Author ORCID Identifier
James McAteer:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1493-101X
Revati S Mandage:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8084-5921
Document Type
Journal Article
Journal Article Version
Final Version / Publisher's PDF (peer-reviewed)
Publication Date
12-20-2016
Abstract
A magnetic power spectral analysis is performed on 53 solar active regions, observed from 2011 August to 2012 July. Magnetic field data obtained from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, inverted as Active Region Patches, are used to study the evolution of the magnetic power index as each region rotates across the solar disk. Active regions are classified based on the numbers and sizes of solar flares they produce in order to study the relationship between flare productivity and the magnetic power index. The choice of window size and inertial range plays a key role in determining the correct magnetic power index. The overall distribution of magnetic power indices has a range of 1.0-2.5. Flare-quiet regions peak at a value of 1.6. However, flare-productive regions peak at a value of 2.2. Overall, the histogram of the distribution of power indices of flare-productive active regions is well separated from flare-quiet active regions. Only 12% of flare-quiet regions exhibit an index greater than 2, whereas 90% of flare-productive regions exhibit an index greater than 2. Flare-quiet regions exhibit a high temporal variance (i.e., the index fluctuates between high and low values), whereas flare-productive regions maintain an index greater than 2 for several days. This shows the importance of including the temporal evolution of active regions in flare prediction studies, and highlights the potential of a 2-3 day prediction window for space weather applications.
Published in
Astrophysical Journal
DOI
10.3847/1538-4357/833/2/237
Keywords
Sun: photosphere, Sun: flares, techniques: image processing, Sun: magnetic fields
Department / Organizational Unit
Astronomy
Copyright Notice
© 2016 R. Mandage & R. McAteer, reuse allowed according to Creative Commons license.
License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Mandage, R. S., & McAteer, R. T. J. (2016). On the non-Kolmogorov nature of flare-productive solar active regions. Astrophysical Journal, 833(2). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/833/2/237