Solar coronal differential rotation from XBPs in Hinode/XRT and Yohkoh/SXT images

TL;DR

This study uses X-ray Bright Points observed in solar images to analyze the Sun's coronal differential rotation, revealing it is similar to the photosphere and unaffected by XBP size or solar cycle phase.

Contribution

It provides new evidence that the solar corona exhibits differential rotation consistent across different XBP sizes and solar cycle phases.

Findings

The corona rotates differentially like the photosphere.

Rotation velocity is independent of XBP size.

Differential rotation persists throughout the solar cycle.

Abstract

Our aim is to identify and trace the X-ray Bright Points (XBPs) over the disk and use them as tracers to determine the coronal rotation. This investigation will help to clarify and understand several issues: whether (i) the corona rotates differentially; (ii) the rotation depends on the sizes of the XBPs; and (iii) dependence on phases of the solar magnetic cycle. We analysed the daily full-disk soft X-ray images observed with (i) X-Ray Telescope (XRT) on-board the Hinode mission during January, March and April, 2007 and (ii) Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) on-board the Yohkoh from 1992 to 2001 using SSW in IDL. We have used the tracer method to trace the passage of XBPs over the solar disk with the help of overlaying grids and derived the sidereal angular rotation velocity and the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the XBPs. We have determined the position of a large number of XBPs both in Hinode/XRT and Yohkoh/SXT images and followed them over the solar disk as a function of time. We derived the coronal sidereal angular rotation velocity and compared it with heliocentric latitude and as a function of solar activity cycle. In addition, we measured the sizes of all the XBPs and related them with the coronal rotation. The important results derived from these investigations are: (i) the solar corona rotates differentially like the photosphere and chromosphere; (ii) the sidereal angular rotation velocity is independent of the sizes of the XBPs; (iii) the sidereal angular rotation velocity does not depend on phases of the solar magnetic cycle; and (iv) the differential rotation of the corona is present throughout the solar magnetic cycle.