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The importance of the chromosphere in the mass and energy transport within the solar atmosphere is now widely recognised. This review discusses the physics of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves and instabilities in large-scale chromospheric structures as well as in magnetic flux tubes. We highlight a number of key observational aspects that have helped our understanding of the role of the solar chromosphere in various dynamic processes and wave phenomena, and the heating scenario of the solar chromosphere is also discussed. The review focuses on the physics of waves and invokes the basics of plasma instabilities in the context of this important layer of the solar atmosphere. Potential implications, future trends and outstanding questions are also delineated., Comment: This is an invited review article in the special issue "Solar and Heliospheric Plasma Structures: Waves, Turbulence, and Dissipation" of JGR - Space Physics (57 pages, 9 figures, Paper #2020JA029097R) with Editors: Leon Ofman and Shreekrishna Tripathi

This paper investigates the changes in spatial properties when magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves undergo resonant damping in the Alfv\'en continuum. The analysis is carried out for a 1D cylindrical pressure-less plasma with a straight magnetic field. The effect of the damping on the spatial wave variables is determined by using complex frequencies that arise as a result of the resonant damping. Compression and vorticity are used to characterise the spatial evolution of the MHD wave. The most striking result is the huge spatial variation in the vorticity component parallel to the magnetic field. Parallel vorticity vanishes in the uniform part of the equilibrium. However, when the MHD wave moves into the non-uniform part, parallel vorticity explodes to values that are orders of magnitude higher than those attained by the transverse components in planes normal to the straight magnetic field. In the non-uniform part of the equilibrium plasma, the MHD wave is controlled by parallel vorticity and resembles an Alfv\'en wave, with the unfamiliar property that it has pressure variations even in the linear regime.

It is widely accepted in the MHD turbulence community that the nonlinear cascade of wave energy requires counter-propagating Alfv\'enic wave-packets, along some mean magnetic field. This fact is an obvious outcome of the MHD equations under the assumptions of incompressibility and homogeneity. Despite attempts to relax these assumptions in the context of MHD turbulence, the central idea of turbulence generation persists. However, once the assumptions of incompressiblity and homogeneity break down, the generally accepted picture of turbulent cascade generation is not universal. In this paper, we show that perpendicular inhomogeneities (across the mean magnetic field) lead to propagating wave solutions which are necessarily described by co-propagating Els\"asser fields, already in the incompressible case. One simple example of these wave solutions is the surface Alfv\'en wave on a planar discontinuity across the magnetic field. We show through numerical simulations how the nonlinear self-deformation of these unidirectionally propagating waves leads to a cascade of wave energy across the magnetic field. The existence of this type of unidirectional cascade might have an additional strong effect on the turbulent dissipation rate of dominantly outward propagating Alfv\'enic waves in structured plasma, as in the solar corona and solar wind., Comment: ApJ manuscript, accepted 24th of July 2019

The Els\"{a}sser variables are often used in studies of plasma turbulence, in helping differentiate between MHD waves propagating parallel or anti-parallel to the main magnetic field. While for pure Alfv\'en waves in a homogeneous plasma the method is strictly valid, we show that compressible, magnetoacoustic waves are in general described by both Els\"{a}sser variables. Furthermore, in a compressible and inhomogeneous plasma, the pure MHD waves (Alfv\'en, fast and slow) are no longer normal modes, but waves become linearly coupled or display mixed properties of Alfv\'en and magnetoacoustic nature. These waves are necessarily described by both Els\"{a}sser variables and therefore the Els\"{a}sser formalism cannot be used to strictly separate parallel and anti-parallel propagating waves. Nevertheless, even in an inhomogeneous plasma, for a highly Alfv\'enic wave the Els\"{a}sser variable corresponding to the propagation direction appears still dominating. We suggest that for Alfv\'enic waves, the relative amplitude of Els\"{a}sser variables depends on the local degree of inhomogeneity and other plasma and wave properties. This finding has implications for turbulence studies in inhomogeneous and compressible plasmas, such as the solar corona and solar wind.

We present the results of combined INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton observations of the supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) IGR J17354$-$3255. Three XMM-Newton observations of lengths 33.4 ks, 32.5 ks and 21.9 ks were undertaken, the first an initial pointing to identify the correct source in the field of view and the latter two performed around periastron. Simultaneous INTEGRAL observations across $\sim66\%$ of the orbital cycle were analysed but the source was neither detected by IBIS/ISGRI nor by JEM-X. The XMM-Newton light curves display a range of moderately bright X-ray activity but there are no particularly strong flares or outbursts in any of the three observations. We show that the spectral shape measured by XMM-Newton can be fitted by a consistent model throughout the observation, suggesting that the observed flux variations are driven by obscuration from a wind of varying density rather than changes in accretion mode. The simultaneous INTEGRAL data rule out simple extrapolation of the simple powerlaw model beyond the XMM-Newton energy range., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Published by Oxford University Press

We present the results of a 30ks XMM-Newton observation of the supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) SAX J1818.6-1703 - the first in-depth soft X-ray study of this source around periastron. INTEGRAL observations shortly before and after the XMM-Newton observation show the source to be in an atypically active state. Over the course of the XMM-Newton observation, the source shows a dynamic range of ~100 with a luminosity greater than 1$\times$10$^{35}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for the majority of the observation. After an ~6 ks period of low luminosity (~10$^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$) emission, SAX J1818.6-1703 enters a phase of fast flaring activity, with flares 250 s long, separated by ~2ks. The source then enters a larger flare event of higher luminosity and ~8 ks duration. Spectral analysis revealed evidence for a significant change in spectral shape during the observation with a photon index varying from {\Gamma} ~ 2.5 during the initial low luminosity emission phase, to {\Gamma} ~ 1.9 through the fast flaring activity, and a significant change to {\Gamma} ~ 0.3 during the main flare. The intrinsic absorbing column density throughout the observation (n$_H$ ~ 5$\times$10$^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$) is among the highest measured from an SFXT, and together with the XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL luminosities, consistent with the neutron star encountering an unusually dense wind environment around periastron. Although other mechanisms cannot be ruled out, we note that the onset of the brighter flares occurs at 3$\times$10$^{35}$ erg s$^{-1}$, a luminosity consistent with the threshold for the switch from a radiative-dominated to Compton cooling regime in the quasi-spherical settling accretion model., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

In this paper we show that the phase mixing of continuum Alfv\'{e}n waves and/or continuum slow waves in magnetic structures of the solar atmosphere as, e.g., coronal arcades, can create the illusion of wave propagation across the magnetic field. This phenomenon could be erroneously interpreted as fast magnetosonic waves. The cross-field propagation due to phase mixing of continuum waves is apparent because there is no real propagation of energy across the magnetic surfaces. We investigate the continuous Alfv\'{e}n and slow spectra in 2D Cartesian equilibrium models with a purely poloidal magnetic field. We show that apparent superslow propagation across the magnetic surfaces in solar coronal structures is a consequence of the existence of continuum Alfv\'{e}n waves and continuum slow waves that naturally live on those structures and phase mix as time evolves. The apparent cross-field phase velocity is related to the spatial variation of the local Alfv\'{e}n/slow frequency across the magnetic surfaces and is slower than the Alfv\'{e}n/sound velocities for typical coronal conditions. Understanding the nature of the apparent cross-field propagation is important for the correct analysis of numerical simulations and the correct interpretation of observations., Comment: 41 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We report and analyze the observational evidence of global kink oscillations in a solar filament as observed in H alpha by National Solar Observatory (NSO)/Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) instrument. An M1.1-class flare in active region 11692 on 2013 March 15 induced a global kink mode in the filament lying in the south-west of AR11692.We find periods of about 61 - 67 minutes and damping times of 92 - 117 minutes at three vertical slice positions chosen in and around the filament apex. We find that the waves are damped. From the observed global kink mode period and damping time scale using the theory of resonant absorption we perform prominence seismology. We estimate a lower cut-off value for the inhomogeneity length-scale to be around 0.34 - 0.44 times the radius of the filament cross-section., Comment: 3 figures, Accepted for publication in RAA

The ratio of the period of the fundamental mode to that of the first overtone of kink oscillations, from here on the "period ratio", is a seismology tool that can be used to infer information about the spatial variation of density along solar magnetic flux tubes. The period ratio is 2 in longitudinally homogeneous thin tubes, but it differs from 2 due to longitudinal inhomogeneity. In this paper we investigate the period ratio in longitudinally inhomogeneous prominence threads and explore its implications for prominence seismology. We numerically solve the two-dimensional eigenvalue problem of kink oscillations in a model of a prominence thread. We take into account three nonuniform density profiles along the thread. In agreement with previous works that used simple piecewise constant density profiles, we find that the period ratio is larger than 2 in prominence threads. When the ratio of the central density to that at the footpoints is fixed, the period ratio depends strongly on the form of the density profile along the thread. The more concentrated the dense prominence plasma near the center of the tube, the larger the period ratio. However, the period ratio is found to be independent of the specific density profile when the spatially averaged density in the thread is the same for all the profiles. An empirical fit of the dependence of the period ratio on the average density is given and its use for prominence seismology is discussed., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

XMM-Newton observations of the supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR$~$J17544$-$2619 are reported and placed in the context of an analysis of archival INTEGRAL/IBIS data that provides a refined estimate of the orbital period at 4.9272$\pm$0.0004 days. A complete outburst history across the INTEGRAL mission is reported. Although the new XMM-Newton observations (each lasting $\sim$15 ks) targeted the peak flux in the phase-folded hard X-ray light curve of IGR$~$J17544$-$2619, no bright outbursts were observed, the source spending the majority of the exposure at intermediate luminosities of the order of several 10$^{33}\,$erg$\,$s$^{-1}$ (0.5$\,-\,$10$\,$keV) and displaying only low level flickering activity. For the final portion of the exposure, the luminosity of IGR$~$J17544$-$2619 dropped to $\sim$4$\times$10$^{32}\,$erg$\,$s$^{-1}$ (0.5 - 10 keV), comparable with the lowest luminosities ever detected from this source, despite the observations being taken near to periastron. We consider the possible orbital geometry of IGR$~$J17544$-$2619 and the implications for the nature of the mass transfer and accretion mechanisms for both IGR$~$J17544$-$2619 and the SFXT population. We conclude that accretion under the `quasi-spherical accretion' model provides a good description of the behaviour of IGR$~$J17544$-$2619, and suggest an additional mechanism for generating outbursts based upon the mass accumulation rate in the hot shell (atmosphere) that forms around the NS under the quasi-spherical formulation. Hence we hope to aid in explaining the varied outburst behaviours observed across the SFXT population with a consistent underlying physical model., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present rare observational evidence of vertical kink oscillations in a laminar and diffused large-scale plasma curtain as observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The X6.9 class flare in the Active Region 11263 on 09 August 2011, induces a global large-scale disturbance that propagates in a narrow lane above the plasma curtain and creates a low density region that appears as a dimming in the observational image data. This large-scale propagating disturbance acts as a non-periodic driver that interacts asymmetrically and obliquely with the top of the plasma curtain, and triggers the observed oscillations. In the deeper layers of the curtain, we find evidence of vertical kink oscillations with two periods (795 s and 530 s). On the magnetic surface of the curtain where the density is inhomogeneous due to the coronal dimming, non-decaying vertical oscillations are also observed (period $\approx$ 763-896 s). We infer that the global large-scale disturbance triggers vertical kink oscillations in the deeper layers as well as on the surface of the large-scale plasma curtain. The properties of the excited waves strongly depend on the local plasma and magnetic field conditions., Comment: ApJ, 29 Pages, 5 Figures

