SPATIAL SEISMOLOGY OF A LARGE CORONAL LOOP ARCADE FROM TRACE AND EIT OBSERVATIONS OF ITS TRANSVERSE OSCILLATIONS

Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/717/1/458· OSTI ID:21452864

Verwichte, E; Foullon, C

We present a study of transverse loop oscillations in a large coronal loop arcade, using observations from the Transition Region And Coronal Explorer (TRACE) and Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT). For the first time we reveal the presence of long-period transverse oscillations with periods between 24 minutes and 3 hr. One loop bundle, 690 Mm long and with an oscillation period of 40 minutes, is analyzed in detail and its oscillation characteristics are determined in an automated manner. The oscillation quality factor is similar to what has been found earlier for oscillations in much shorter loops. This indicates that the damping mechanism of transverse loop oscillations is independent of loop length or period. The displacement profile along the whole length of the oscillating loop is determined for the first time and consistently between TRACE and EIT. By comparing the observed profile with models of the three-dimensional geometry of the equilibrium and perturbed loop, we test the effect of longitudinal structuring (spatial seismology) and find that the observations cannot unambiguously distinguish between structuring and non-planarity of the equilibrium loop. Associated intensity variations with a similar periodicity are explained in terms of variations in the line-of-sight column depth. Also, we report intensity oscillations at the loop footpoint, which are in anti-phase with respect to the intensity oscillations in the loop body. Lastly, this observation offers the first opportunity to use the transverse oscillations of the arcade to model the Alfven speed profile in the global corona.

• OSTI ID: 21452864
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 717, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/717/1/458; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
QUALITY FACTOR
SEISMOLOGY
SUN
TELESCOPES
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
DIMENSIONLESS NUMBERS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
MAIN SEQUENCE STARS
MECHANICS
RADIATIONS
STARS
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION