skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: DETECTION OF SMALL-SCALE GRANULAR STRUCTURES IN THE QUIET SUN WITH THE NEW SOLAR TELESCOPE

Abstract

Results of a statistical analysis of solar granulation are presented. A data set of 36 images of a quiet-Sun area on the solar disk center was used. The data were obtained with the 1.6 m clear aperture New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory and with a broadband filter centered at the TiO (705.7 nm) spectral line. The very high spatial resolution of the data (diffraction limit of 77 km and pixel scale of 0.''0375) augmented by the very high image contrast (15.5% {+-} 0.6%) allowed us to detect for the first time a distinct subpopulation of mini-granular structures. These structures are dominant on spatial scales below 600 km. Their size is distributed as a power law with an index of -1.8 (which is close to the Kolmogorov's -5/3 law) and no predominant scale. The regular granules display a Gaussian (normal) size distribution with a mean diameter of 1050 km. Mini-granular structures contribute significantly to the total granular area. They are predominantly confined to the wide dark lanes between regular granules and often form chains and clusters, but different from magnetic bright points. A multi-fractality test reveals that the structures smaller than 600 km represent a multi-fractal, whereas onmore » larger scales the granulation pattern shows no multi-fractality and can be considered as a Gaussian random field. The origin, properties, and role of the population of mini-granular structures in the solar magnetoconvection are yet to be explored.« less

Authors:
; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Big Bear Solar Observatory, 40386 N. Shore Lane, Big Bear City, CA 92314 (United States)
  2. W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22078560
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 756; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; APERTURES; DETECTION; DIFFRACTION; DISTRIBUTION; FRACTALS; GAUSS FUNCTION; IMAGES; RANDOMNESS; SIZE; SOLAR GRANULATION; SPATIAL RESOLUTION; SUN; TELESCOPES; TITANIUM OXIDES

Citation Formats

Abramenko, V I, Yurchyshyn, V B, Goode, P R, Kitiashvili, I N, and Kosovichev, A G. DETECTION OF SMALL-SCALE GRANULAR STRUCTURES IN THE QUIET SUN WITH THE NEW SOLAR TELESCOPE. United States: N. p., 2012. Web. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/756/2/L27.
Abramenko, V I, Yurchyshyn, V B, Goode, P R, Kitiashvili, I N, & Kosovichev, A G. DETECTION OF SMALL-SCALE GRANULAR STRUCTURES IN THE QUIET SUN WITH THE NEW SOLAR TELESCOPE. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/756/2/L27
Abramenko, V I, Yurchyshyn, V B, Goode, P R, Kitiashvili, I N, and Kosovichev, A G. 2012. "DETECTION OF SMALL-SCALE GRANULAR STRUCTURES IN THE QUIET SUN WITH THE NEW SOLAR TELESCOPE". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/756/2/L27.
@article{osti_22078560,
title = {DETECTION OF SMALL-SCALE GRANULAR STRUCTURES IN THE QUIET SUN WITH THE NEW SOLAR TELESCOPE},
author = {Abramenko, V I and Yurchyshyn, V B and Goode, P R and Kitiashvili, I N and Kosovichev, A G},
abstractNote = {Results of a statistical analysis of solar granulation are presented. A data set of 36 images of a quiet-Sun area on the solar disk center was used. The data were obtained with the 1.6 m clear aperture New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory and with a broadband filter centered at the TiO (705.7 nm) spectral line. The very high spatial resolution of the data (diffraction limit of 77 km and pixel scale of 0.''0375) augmented by the very high image contrast (15.5% {+-} 0.6%) allowed us to detect for the first time a distinct subpopulation of mini-granular structures. These structures are dominant on spatial scales below 600 km. Their size is distributed as a power law with an index of -1.8 (which is close to the Kolmogorov's -5/3 law) and no predominant scale. The regular granules display a Gaussian (normal) size distribution with a mean diameter of 1050 km. Mini-granular structures contribute significantly to the total granular area. They are predominantly confined to the wide dark lanes between regular granules and often form chains and clusters, but different from magnetic bright points. A multi-fractality test reveals that the structures smaller than 600 km represent a multi-fractal, whereas on larger scales the granulation pattern shows no multi-fractality and can be considered as a Gaussian random field. The origin, properties, and role of the population of mini-granular structures in the solar magnetoconvection are yet to be explored.},
doi = {10.1088/2041-8205/756/2/L27},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22078560}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal Letters},
issn = {2041-8205},
number = 2,
volume = 756,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2012},
month = {Mon Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2012}
}