Observational Study Of the Quasi-Periodic Fast Propagating Magnetosonic Waves and the Associated Flare on 2011 May 30

TL;DR

This study observes and analyzes quasi-periodic fast propagating magnetosonic waves associated with a solar flare, revealing their dispersion relation, frequency correlation with the flare, and suggesting a common origin with possible p-mode leakage as a driving mechanism.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed imaging and Fourier analysis of QFP waves during a solar flare, linking their frequencies to flare oscillations and proposing a new excitation mechanism involving p-mode leakage.

Findings

QFP waves propagate along coronal loops at 834 km/s.

Main frequencies of QFP waves match those of the flare.

Low frequencies may result from p-mode oscillation leakage.

Abstract

On 2011 May 30, quasi-periodic fast propagating (QFP) magnetosonic waves accompanied by a C2.8 flare were directly imaged by the Atomospheric Imaging Assembly instrument on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The QFP waves successively emanated from the flare kernel, they propagated along a cluster of open coronal loops with a phase speed of 834 km/s during the flare's rising phase, and the multiple arc-shaped wave trains can be fitted with a series of concentric circles. We generate the k-omega diagram of the Fourier power and find a straight ridge that represents the dispersion relation of the waves. Along the ridge, we find a lot of prominent nodes which represent the available frequencies of the QFP waves. On the other hand, the frequencies of the flare are also obtained by analyzing the flare light curves using the wavelet technique. The results indicate that almost all the main frequencies of the flare are consistent with those of the QFP waves. This suggests that the flare and the QFP waves were possibly excited by a common physical origin. On the other hand, a few low frequencies revealed by the k-omega diagram can not be found in the accompanying flare. We propose that these low frequencies were possibly due to the leakage of the pressure-driven p-mode oscillations from the photosphere into the low corona, which should be a noticeable mechanism for driving the QFP waves observed in the corona.