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Automated Detection of Oscillating Regions in the Solar Atmosphere

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Abstract

Recently observed oscillations in the solar atmosphere have been interpreted and modeled as magnetohydrodynamic wave modes. This has allowed for the estimation of parameters that are otherwise hard to derive, such as the coronal magnetic-field strength. This work crucially relies on the initial detection of the oscillations, which is commonly done manually. The volume of Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) data will make manual detection inefficient for detecting all of the oscillating regions. An algorithm is presented that automates the detection of areas of the solar atmosphere that support spatially extended oscillations. The algorithm identifies areas in the solar atmosphere whose oscillation content is described by a single, dominant oscillation within a user-defined frequency range. The method is based on Bayesian spectral analysis of time series and image filtering. A Bayesian approach sidesteps the need for an a-priori noise estimate to calculate rejection criteria for the observed signal, and it also provides estimates of oscillation frequency, amplitude, and noise, and the error in all of these quantities, in a self-consistent way. The algorithm also introduces the notion of quality measures to those regions for which a positive detection is claimed, allowing for simple post-detection discrimination by the user. The algorithm is demonstrated on two Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) datasets, and comments regarding its suitability for oscillation detection in SDO are made.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ADNET Systems, Inc., NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, Mail Code 671.1, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA

    J. Ireland & C. A. Young

  2. Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2HE, UK

    M. S. Marsh

  3. NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, Mail Code 671.1, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA

    T. A. Kucera

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  1. J. Ireland
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  2. M. S. Marsh
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  3. T. A. Kucera
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  4. C. A. Young
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Correspondence to J. Ireland.

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Solar Image Processing and Analysis

Guest Editors: J. Ireland and C.A. Young.

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Ireland, J., Marsh, M.S., Kucera, T.A. et al. Automated Detection of Oscillating Regions in the Solar Atmosphere. Sol Phys 264, 403–431 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-010-9592-6

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