Magnetic tornadoes and chromospheric swirls _ Definition and classification

Eclipse on the Coral Sea: Cycle 24 Ascending

物理学;天文学

Wedemeyer, Sven^1 ; Scullion, Eamon^1 ; Steiner, Oskar^2 ; De La Cruz Rodriguez, Jaime^3 ; Rouppe Van Der Voort, L.H.M.^1

Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, N-0315 Oslo, Norway^1

Kiepenheuer Institute for Solar Physics, Schöneckstr. 6-7, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany^2

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden^3

关键词: Detection methods;    Dynamic changes;    Morphological classifications;    Rotating magnetic fields;    Solar atmosphere;    Solar chromosphere;    Spatial resolution;    Spectral line;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/440/1/012005/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1742-6596/440/1/012005

学科分类：天文学(综合)

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Chromospheric swirls are the observational signatures of rotating magnetic field structures in the solar atmosphere, also known as magnetic tornadoes. Swirls appear as dark rotating features in the core of the spectral line of singly ionized calcium at a wavelength of 854.2 nm. This signature can be very subtle and difficult to detect given the dynamic changes in the solar chromosphere. Important steps towards a systematic and objective detection method are the compilation and characterization of a statistically significant sample of observed and simulated chromospheric swirls. Here, we provide a more exact definition of the chromospheric swirl phenomenon and also present a first morphological classification of swirls with three types: (I) Ring, (II) Split, (III) Spiral. We also discuss the nature of the magnetic field structures connected to tornadoes and the influence of limited spatial resolution on the appearance of their photospheric footpoints.