-EMR-1

Department of Physics
Hindu College
Moradabad-244001

Duration: One Year (01.05.2009 30.04.2010)

Introduction: Sun is a self-luminous ball of hot plasma held together
by its own gravity and powered by thermonuclear fusion in its core. It is
a fascinating star which shows some extra ordinary phenomena such as
solar flare, solar wind, coronal loops, coronal holes, coronal mass
ejections etc. occurring in its atmosphere and Sun quakes, solar dynamo
etc. in its interior.
The solar atmosphere is highly non-uniform plasma and consists of three
regions, the photosphere, the chromosphere and the corona, with
different physical properties. The corona which extends from the top of a
narrow transition region to Earth and beyond is seen as highly filamentary
inhomogeneous medium consisting of a complex myriad of a magnetic
loop-like structure.
The photosphere is a thin, opaque layer of plasma, around 0.5 Mm (1
Mm = 1000 km) in thickness lies between the optically opaque interior
and transparent solar atmosphere. The temperature at the top of the
photosphere drops to around 4300 K and the density decreases to
around 8.0 10-5 kg m-3. Above the photosphere lies a narrow layer,
around 2.5 Mm thick, called the chromosphere. The temperature of the
chromosphere begins to rise steadily, to around 50000 K. The transition
region lies between the chromosphere and the outer atmosphere of the
Sun, the corona. In the corona, the temperature increasing dramatically
to several million degrees Kelvin and the density drops to around 10 -10 kg
m-3. The images obtained with instruments onboard spacecrafts show
different magnetic structures on a wide range of spatial scales from
bright points, with sizes of a few thousand km, to large coronal
streamers, which extend to several solar radii. Two different types of
regions with different physical properties can be seen.
Open-field regions, in which the magnetic field is unipolar, appear
relatively dark and are called coronal holes. They are dark because of
the low plasma density. Coronal holes are observed to rotate fairly rigidly
2

and can maintain their shape through several 27-day solar rotations.
These regions exist usually in the poles although they can sometimes
extend towards the equator. Here the plasma is flowing outwards to give
the solar wind and therefore connect the solar surface with the
interplanetary medium. Related to these structures one can also find
polar plumes, which are cool, dense, magnetically open structures that
arise from predominantly magnetic footpoints inside polar coronal holes.
Closed-field regions consist of myriads of hot and dense coronal loops.
The term coronal loop is commonly used to describe bright coronal
structures that are significantly longer than they are wide. These loops
are made of X-ray emitting plasma and are believed to outline the closed
coronal magnetic field, primarily because heat conduction and mass
transport across the field is strongly suppressed in a strong magnetic
field. These loops are in a continuous state of change they can rise from
inside the Sun, sink back down into it, or expand into space. They often
come together, sometimes merging with each other and sometimes
destroying each other. The magnetic loops store magnetic energy. When
they interact, the magnetic loops release their stored energy into the
corona, providing the energy that keeps the corona so hot. Sometimes
one can find coronal loops placed one after another to form a tunnel-like
structure, or coronal arcade. Other amazing structures in the corona are
solar prominences, which are clouds of relatively cool (10 4 K) and
dense gas (1017 m-3).
All coronal structures are dominated by the magnetic field and its
interaction with the coronal plasma. Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)
studies such interaction between plasma and a magnetic field, providing
an important tool for understanding many solar phenomena (Cowling
1957; Priest, 1982; Boyd and Sanderson, 2003). Magneto-hydrodynamics
(MHD) is a fluid theory, expressed in terms of macroscopic parameters,
such as density, pressure, temperature, and flow speed of the plasma.
MHD waves have been broken into two subcategories namely Alfvn
3

waves and magneto-acoustic waves. Alfvn waves are transverse and

incompressible propagating along the magnetic field. Magneto-acoustic
waves (slow and fast modes) cause compression and rarefaction of the
coronal plasma as they propagate into the corona from the lower
atmosphere.
There are clear observational evidences for the existence of waves and
oscillations in the solar coronal structures. These observations have
confirmed the prediction that various structures of the solar corona can
support MHD waves. The study of waves and oscillations in these
structures is of utmost important in the community of solar physicists all
over the world. Presently, I am working on some specific problems in the
field of solar MHD.
The brief outline of the problem carried out is as follows:

Effect of equilibrium plasma flow on slow magneto-acoustic

waves in coronal loops:
In this problem we study the role of plasma flow on the damping of slow
MHD waves in solar coronal loops. In the solar corona waves and
oscillatory activities are observed with modern imaging and spectral
instruments. These oscillations are interpreted as slow magneto-acoustic
waves excited impulsively in coronal loops. This study explores the effect
of steady plasma flow on the dissipation of slow magneto-acoustic waves
in the solar coronal loops permeated by uniform magnetic field. We have
investigated the damping of slow waves in the coronal plasma taking into
account viscosity and thermal conductivity as dissipative processes. On
solving the dispersion relation it is found that the presence of plasma flow
influences the characteristics of wave propagation and dissipation. We
have shown that the time damping of slow waves exhibits varying
behavior depending upon the physical parameters of the loop. The wave
energy flux associated with slow magnetoacoustic waves turns out to be
of the order of 106 erg cm2 s1 which is high enough to replace the
4

energy lost through optically thin coronal emission and the thermal
conduction below to the transition region.
This paper has been communicated to the International Journal of
Physics. A copy of the communicated manuscript (paper) has been
enclosed herewith.
RESEARCH WORK IN PROGRESS:
In Particular, the brief outline of the problem which is in progress is as
follows:

Dissipation of magneto-acoustic waves in coronal loop:- The

problem dealing with the damping of MHD waves in an inhomogeneous
plasma by taking into account the effect of viscosity and thermal
conduction is in progress. In this problem we considered a coronal loop as
a static, axisymmetric, straight, and low- slab with length L and
thickness a. In our Cartesian coordinate system the x-coordinate
corresponds to the radial direction, the y-coordinate to the azimuthal
direction, and the z-coordinate to the direction along the field lines. The
plasma is permeated by a uniform straight magnetic field (B = B 0z),
while the inhomogeneity is denoted by
(x) = 0(1+ cos(x/a)) where, 0 is the loop density at the base of the
corona and is the inhomogeneous index determines the ratio between
maximum and minimum densities.
This models the higher density inside the loop. In this problem we shall
derive a general dispersion relation for damped magnetoacoustic waves
in the presence of viscosity and thermal conductivity. It is conjectured
that our results might be useful to understand various physical processes
in coronal flux tubes.
I have presented a research paper in the 24 th National Symposium on
Plasma Science and Technology, PLASMA-2209 held at NIT, Hamirpur (HP).
For the aforesaid research work I have visited IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, ARIES,
5

Nainital and Delhi University to consults libraries and to have discussions

with eminent scientist regarding my problems.