PROPAGATING WAVES TRANSVERSE TO THE MAGNETIC FIELD IN A SOLAR PROMINENCE
- Observatoire de Paris, LESIA, UMR 8109 (CNRS), F-92195 Meudon (France)
- Code 671, NASA's GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)
- THEMIS, CNRS-UPS853, E-38205 La Laguna (Spain)
- Alfred University, Alfred, NY 14802 (United States)
We report an unusual set of observations of waves in a large prominence pillar that consist of pulses propagating perpendicular to the prominence magnetic field. We observe a huge quiescent prominence with the Solar Dynamics Observatory Atmospheric Imaging Assembly in EUV on 2012 October 10 and only a part of it, the pillar, which is a foot or barb of the prominence, with the Hinode Solar Optical Telescope (SOT; in Ca II and Hα lines), Sac Peak (in Hα, Hβ, and Na-D lines), and THEMIS ({sup T}élescope Héliographique pour l' Etude du Magnétisme et des Instabilités Solaires{sup )} with the MTR (MulTi-Raies) spectropolarimeter (in He D{sub 3} line). The THEMIS/MTR data indicates that the magnetic field in the pillar is essentially horizontal and the observations in the optical domain show a large number of horizontally aligned features on a much smaller scale than the pillar as a whole. The data are consistent with a model of cool prominence plasma trapped in the dips of horizontal field lines. The SOT and Sac Peak data over the four hour observing period show vertical oscillations appearing as wave pulses. These pulses, which include a Doppler signature, move vertically, perpendicular to the field direction, along thin quasi-vertical columns in the much broader pillar. The pulses have a velocity of propagation of about 10 km s{sup –1}, a period of about 300 s, and a wavelength around 2000 km. We interpret these waves in terms of fast magnetosonic waves and discuss possible wave drivers.
- OSTI ID:
- 22270610
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 777, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
PATTERNS OF FLOWS IN AN INTERMEDIATE PROMINENCE OBSERVED BY HINODE
STRUCTURE OF PROMINENCE LEGS: PLASMA AND MAGNETIC FIELD