Direct imaging of magnetohydrodynamic wave mode conversion near a 3D null point on the sun.

Mutual conversion of various kinds of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves can have profound impacts on wave propagation, energy transfer, and heating of the solar chromosphere and corona. Mode conversion occurs when an MHD wave travels through a region where the Alfvén and sound speeds are equal (e.g.

Polarisation of decayless kink oscillations of solar coronal loops.

Decayless kink oscillations of plasma loops in the solar corona may contain an answer to the enigmatic problem of solar and stellar coronal heating. The polarisation of the oscillations gives us a unique information about their excitation mechanisms and energy supply. However, unambiguous determination of the polarisation has remained elusive.

30-min decayless kink oscillations in a very long bundle of solar coronal plasma loops.

The energy balance in the corona of the Sun is the key to the long-standing coronal heating dilemma, which could be potentially revealed by observational studies of decayless kink oscillations of coronal plasma loops. A bundle of very long off-limb coronal loops with the length of [Formula: see text] Mm and a lifetime of about 2 days are found to exhibit decayless kink oscillations. The oscillations are observed for several hours.

Evidence for Vortex Shedding in the Sun's Hot Corona.

Vortex shedding is an oscillating flow that is commonly observed in fluids due to the presence of a blunt body in a flowing medium. Numerical simulations have shown that the phenomenon of vortex shedding could also develop in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) domain. The dimensionless Strouhal number, the ratio of the blunt body diameter to the product of the period of vortex shedding and the speed of a flowing medium, is a robust indicator for vortex shedding, and, generally of the order of 0.

Two-Dimensional Solar Wind Speeds from 6 to 26 Solar Radii in Solar Cycle 24 by Using Fourier Filtering.

Measurement of the solar wind speed near the Sun is important for understanding the acceleration mechanism of the solar wind. In this Letter, we determine 2D solar wind speeds from 6 to 26 solar radii by applying Fourier motion filters to SOHO/LASCO C3 movies observed from 1999 to 2010. Our method successfully reproduces the original flow speeds in the artificially generated data as well as streamer blobs.

Nonlinear oscillations of coalescing magnetic flux ropes.

An analytical model of highly nonlinear oscillations occurring during a coalescence of two magnetic flux ropes, based upon two-fluid hydrodynamics, is developed. The model accounts for the effect of electric charge separation, and describes perpendicular oscillations of the current sheet formed by the coalescence. The oscillation period is determined by the current sheet thickness, the plasma parameter β, and the oscillation amplitude.

Magnetohydrodynamic waves and coronal seismology: an overview of recent results.

Recent observations have revealed that magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves and oscillations are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere, with a wide range of periods. We give a brief review of some aspects of MHD waves and coronal seismology that have recently been the focus of intense debate or are newly emerging. In particular, we focus on four topics: (i) the current controversy surrounding propagating intensity perturbations along coronal loops, (ii) the interpretation of propagating transverse loop oscillations, (iii) the ongoing search for coronal (torsional) Alfvén waves, and (iv) the rapidly developing topic of quasi-periodic pulsations in solar flares.

Magnetohydrodynamic waves in coronal polar plumes.

Polar plumes are cool, dense, linear, magnetically open structures that arise from predominantly unipolar magnetic footpoints in the solar polar coronal holes. As the Alfvén speed is decreased in plumes in comparison with the surrounding medium, these structures are natural waveguides for fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves. The simplicity of the geometry of polar plumes makes them an ideal test ground for the study of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave interaction with solar coronal structures.