Temporal analysis of INTEGRAL/IBIS data has revealed a 5.7195\pm0.0007 day periodicity in the supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) source AX J1845.0-0433, which we interpret as the orbital period of the system. The new-found knowledge of the orbital period is utilised to investigate the geometry of the system by means of estimating an upper limit for the size of the supergiant (<27 R_{\sun}) as well as the eccentricity of the orbit (\epsilon<0.37)., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We report on combined INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton observations of the supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR J16418-4532. The observations targeted the X-ray eclipse region of IGR J16418-4532s orbit with continuous INTEGRAL observations across ~25% of orbital phase and two quasi-simultaneous XMM-Newton observations of length 20ks and 14ks, occurring during and just after the eclipse respectively. An enhanced INTEGRAL emission history is provided with 19 previously unreported outbursts identified in the archival 18-60 keV data set. The XMM-Newton eclipse observation showed prominent Fe-emission and a flux of 2.8*10^-13 erg cm^-2 s^-1 (0.5 - 10 keV). Through the comparison of the detected eclipse and post eclipse flux, the supergiant mass loss rate through the stellar wind was determined as \dot{M}_{w} = 2.3-3.8*10^-7 M_{\odot} yr^-1. The post eclipse XMM-Newton observation showed a dynamic flux evolution with signatures of the X-ray pulsation, a period of flaring activity, structured nH variations and the first ever detection of an X-ray intensity dip, or 'off-state', in a pulsating supergiant fast X-ray transient. Consideration is given to the origin of the X-ray dip and we conclude that the most applicable of the current theories of X-ray dip generation is that of a transition between Compton cooling dominated and radiative cooling dominated subsonic accretion regimes within the 'quasi-spherical' model of wind accretion. Under this interpretation, which requires additional confirmation, the neutron star in IGR J16418-4532 possesses a magnetic field of ~10^14 G, providing tentative observational evidence of a highly magnetised neutron star in a supergiant fast X-ray transient for the first time. The implications of these results on the nature of IGR J16418-4532 itself and the wider SFXT class are discussed., Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Observations show that waves are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere and may play an important role for plasma heating. The study of waves in the solar corona is usually based on linear ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) for a fully ionized plasma. However, the plasma in the photosphere and the chromosphere is only partially ionized. Here we investigate theoretically the impact of partial ionization on MHD wave propagation in cylindrical flux tubes in the two-fluid model. We derive the general dispersion relation that takes into account the effects of neutral-ion collisions and the neutral gas pressure. We take the neutral-ion collision frequency as an arbitrary parameter. Particular results for transverse kink modes and slow magnetoacoustic modes are shown. We find that the wave frequencies only depend on the properties of the ionized fluid when the neutral-ion collision frequency is much lower that the wave frequency. For high collision frequencies realistic of the solar atmosphere ions and neutrals behave as a single fluid with an effective density corresponding to the sum of densities of both fluids and an effective sound velocity computed as the average of the sound velocities of ions and neutrals. The MHD wave frequencies are modified accordingly. The neutral gas pressure can be neglected when studying transverse kink waves but it has to be taken into account for a consistent description of slow magnetoacoustic waves. The MHD waves are damped due to neutral-ion collisions. The damping is most efficient when the wave frequency and the collision frequency are of the same order of magnitude. For high collision frequencies slow magnetoacoustic waves are more efficiently damped than transverse kink waves. In addition, we find the presence of cut-offs for certain combinations of parameters that cause the waves to become non-propagating., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

Magnetic twist is thought to play an important role in coronal loops. The effects of magnetic twist on stable magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves is poorly understood because they are seldom studied for relevant cases. The goal of this work is to study the fingerprints of magnetic twist on stable transverse kink oscillations. We numerically calculated the eigenmodes of propagating and standing MHD waves for a model of a loop with magnetic twist. The azimuthal component of the magnetic field was assumed to be small in comparison to the longitudinal component. We did not consider resonantly damped modes or kink instabilities in our analysis. For a nonconstant twist the frequencies of the MHD wave modes are split, which has important consequences for standing waves. This is different from the degenerated situation for equilibrium models with constant twist, which are characterised by an azimuthal component of the magnetic field that linearly increases with the radial coordinate. In the presence of twist standing kink solutions are characterised by a change in polarisation of the transverse displacement along the tube. For weak twist, and in the thin tube approximation, the frequency of standing modes is unaltered and the tube oscillates at the kink speed of the corresponding straight tube. The change in polarisation is linearly proportional to the degree of twist. This has implications with regard to observations of kink modes, since the detection of this variation in polarisation can be used as an indirect method to estimate the twist in oscillating loops.

Observations show that propagating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere. The technique of MHD seismology uses the wave observations combined with MHD wave theory to indirectly infer physical parameters of the solar atmospheric plasma and magnetic field. Here we present an analytical seismological inversion scheme for propagating MHD waves. This scheme uses in a consistent manner the observational information on wavelengths and damping lengths, along with observed values of periods or phase velocities, and is based on approximate asymptotic expressions for the theoretical values of wavelengths and damping lengths. The applicability of the inversion scheme is discussed and an example is given., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:0804.3877

Transverse oscillations of thin threads in solar prominences are frequently reported in high-resolution observations. Two typical features of the observations are that the oscillations are damped in time and that simultaneous mass flows along the threads are detected. Flows cause the dense threads to move along the prominence magnetic structure while the threads are oscillating. The oscillations have been interpreted in terms of standing magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) kink waves of the magnetic flux tubes which support the threads. The damping is most likely due to resonant absorption caused by plasma inhomogeneity. The technique of seismology uses the observations combined with MHD wave theory to estimate prominence physical parameters. This paper presents a theoretical study of the joint effect of flow and resonant absorption on the amplitude of standing kink waves in prominence threads. We find that flow and resonant absorption can either be competing effects on the amplitude or both can contribute to damp the oscillations depending on the instantaneous position of the thread within the prominence magnetic structure. The amplitude profile deviates from the classic exponential profile of resonantly damped kink waves in static flux tubes. Flow also introduces a progressive shift of the oscillation period compared to the static case, although this effect is in general of minor importance. We test the robustness of seismological estimates by using synthetic data aiming to mimic real observations. The effect of the thread flow can significantly affect the estimation of the transverse inhomogeneity length scale. The presence of random background noise adds uncertainty to this estimation. Caution needs to be paid to the seismological estimates that do not take the influence of flow into account., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

