Modelling observed decay-less oscillations as resonantly enhanced Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices from transverse MHD waves and their seismological application

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that decay-less oscillations observed in the solar corona can be explained by resonantly enhanced Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices generated by transverse MHD waves, combining simulations and seismological analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel interpretation of decay-less oscillations as resulting from KHI vortices amplified by resonant absorption, supported by 3D MHD simulations and forward modelling.

Findings

Decay-less oscillations can be explained by KHI vortices.

Resonant absorption amplifies boundary motions.

Period variations depend on emission line sensitivity.

Abstract

In the highly structured solar corona, resonant absorption is an unavoidable mechanism of energy transfer from global transverse MHD waves to local azimuthal Alfv\'en waves. Due to its localised nature, a direct detection of this mechanism is extremely difficult. Yet, it is the leading theory explaining the observed fast damping of the global transverse waves. However, at odds with this theoretical prediction, recent observations indicate that in the low amplitude regime such transverse MHD waves can also appear decay-less, a yet unsolved phenomenon. Recent numerical work has shown that Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities (KHI) often accompany transverse MHD waves. In this work, we combine 3D MHD simulations and forward modelling to show that for currently achieved spatial resolution and observed small amplitudes, an apparent decay-less oscillation is obtained. This effect results from the combination of periodic brightenings produced by the KHI and the coherent motion of the KHI vortices amplified by resonant absorption. Such effect is especially clear in emission lines forming at temperatures that capture the boundary dynamics rather than the core, and reflects the low damping character of the local azimuthal Alfv\'en waves resonantly coupled to the kink mode. Due to phase mixing, the detected period can vary depending on the emission line, with those sensitive to the boundary having shorter periods than those sensitive to the loop core. This allows to estimate the density contrast at the boundary.