Physics
Scientific paper
May 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011spd....42.1819v&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, SPD meeting #42, #18.19; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Physics
Scientific paper
X-ray bright points (XBPs) are small, complex, loop-like structures found within the corona of the Sun. They emit within the soft X-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and are easily imaged by instruments such as the Hinode X-ray Telescope (XRT). XRT data are being used to conduct a two-week longitudinal study to determine how XBPs evolve and change, individually and as a global coronal phenomenon, in size, morphology, and flux. XBPs from thirty synoptic images taken during solar minimum in March 2008 are being calibrated and measured. The goal of this research is to examine XBPs over a greater time span that most previous studies and to provide additional data to constrain XBP formation and dissolution mechanisms.
Images are calibrated using SolarSoft routines provided by the XRT science team. The data reduction process includes image flattening, defining XBP boundaries using a minimum flux threshold technique, and calculating individual XBP integrated fluxes and areas. This information, coupled with the latitudinal and longitudinal position of each XBP, provides insight into XBP evolution as individual and global structures. By studying XBPs through a greater time span, it may be possible to gain a better understanding of XBP lifespans and the range of lifespans, differences in XBP activity throughout a solar cycle, and why XBPs can persist in the normal corona as well as in coronal holes.
This information will also be useful for models that not only test proposed XBP formation and dissolution mechanisms, but can also assist in constraining XBP flux contributions to the corona. This work represents one of the first two solar physics projects from the University of North Dakota (see also: Hardersen et al., 2011, this meeting). Our goal is to develop a robust, thriving solar physics research group at the University of North Dakota.
Hardersen Paul Scott
Voigt Matthew R.
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