We report on the fabrication and measurement of nanoscale devices based on bilayer graphene sandwiched between hexagonal boron nitride bottom and top gate dielectrics. The top gates are patterned such that constrictions and islands can be electrostatically induced by applying appropriate voltages to the gates. The high quality of the devices becomes apparent from conductance quantization in the constrictions at low temperature. The islands exhibit clear Coulomb blockade and single-electron transport., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere. Alfven waves and magneto-sonic waves are particular classes of MHD waves. These wave modes are clearly different and have pure properties in uniform plasmas of infinite extent only. Due to plasma non-uniformity MHD waves have mixed properties and cannot be classified as pure Alfven or magneto-sonic waves. However, vorticity is a quantity unequivocally related to Alfven waves as compression is for magneto-sonic waves. Here, we investigate MHD waves superimposed on a one-dimensional non-uniform straight cylinder with constant magnetic field. For a piecewise constant density profile we find that the fundamental radial modes of the non-axisymmetric waves have the same properties as surface Alfven waves at a true discontinuity in density. Contrary to the classic Alfveen waves in a uniform plasma of infinite extent, vorticity is zero everywhere except at the cylinder boundary. If the discontinuity in density is replaced with a continuous variation of density, vorticity is spread out over the whole interval with non-uniform density. The fundamental radial modes of the non-axisymmetric waves do not need compression to exist unlike the radial overtones. In thin magnetic cylinders the fundamental radial modes of the non-axisymmetric waves with phase velocities between the internal and the external Alfven velocities can be considered as surface Alfven waves. On the contrary, the radial overtones can be related to fast-like magneto-sonic modes., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

The Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability (KHI) has been observed in the solar atmosphere. Ion-neutral collisions may play a relevant role for the growth rate and evolution of the KHI in solar partially ionized plasmas as in, e.g., solar prominences. Here, we investigate the linear phase of the KHI at an interface between two partially ionized magnetized plasmas in the presence of a shear flow. The effects of ion-neutral collisions and compressibility are included in the analysis. We obtain the dispersion relation of the linear modes and perform parametric studies of the unstable solutions. We find that in the incompressible case the KHI is present for any velocity shear regardless the value of the collision frequency. In the compressible case, the domain of instability depends strongly on the plasma parameters, specially the collision frequency and the density contrast. For high collision frequencies and low density contrasts the KHI is present for super-Alfvenic velocity shear only. For high density contrasts the threshold velocity shear can be reduced to sub-Alfvenic values. For the particular case of turbulent plumes in prominences, we conclude that sub-Alfvenic flow velocities can trigger the KHI thanks to the ion-neutral coupling., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

Context. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere. In magnetic waveguides resonant absorption due to plasma inhomogeneity naturally transfers wave energy from large-scale motions to small-scale motions. In the cooler parts of the solar atmosphere as, e.g., the chromosphere, effects due to partial ionization may be relevant for wave dynamics and heating. Aims. We study resonant Alfven waves in partially ionized plasmas. Methods. We use the multifluid equations in the cold plasma approximation. We investigate propagating resonant MHD waves in partially ionized flux tubes. We use approximate analytical theory based on normal modes in the thin tube and thin boundary approximations along with numerical eigenvalue computations. Results. We find that the jumps of the wave perturbations across the resonant layer are the same as in fully ionized plasmas. The damping length due to resonant absorption is inversely proportional to the frequency, while that due to ion-neutral collisions is inversely proportional to the square of the frequency. For observed frequencies in the solar atmosphere, the amplitude of MHD kink waves is more efficiently damped by resonant absorption than by ion-neutral collisions. Conclusions. Most of the energy carried by chromospheric kink waves is converted into localized azimuthal Alfven waves that can deposit energy in the coronal medium. The dissipation of wave energy in the chromosphere due to ion-neutral collisions is only effective for high-frequency waves. The chromosphere acts as a filter for kink waves with periods shorter than 10 s.

