New Discovery: Intense Wave Energy in Sunspots Revealed by Goode Solar Telescope

New Study Reveals Intense Wave Energy from Sunspots that Pushes Temperatures in the Sun’s Corona to Millions of Degrees

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery regarding the Sun’s coronal heating problem, which has puzzled solar physicists for nearly a century. A new study, conducted by an international team of researchers using the Goode Solar Telescope (GST) at the Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO), has revealed intense wave energy from sunspots that can maintain temperatures of up to one million degrees in the Sun’s corona.

The corona, the star’s upper atmosphere, has temperatures hundreds of times hotter than the visible surface of the Sun. This has long been a mystery in solar physics research. However, the recent findings shed new light on the problem and provide fresh answers that could help unravel other related mysteries.

The team, led by Yuan Ding, used the unique imaging capabilities of the GST to capture transverse oscillations in the sunspot umbra, the darkest and coldest region on the Sun. Sunspots are formed when the Sun’s strong magnetic field suppresses thermal conduction, hindering the energy supply from the hotter interior to the visible surface.

The researchers measured the activity associated with several dark features detected in active sunspots and observed the tangential oscillatory motion of plasma fibers within the sunspot shadows. These fibers, which appear as cone-shaped structures, carry energy upward through long vertical magnetic channels and contribute to heating the Sun’s upper atmosphere.

Through numerical simulations, the team estimated that the energy transferred by these waves could be thousands of times more intense than the energy lost in the plasma of the active region in the Sun’s upper atmosphere. This energy dissipation is up to four times the rate of heating needed to sustain the hot plasma temperature in the corona.

While this discovery is a significant step forward in understanding the Sun’s coronal heating problem, there are still unanswered questions. The researchers suggest that the outgoing energy flux from sunspots may only be responsible for heating the spins rooted in sunspots. Other sunspot-free regions associated with the hot coronal ring are still waiting to be explained.

The team hopes that further observations using the GST at BBSO will provide more evidence to unravel the remaining mysteries of our nearest star. The study, titled “Transverse Oscillations and Sources of Energy in Highly Magnetized Sunspots,” was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The findings not only revolutionize our understanding of sunspots but also contribute to advancing our knowledge of energy transfer and heating processes in the Sun’s corona. This research has the potential to shed light on the nature of space weather and improve our understanding of the Sun’s impact on Earth.

Reference:
“Transverse Oscillations and Sources of Energy in Highly Magnetized Sunspots” by Ding Yuan, Libo Fu, Wenda Cao, Bajij Koma, Michel Gerets, and Juan C. Miao, Song Feng, Xishang Feng, Carlos Quintero Noda, Basilio Ruiz Cobo and Jiangtao Su, 25 May 2023,

How do Alfvén waves contribute to the heating of the Sun’s corona?

Within the sunspot umbra and observed powerful wave energy traveling through the Sun’s atmosphere. These waves, known as Alfvén waves, carry significant amounts of energy and are responsible for heating the corona.

The study found that the intense wave energy generated by the sunspots can push temperatures in the Sun’s corona to millions of degrees. This provides a potential explanation for the high temperatures observed in the corona compared to the Sun’s surface.

The discovery is significant because it addresses the long-standing mystery of the Sun’s coronal heating problem. Understanding why the corona is so much hotter than the Sun’s surface is crucial for understanding solar weather, space weather, and the dynamics of the Sun’s magnetic field.

By studying the properties of the intense wave energy from sunspots, scientists can gain insights into the mechanisms behind coronal heating. This knowledge could lead to better models and predictions of solar activity, which has implications for our understanding of space weather and its impact on Earth.

The findings of this study were made possible by the advanced imaging capabilities of the Goode Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. This telescope allowed the researchers to capture detailed observations of the transverse oscillations in the sunspot umbra and study the associated wave activity.

In conclusion, the new study reveals that intense wave energy from sunspots plays a crucial role in maintaining the high temperatures observed in the Sun’s corona. This breakthrough provides valuable insights into the Sun’s coronal heating problem and opens up possibilities for further research in solar physics.