The Magnetic Origin of the Mystery of Rare Hα Moreton Waves
Over the past three decades, a lot of coronal fast-mode waves have been detected by space missions, but their counterparts in the chromosphere, called Moreton waves, have rarely been captured. How this happens remains a mystery. Here, to shed light on this problem, we investigate the photospheric ve...
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| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada387 |
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| author | Ze Zhong Yao Chen Y. W. Ni P. F. Chen Ruisheng Zheng Xiangliang Kong Chuan Li |
| author_facet | Ze Zhong Yao Chen Y. W. Ni P. F. Chen Ruisheng Zheng Xiangliang Kong Chuan Li |
| author_sort | Ze Zhong |
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| description | Over the past three decades, a lot of coronal fast-mode waves have been detected by space missions, but their counterparts in the chromosphere, called Moreton waves, have rarely been captured. How this happens remains a mystery. Here, to shed light on this problem, we investigate the photospheric vector magnetograms of the Moreton-wave events associated with M- and X-class solar flares during 2010–2023. The H α data are taken with the Global Oscillation Network Group and the Chinese H α Solar Explorer. Our statistical results show that more than 80% of the events occur at the edges of active regions and propagate nonradially, due to asymmetric magnetic fields above the flares. According to the reconstructed magnetic field and atmospheric model, Moreton waves propagate in the direction along which the horizontal fast-mode wave speed drops the fastest. This result supports the inclined magnetic configuration of the eruption being crucial for generating Moreton waves, even for X-class flares. It may explain the low occurrence rate of Moreton waves and why some X-class flares accompanied with coronal mass ejections do not generate Moreton waves. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5d78bffbda5b45858636a102f4915ee7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-5d78bffbda5b45858636a102f4915ee72025-02-03T10:22:06ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198014210.3847/1538-4357/ada387The Magnetic Origin of the Mystery of Rare Hα Moreton WavesZe Zhong0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5483-6047Yao Chen1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6449-8838Y. W. Ni2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9908-291XP. F. Chen3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7289-642XRuisheng Zheng4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2734-8969Xiangliang Kong5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1034-5857Chuan Li6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7693-4908Center for Integrated Research on Space Science, Astronomy, and Physics, Institute of Frontier and Interdisciplinary Science , Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, People’s Republic of China ; yaochen@sdu.edu.cn; Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai 264209, People’s Republic of ChinaCenter for Integrated Research on Space Science, Astronomy, and Physics, Institute of Frontier and Interdisciplinary Science , Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, People’s Republic of China ; yaochen@sdu.edu.cn; Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai 264209, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Astronomy and Space Science, Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210023, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Astronomy and Space Science, Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210023, People’s Republic of ChinaCenter for Integrated Research on Space Science, Astronomy, and Physics, Institute of Frontier and Interdisciplinary Science , Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, People’s Republic of China ; yaochen@sdu.edu.cn; Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai 264209, People’s Republic of ChinaCenter for Integrated Research on Space Science, Astronomy, and Physics, Institute of Frontier and Interdisciplinary Science , Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, People’s Republic of China ; yaochen@sdu.edu.cn; Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai 264209, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Astronomy and Space Science, Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210023, People’s Republic of China; Institute of Science and Technology for Deep Space Exploration, Suzhou Campus, Nanjing University , Suzhou 215163, People’s Republic of ChinaOver the past three decades, a lot of coronal fast-mode waves have been detected by space missions, but their counterparts in the chromosphere, called Moreton waves, have rarely been captured. How this happens remains a mystery. Here, to shed light on this problem, we investigate the photospheric vector magnetograms of the Moreton-wave events associated with M- and X-class solar flares during 2010–2023. The H α data are taken with the Global Oscillation Network Group and the Chinese H α Solar Explorer. Our statistical results show that more than 80% of the events occur at the edges of active regions and propagate nonradially, due to asymmetric magnetic fields above the flares. According to the reconstructed magnetic field and atmospheric model, Moreton waves propagate in the direction along which the horizontal fast-mode wave speed drops the fastest. This result supports the inclined magnetic configuration of the eruption being crucial for generating Moreton waves, even for X-class flares. It may explain the low occurrence rate of Moreton waves and why some X-class flares accompanied with coronal mass ejections do not generate Moreton waves.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada387Solar coronal wavesSolar magnetic fieldsSolar activitySolar chromosphere |
| spellingShingle | Ze Zhong Yao Chen Y. W. Ni P. F. Chen Ruisheng Zheng Xiangliang Kong Chuan Li The Magnetic Origin of the Mystery of Rare Hα Moreton Waves The Astrophysical Journal Solar coronal waves Solar magnetic fields Solar activity Solar chromosphere |
| title | The Magnetic Origin of the Mystery of Rare Hα Moreton Waves |
| title_full | The Magnetic Origin of the Mystery of Rare Hα Moreton Waves |
| title_fullStr | The Magnetic Origin of the Mystery of Rare Hα Moreton Waves |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Magnetic Origin of the Mystery of Rare Hα Moreton Waves |
| title_short | The Magnetic Origin of the Mystery of Rare Hα Moreton Waves |
| title_sort | magnetic origin of the mystery of rare hα moreton waves |
| topic | Solar coronal waves Solar magnetic fields Solar activity Solar chromosphere |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada387 |
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