There are ubiquitous flows observed in the solar atmosphere of sub-Alfv\'{e}nic speeds, however after flaring and coronal mass ejection events flows can become Alfv\'{e}nic. In this Letter, we derive an expression for the standing kink mode frequency due to siphon flow in coronal loops, valid for both low and high speed regimes. It is found that siphon flow introduces a linear spatially dependent phase shift along coronal loops and asymmetric eigenfunctions. We demonstrate how this theory can be used to determine the kink and flow speed of oscillating coronal loops with reference to an observational case study. It is shown that the presence of siphon flow can cause the underestimation of magnetic field strength in coronal loops using the traditional seismological methods.

In this Letter we establish clear evidence for the resonant absorption damping mechanism by analyzing observational data from the novel Coronal Multi-Channel Polarimeter (CoMP). This instrument has established that in the solar corona there are ubiquitous propagating low amplitude ($\approx$1 km s$^{-1}$) Alfv\'{e}nic waves with a wide range of frequencies. Realistically interpreting these waves as the kink mode from magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave theory, they should exhibit a frequency dependent damping length due to resonant absorption, governed by the TGV relation showing that transversal plasma inhomogeneity in coronal magnetic flux tubes causes them to act as natural low-pass filters. It is found that observed frequency dependence on damping length (up to about 8 mHz) can be explained by the kink wave interpretation and furthermore, the spatially averaged equilibrium parameter describing the length scale of transverse plasma density inhomogeneity over a system of coronal loops is consistent with the range of values estimated from TRACE observations of standing kink modes.

There is observational evidence of propagating kink waves driven by photospheric motions. These disturbances, interpreted as kink magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are attenuated as they propagate upwards in the solar corona. In this paper we show that resonant absorption provides a simple explanation to the spatial damping of these waves. Kink MHD waves are studied using a cylindrical model of solar magnetic flux tubes which includes a non-uniform layer at the tube boundary. Assuming that the frequency is real and the longitudinal wavenumber complex, the damping length and damping per wavelength produced by resonant absorption are analytically calculated. The damping length of propagating kink waves due resonant absorption is a monotonically decreasing function of frequency. For kink waves with low frequencies the damping length is exactly inversely proportional to frequency and we denote this as the TGV relation. When moving to high frequencies the TGV relation continues to be an exceptionally good approximation of the actual dependency of the damping length on frequency. This dependency means that resonant absorption is selective as it favours low frequency waves and can efficiently remove high frequency waves from a broad band spectrum of kink waves. It is selective as the damping length is inversely proportional to frequency so that the damping becomes more severe with increasing frequency. This means that radial inhomogeneity can cause solar waveguides to be a natural low-pass filter for broadband disturbances. Hence kink wave trains travelling along, e.g., coronal loops, will have a greater proportion of the high frequency components dissipated lower down in the atmosphere. This could have important consequences with respect to the spatial distribution of wave heating in the solar atmosphere.

Heat engines provide most of our mechanical power and are essential for transportation on macroscopic scale. However, although significant progress has been made in the miniaturization of electrostatic engines, it has proven difficult to reduce the size of liquid or gas driven heat engines below 10^7 um^3. Here we demonstrate that a crystalline silicon structure operates as a cyclic piezoresistive heat engine when it is driven by a sufficiently high DC current. A 0.34 um^3 engine beam draws heat from the DC current using the piezoresistive effect and converts it into mechanical work by expansion and contraction at different temperatures. This mechanical power drives a silicon resonator of 1.1x10^3 um^3 into sustained oscillation. Even below the oscillation threshold the engine beam continues to amplify the resonator's Brownian motion. When its thermodynamic cycle is inverted, the structure is shown to reduce these thermal fluctuations, therefore operating as a refrigerator., Comment: Updated version after publication to make it almost identical to the Nature Physics article. During the review process the preprint v1 was merged with part of the results from arXiv:0904.3748 (please check this manuscript for more details on the measurements and simulations)

The most promising mechanism acting towards damping the kink oscillations of coronal loops is resonant absorption. In this context most of previous studies neglected the effect of the obvious equilibrium flow along magnetic field lines. The flows are in general sub-Alfv\'enic and hence comparatively slow. Here we investigate the effect of an equilibrium flow on the resonant absorption of linear kink MHD waves in a cylindrical magnetic flux tube with the aim of determining the changes in the frequency of the forward and backward propagating waves and in the modification of the damping times due to the flow. A loop model with both the density and the longitudinal flow changing in the radial direction is considered. We use the thin tube thin boundary (TTTB) approximation in order to calculate the damping rates. The full resistive eigenvalue problem is also solved without assuming the TTTB approximation. Using the small ratio of flow and Alfv\'en speeds we derive simple analytical expressions to the damping rate. The analytical expressions are in good agreement with the resistive eigenmode calculations. Under typical coronal conditions the effect of the flow on the damped kink oscillations is small when the characteristic scale of the density layer is similar or smaller than the characteristic width of the velocity layer. However, in the opposite situation the damping rates can be significantly altered, specially for the backward propagating wave which is undamped while the forward wave is overdamped.

