In the last two scientific papers that saw the light on November 12 at a scientific meeting of Hinode 7, currently taking place in Japan, scientists from Columbia University tried to find an answer to the question of why the atmosphere, or rather the photosphere of the Sun is hotter than the surface of our star. This question has tormented astronomers for many decades, but scientists have not been able to find a clear and precise explanation of this phenomenon.
Researchers at Columbia University have long ago determined that the temperature of the corona surrounding the sun, the photosphere, is approximately 1,500,000 Kelvin. At the same time, the actual temperature of the surface of the star hardly gets to the level of 6000 degrees Kelvin. And if we talk about the inner layers of the star and, in particular, about the core, the temperature rises to 15 million degrees Kelvin.
The reason why the star has such incredibly different temperature indicators between the layers has still not received a sensible and clear explanation. However, the last two studies on this subject may quite possibly provide a new look at the processes that are responsible for these colossal differences in temperature.
With the support of the US National Science Foundation, experts from Columbia University found out that magnetic waves, also known as Alfven waves, can stand behind all these temperature anomalies. For this discovery, scientists used data obtained from the Japanese Hinode satellite and an ultraviolet spectrometer, designed to measure the speed of particles emitted by the Sun, as well as to determine the temperature and density of solar plasma.
As part of the study, a group of scientists led by Michael Hahn and Daniel Wolf-Savin analyzed a coronal hole at one of the Sun's poles. The researchers found that the magnetic field lines pulsate in such a way that they transfer energy from the core of the star to its corona.
“This is a very important discovery. Work is essentially the holy grail for heliophysics. It allows us to better understand not only the mechanics of our luminary, but also the consequences it causes, ”says Ilya Russev, director of the program for researching solar activity from the US National Science Foundation.
“This is a great answer to a long-time interest in almost everyone who studies the Sun, a question. We still do not know for ourselves what the results of these studies may lead to, but we hope that it will help at least add another piece to the general puzzle. We could not even imagine that the piece would be so big, ”adds Wolf-Savin.
Thanks to this discovery, heliophysicists now know where to look further in order to obtain new data. It is possible that very soon scientists will be able to determine how the magnetic field lines can affect temperature changes in all layers of our star.
The article is based on materials .
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