High-frequency coronal Alfv\'enic waves observed with DKIST/Cryo-NIRSP

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution DKIST Cryo-NIRSP data to analyze high-frequency Alfvénic waves in the solar corona, revealing extended power spectra and challenging existing damping models, with implications for coronal heating understanding.

Contribution

It provides the first high-cadence, high-resolution observations of coronal Alfvénic waves, extending the frequency range and challenging previous damping assumptions.

Findings

Power spectrum extends to higher frequencies than previously observed.

High-frequency waves carry less energy than low-frequency waves.

Incompressible nature of fluctuations confirmed with little coherence between line amplitude and velocity.

Abstract

The presence and nature of low-frequency (0.1-10~mHz) Alfv\'enic waves in the corona has been established over the last decade, with many of these results coming from coronagraphic observations of the infrared Fe XIII line. The Cryo-NIRSP instrument situated at DKIST has recently begun acquiring science quality data of the same Fe XIII line, with at least a factor of 9 improvement in spatial resolution, a factor 30 increase in temporal resolution and an increase in signal-to-noise, when compared to the majority of previously available data. Here we present an analysis of 1~s cadence sit-and-stare data from Cryo-NIRSP, examining the Doppler velocity fluctuations associated with the Fe XIII 1074~nm coronal line. We are able to confirm previous results of Alfv\'enic waves in the corona as well as explore a new frequency regime. The data reveals that the power law behaviour of the Doppler velocity power spectrum extends to higher frequencies. This result appears to challenge some models of photospheric-driven Alfv\'enic waves that predict a lack of high frequency wave power in the corona due to strong chromospheric damping. Moreover, the high-frequency waves do not transport as much energy as their low-frequency counterparts, with less time-averaged energy per frequency interval. We are also able to confirm the incompressible nature of the fluctuations with little coherence between the line amplitude and Doppler velocity time-series.