Transverse oscillations of coronal loops are often observed and have been theoretically interpreted as kink magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modes. Numerical simulations by Terradas et al. (2008, ApJ 687, L115) suggest that shear flows generated at the loop boundary during kink oscillations could give rise to a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI). Here, we investigate the linear stage of the KHI in a cylindrical magnetic flux tube in the presence of azimuthal shear motions. We consider the basic, linearized MHD equations in the beta = 0 approximation, and apply them to a straight and homogeneous cylindrical flux tube model embedded in a coronal environment. Azimuthal shear flows with a sharp jump of the velocity at the cylinder boundary are included in the model. We obtain an analytical expression for the dispersion relation of the unstable MHD modes supported by the configuration, and compute analytical approximations of the critical velocity shear and the KHI growth rate in the thin tube limit. A parametric study of the KHI growth rates is performed by numerically solving the full dispersion relation. We find that fluting-like modes can develop a KHI in time-scales comparable to the period of kink oscillations of the flux tube. The KHI growth rates increase with the value of the azimuthal wavenumber and decrease with the longitudinal wavenumber. However, the presence of a small azimuthal component of the magnetic field can suppress the KHI. Azimuthal motions related to kink oscillations of untwisted coronal loops may trigger a KHI, but this phenomenon has not been observed to date. We propose that the azimuthal component of the magnetic field is responsible for suppressing the KHI in a stable coronal loop. The required twist is small enough to prevent the development of the pinch instability., Comment: Submitted in ApJ

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are often reported in the solar atmosphere and usually classified as slow, fast, or Alfv\'en. The possibility that these waves have mixed properties is often ignored. The goal of this work is to study and determine the nature of MHD kink waves. This is done by calculating the frequency, the damping rate and the eigenfunctions of MHD kink waves for three widely different MHD waves cases: a compressible pressure-less plasma, an incompressible plasma and a compressible plasma with non-zero plasma pressure which allows for MHD radiation. In all three cases the frequency and the damping rate are for practical purposes the same as they differ at most by terms proportional to $(k_z R)^2$. In the magnetic flux tube the kink waves are in all three cases, to a high degree of accuracy incompressible waves with negligible pressure perturbations and with mainly horizontal motions. The main restoring force of kink waves in the magnetised flux tube is the magnetic tension force. The total pressure gradient force cannot be neglected except when the frequency of the kink wave is equal or slightly differs from the local Alfv\'{e}n frequency, i.e. in the resonant layer. Kink waves are very robust and do not care about the details of the MHD wave environment. The adjective fast is not the correct adjective to characterise kink waves. If an adjective is to be used it should be Alfv\'{e}nic. However, it is better to realize that kink waves have mixed properties and cannot be put in one single box.

The Farley-Buneman instability is studied in the partially ionized plasma of the solar chromosphere taking into account the finite magnetization of the ions and Coulomb collisions. We obtain the threshold value for the relative velocity between ions and electrons necessary for the instability to develop. It is shown that Coulomb collisions play a destabilizing role in the sense that they enable the instability even in the regions where the ion magnetization is greater than unity. By applying these results to chromospheric conditions, we show that the Farley-Buneman instability can not be responsible for the quasi-steady heating of the solar chromosphere. However, in the presence of strong cross-field currents it can produce small-scale, $\sim 0.1-3$ m, density irregularities in the solar chromosphere. These irregularities can cause scintillations of radio waves with similar wave lengths and provide a tool for remote chromospheric sensing.

