The Source of Three-minute Magneto-acoustic Oscillations in Coronal Fans

TL;DR

This study investigates the origin and propagation of 3-minute magneto-acoustic waves in the solar atmosphere, linking photospheric oscillations to coronal wave phenomena through high-resolution observations and numerical simulations.

Contribution

It demonstrates that 3-minute magneto-acoustic waves originate from photospheric umbral dots and propagate upward into the corona, revealing their role in coronal dynamics for the first time.

Findings

3-minute oscillations are linked to photospheric umbral dots.

Upwardly-propagating slow-mode waves are confirmed in the lower atmosphere.

Coronal EUV waves are the coronal counterparts of these magneto-acoustic waves.

Abstract

We use images of high spatial, spectral and temporal resolution, obtained using both ground- and space-based instrumentation, to investigate the coupling between wave phenomena observed at numerous heights in the solar atmosphere. Intensity oscillations of 3 minutes are observed to encompass photospheric umbral dot structures, with power at least three orders-of-magnitude higher than the surrounding umbra. Simultaneous chromospheric velocity and intensity time series reveal an 87 \pm 8 degree out-of-phase behavior, implying the presence of standing modes created as a result of partial wave reflection at the transition region boundary. An average blue-shifted Doppler velocity of ~1.5 km/s, in addition to a time lag between photospheric and chromospheric oscillatory phenomena, confirms the presence of upwardly-propagating slow-mode waves in the lower solar atmosphere. Propagating oscillations in EUV intensity are detected in simultaneous coronal fan structures, with a periodicity of 172 \pm 17 s and a propagation velocity of 45 \pm 7 km/s. Numerical simulations reveal that the damping of the magneto-acoustic wave trains is dominated by thermal conduction. The coronal fans are seen to anchor into the photosphere in locations where large-amplitude umbral dot oscillations manifest. Derived kinetic temperature and emission measure time-series display prominent out-of-phase characteristics, and when combined with the previously established sub-sonic wave speeds, we conclude that the observed EUV waves are the coronal counterparts of the upwardly-propagating magneto-acoustic slow-modes detected in the lower solar atmosphere. Thus, for the first time, we reveal how the propagation of 3 minute magneto-acoustic waves in solar coronal structures is a direct result of amplitude enhancements occurring in photospheric umbral dots.