Solar H-alpha Oscillations from Intensity and Doppler Observations

TL;DR

This study introduces a new method to analyze chromospheric oscillations in solar filaments and flares using H-alpha data, revealing complex oscillation behaviors and their potential to inform about solar magnetic and energetic conditions.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel technique for measuring oscillation properties in solar filaments and flares from H-alpha observations, enabling detailed spatial and frequency analysis.

Findings

Filaments oscillate with periods of tens of minutes.

Oscillation amplitudes depend on frequency and spatial location.

Filament oscillations can occur without nearby chromospheric wave activation.

Abstract

Chromospheric wave activity around flares and filaments has been a research focus for years, and could provide indirect measurements of local conditions that are not otherwise accessible. One interesting observed phenomenon is oscillations in filaments, activated by distant flares and the large-scale waves they produce. Characteristics of these oscillations, such as periods, amplitudes, and lifetimes, can provide unique information about the filament. We measure oscillation properties in flares and filaments from H-alpha chromospheric data using a new method that provides important spatial and frequency content of the dynamics. We apply the method to two flare events where filaments are observed to oscillate and determine their properties. We find strong oscillatory signal in flaring active regions in the chromosphere over a range of frequencies. Two filaments are found to oscillate without any detectable chromospheric wave acting as an activation mechanism. We find that filaments oscillate with periods of tens of minutes, but variations are significant at small spatial scales along the filamentary region. The results suggest there is a frequency dependence of the oscillation amplitude, as well as a spatial dependence along single filaments that is more difficult to quantify. It also appears that the strength of the oscillations do not necessarily depend on the strength of the trigger, although there are other possible effects that make this conclusion preliminary. Applications of this technique to other events and different data sets will provide important new insights into the local energy densities and magnetic fields associated with dynamic chromospheric structures.