A statistical study of decaying kink oscillations detected using SDO/AIA

TL;DR

This study statistically analyzes 120 coronal loop kink oscillations observed by SDO/AIA, revealing relationships between oscillation parameters, damping behaviors, and loop properties, providing insights into the dynamics of solar coronal structures.

Contribution

It presents the first large-scale statistical analysis of kink oscillation parameters using SDO/AIA data, including damping profiles and their relation to oscillation period.

Findings

Oscillation amplitude correlates with initial loop displacement.

Kink speed averages around 1330 km/s, ranging from 800 to 3300 km/s.

Damping times scale linearly with oscillation period.

Abstract

Despite intensive studies of kink oscillations of coronal loops in the last decade, a large scale statistically significant investigation of the oscillation parameters has not been made using data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). We carry out a statistical study of kink oscillations using Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) imaging data from a previously compiled catalogue. We analysed 58 kink oscillation events observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard SDO during its first four years of operation (2010-2014). Parameters of the oscillations, including the initial apparent amplitude, period, length of the oscillating loop, and damping are studied for 120 individual loop oscillations. Analysis of the initial loop displacement and oscillation amplitude leads to the conclusion that the initial loop displacement prescribes the initial amplitude of oscillation in general. The period is found to scale with the loop length, and a linear fit of the data cloud gives a kink speed of Ck =(1330+/-50) km s-1 . The main body of the data corresponds to kink speeds in the range Ck =(800-3300) km s-1. Measurements of 52 exponential damping times were made, and it was noted that at least 22 of the damping profiles may be better approximated by a combination of non-exponential and exponential profiles, rather than a purely exponential damping envelope. There are an additional 10 cases where the profile appears to be purely non-exponential, and no damping time was measured. A scaling of the exponential damping time with the period is found, following the previously established linear scaling between these two parameters.