FIP Bias Evolution in a Decaying Active Region

TL;DR

This study investigates how the FIP bias, a measure of plasma composition, evolves in a decaying active region of the Sun, revealing that magnetic field changes and small-scale flux emergence significantly influence compositional variations.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed spatially resolved maps of FIP bias evolution during AR decay, linking magnetic field dynamics to plasma composition changes.

Findings

FIP bias decreases as the active region decays.

Small-scale magnetic flux emergence correlates with FIP bias modulation.

Eruptive activity can temporarily shift FIP bias closer to photospheric values.

Abstract

Solar coronal plasma composition is typically characterized by first ionization potential (FIP) bias. Using spectra obtained by Hinode's EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) instrument, we present a series of large-scale, spatially resolved composition maps of active region (AR) 11389. The composition maps show how FIP bias evolves within the decaying AR from 2012 January 4-6. Globally, FIP bias decreases throughout the AR. We analyzed areas of significant plasma composition changes within the decaying AR and found that small-scale evolution in the photospheric magnetic field is closely linked to the FIP bias evolution observed in the corona. During the AR's decay phase, small bipoles emerging within supergranular cells reconnect with the pre-existing AR field, creating a pathway along which photospheric and coronal plasmas can mix. The mixing time scales are shorter than those of plasma enrichment processes. Eruptive activity also results in shifting the FIP bias closer to photospheric in the affected areas. Finally, the FIP bias still remains dominantly coronal only in a part of the AR's high-flux density core. We conclude that in the decay phase of an AR's lifetime, the FIP bias is becoming increasingly modulated by episodes of small-scale flux emergence, i.e. decreasing the AR's overall FIP bias. Our results show that magnetic field evolution plays an important role in compositional changes during AR development, revealing a more complex relationship than expected from previous well-known Skylab results showing that FIP bias increases almost linearly with age in young ARs (Widing $\&$ Feldman, 2001, ApJ, 555, 426).