First Imaging of Magnetic Waveguides and Resonant Cavities in Sunspots

TL;DR

This study visualizes magnetic waveguides and resonant cavities in sunspots across different atmospheric heights, confirming theoretical models and revealing wave propagation structures using advanced imaging and filtering techniques.

Contribution

First direct imaging and analysis of magnetic waveguides and resonant cavities in sunspots at multiple heights, validating theories of wave behavior in solar magnetic structures.

Findings

Identification of waveguide bundles from photosphere to corona

Detection of resonant cavities with maximum oscillation power

Evidence supporting the theory of resonant layers in sunspots

Abstract

For the first time, we have determined the spatial distribution of magnetic waveguides and resonant cavities at different heights in the sunspot atmosphere. We applied a decomposition of time cubes of EUV/UV sunspot images obtained in the SDO/AIA temperature channels into narrowband components in the form of wave sources. The methods of pixelized wavelet filtering and oscillation mode decomposition were used. For all studied sunspots the presence of selected bands in the spectra was shown. Each band corresponds to oscillations forming spatial waveguides in the volume of the sunspot atmosphere. The formation of waveguide bundles in the height from photospheric to coronal levels is shown. The regions of the waveguides with maximum oscillation power, where resonant cavities are formed, are identified. Their detection is an experimental proof of the theory of resonant layers, previously proposed to explain the presence of significant harmonics in the oscillation spectrum. The different shapes of the cavities reflect the structure of the magnetic tubes along which the waves propagate. The distribution of sources in the height layers indicates the influence of the wave cutoff frequency caused by the inclinations of the magnetic field lines. We discuss the possibility of upward wave transport due to periodic amplification of the oscillation power in the detected cavities.