Transverse oscillations and an energy source in a strongly magnetized sunspot

Yuan, Ding; Fu, Libo; Cao, Wenda; Kuźma, BłaŻej; Geeraerts, Michaël; Trelles Arjona, Juan C.; Murawski, Kris; Van Doorsselaere, Tom; Srivastava, Abhishek K.; Miao, Yuhu; Feng, Song; Feng, Xueshang; Quintero Noda, Carlos; Ruiz Cobo, Basilio; Su, Jiangtao
Bibliographical reference

Nature Astronomy

Advertised on:
7
2023
Number of authors
15
IAC number of authors
3
Citations
11
Refereed citations
9
Description
The solar corona is two to three orders of magnitude hotter than the underlying photosphere, and the energy loss of coronal plasma is extremely strong, requiring a heating flux of over 1,000 W m−2 to maintain its high temperature. Using the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope, we report a detection of ubiquitous and persistent transverse waves in umbral fibrils in the chromosphere of a strongly magnetized sunspot. The energy flux carried by these waves was estimated to be 7.52 × 106 W m−2, three to four orders of magnitude stronger than the energy loss rate of plasma in active regions. Two-fluid magnetohydrodynamic simulations reproduced the high-resolution observations and showed that these waves dissipate significant energy, which is vital for coronal heating. Such transverse oscillations and the associated strong energy flux may exist in a variety of magnetized regions on the Sun, and could be the observational target of next-generation solar telescopes.
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