NYU Abu Dhabi Solar Physicists Detects Huge Waves on Sun; Here's What It Means

Scientists have discovered huge slow-moving plasma waves on the Sun's surface for the first time, which may help solve the enigma surrounding the star's magnetic field.

Emirates News Agency said researchers from the University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) examined ten years of data from NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO). They discovered plasma swirls spreading through the solar surface at a slow speed of just 5km/h (3 mp/h), about as fast as humans walk.

The scientists used computer models to replicate those waves and obtain insight into their genesis as a new study. They discovered that their movement is most likely caused by the differential rotation of the solar, which occurs when different parts of the Sun revolve at different speeds. For example, whereas the polar regions rotate once every 34.4 days, the Sun's equator rotates once every 25 days.

Researchers published their study, titled "Solar Inertial Modes: Observations, Identification, and Diagnostic Promise," in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal.

Researchers Found Huge Waves on the Sun

Space.com said the newly discovered waves span a substantial percentage of the star's surface. They are far larger than the biggest solar plasma waves previously recorded in 2013.

The team thinks that by simulating how these waves appear under the surface of the Sun, they may be able to gain a better grasp of a few factors that affect our host star's behavior.

The so-called solar dynamo, which is the motion of the plasma inside the Sun that creates its magnetic field, is one of these processes. The solar cycle or the cyclical ebb and flow of the star's activity is reflected in the number of solar eruptions, and sunspots are driven by the Sun's magnetic field.

Yuto Bekki, a graduate student at MPS and one of the paper's co-authors, said in a statement that the models allow them to peer inside the Sun's core and identify the complete three-dimensional pattern of the oscillations.

Solar Waves Have Different Frequencies

The researchers saw different waves of varying sizes pulsing at different frequencies. While some waves reached their highest velocity at the poles, others were quickest at mid-latitudes or near the equator.

All of the new oscillations they detected on the Sun, according to MPS heliophysicist and co-author Damien Fournier, are substantially impacted by the Sun's asymmetrical spin.

In the same statement, colleague and co-author Robert Cameron said that the oscillations are also sensitive to the characteristics of the Sun's interior, including the degree of turbulent movements and the associated viscosity of the solar medium and the strength of convective forcing.

Eurekalert said scientists have been aware of the 5-minute waves on the Sun's exterior since the 1960s. In the same way, geologists examine seismic waves rippling through Earth's crust to learn about what's going on in the planet's interior. They've successfully used these waves to learn about numerous activities within the star. Indeed, during these waves, scientists were able to recreate how the rotation of the Sun's material is affected by depth and latitude in the past. Some academics have suggested for the past 40 years or more that longer period waves must exist.

Finding a new form of solar oscillation is highly interesting, according to study lead author Laurent Gizon. He explained in the same statement that since it allows scientists to infer features such as the intensity of the convective forcing, which ultimately regulates the solar dynamo.

In data from the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG), a network of six solar observatories in the United States, Australia, India, Spain, and Chile, the team validated SDO results.

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