Magnetic tornadoes and chromospheric swirls – Definition and classification

Chromospheric swirls are the observational signatures of rotating magnetic field structures in the solar atmosphere, also known as magnetic tornadoes. Swirls appear as dark rotating features in the core of the spectral line of singly ionized calcium at a wavelength of 854.2 nm. This signature can be...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physics. Conference series 2013-01, Vol.440 (1), p.1-8
Main Authors: Wedemeyer, Sven, Scullion, Eamon, Steiner, Oskar, Rodriguez, Jaime de la Cruz, van der Voort, Luc Rouppe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chromosphere
Classification
Line spectra
Magnetic fields
Photosphere
Physics
Rotating
Rotation
Signatures
Simulation
Solar atmosphere
Solar magnetic field
Spatial resolution
Tornadoes
Wavelengths
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Chromospheric swirls are the observational signatures of rotating magnetic field structures in the solar atmosphere, also known as magnetic tornadoes. Swirls appear as dark rotating features in the core of the spectral line of singly ionized calcium at a wavelength of 854.2 nm. This signature can be very subtle and difficult to detect given the dynamic changes in the solar chromosphere. Important steps towards a systematic and objective detection method are the compilation and characterization of a statistically significant sample of observed and simulated chromospheric swirls. Here, we provide a more exact definition of the chromospheric swirl phenomenon and also present a first morphological classification of swirls with three types: (I) Ring, (II) Split, (III) Spiral. We also discuss the nature of the magnetic field structures connected to tornadoes and the influence of limited spatial resolution on the appearance of their photospheric footpoints.
ISSN:1742-6596
1742-6588
1742-6596
DOI:10.1088/1742-6596/440/1/012005