Transverse oscillations of small amplitude are commonly seen in high-resolution observations of filament threads, i.e. the fine-structures of solar filaments/prominences, and are typically damped in a few periods. Kink wave modes supported by the thread body offer a consistent explanation of these observed oscillations. Among the proposed mechanisms to explain the kink mode damping, resonant absorption in the Alfven continuum seems to be the most efficient as it produces damping times of about 3 periods. However, for a nonzero-beta plasma and typical prominence conditions, the kink mode is also resonantly coupled to slow (or cusp) continuum modes, which could further reduce the damping time. In this Letter, we explore for the first time both analytically and numerically the effect of the slow continuum on the damping of transverse thread oscillations. The thread model is composed of a homogeneous and straight cylindrical plasma, an inhomogeneous transitional layer, and the homogeneous coronal plasma. We find that the damping of the kink mode due to the slow resonance is much less efficient than that due to the Alfven resonance., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL

First results from a high-resolution three-dimensional nonlinear numerical study of the kink oscillation are presented. We show in detail the development of a shear instability in an untwisted line-tied magnetic flux tube. The instability produces significant deformations of the tube boundary. An extended transition layer may naturally evolve as a result of the shear instability at a sharp transition between the flux tube and the external medium. We also discuss the possible effects of the instability on the process of resonant absorption when an inhomogeneous layer is included in the model. One of the implications of these results is that the azimuthal component of the magnetic field of a stable flux tube in the solar corona, needed to prevent the shear instability, is probably constrained to be in a very specific range.

We present an analytic approximate seismic inversion scheme for damped transverse coronal loop oscillations based on the thin tube and thin boundary approximation for computing the period and the damping time. Asymptotic expressions for the period and damping rate are used to illustrate the process of seismological inversion in a simple and easy to follow manner. The inversion procedure is formulated in terms of two simple functions, which are given by simple closed expressions. The analytic seismic inversion shows that an infinite amount of 1-dimensional equilibrium models can reproduce the observed periods and damping times. It predicts a specific range of allowable values for the Alfven travel time and lower bounds for the density contrast and the inhomogeneity length scale. When the results of the present analytic seismic inversion are compared with those of a previous numerical inversion, excellent agreement is found up to the point that the analytic seismic inversion emerges as a tool for validating results of numerical inversions. Actually it helped us to identify and correct inaccuracies in a previous numerical investigation., Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, A&A, accepted

We study the excitation and damping of transverse oscillations in a multi-stranded model of a straight line-tied coronal loop. The transverse geometry of our equilibrium configuration is quite irregular and more realistic than the usual cylindrical loop model. By numerically solving the time-dependent ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations in two dimensions we show how the global motion of the whole bundle of strands, excited by an external disturbance, is converted into localized Alfv\'enic motions due to the process of resonant absorption. This process produces the attenuation of the transverse oscillations. At any location in the structure two dominant frequencies are found, the frequency of the global mode, or quasi-mode, and the local Alfv\'en frequency. We find that the mechanism of mode conversion, due to the coupling between fast and Alfv\'en waves, is not compromised by the complicated geometry of the model. We also show that it is possible to have energy conversion not only at the external edge of the composite loop but also inside the structure. The implications of these results and their relationship with the observations are discussed.

The efficacy of fast/slow MHD mode conversion in the surface layers of sunspots has been demonstrated over recent years using a number of modelling techniques, including ray theory, perturbation theory, differential eigensystem analysis, and direct numerical simulation. These show that significant energy may be transferred between the fast and slow modes in the neighbourhood of the equipartition layer where the Alfven and sound speeds coincide. However, most of the models so far have been two dimensional. In three dimensions the Alfven wave may couple to the magneto-acoustic waves with important implications for energy loss from helioseismic modes and for oscillations in the atmosphere above the spot. In this paper, we carry out a numerical ``scattering experiment'', placing an acoustic driver 4 Mm below the solar surface and monitoring the acoustic and Alfvenic wave energy flux high in an isothermal atmosphere placed above it. These calculations indeed show that energy conversion to upward travelling Alfven waves can be substantial, in many cases exceeding loss to slow (acoustic) waves. Typically, at penumbral magnetic field strengths, the strongest Alfven fluxes are produced when the field is inclined 30-40 degrees from the vertical, with the vertical plane of wave propagation offset from the vertical plane containing field lines by some 60-80 degrees., Comment: Accepted for the HELAS II/ SOHO 19/ GONG 2007 Topical Issue of Solar Physics

In this paper we report on the nonresonant conversion of convectively unstable linear gravity modes into acoustic oscillation modes in shear flows. The convectively unstable linear gravity modes can excite acoustic modes with similar wave-numbers. The frequencies of the excited oscillations may be qualitatively higher than the temporal variation scales of the source flow, while the frequency spectra of the generated oscillations should be intrinsically correlated to the velocity field of the source flow. We anticipate that this nonresonant phenomenon can significantly contribute to the production of sound waves in the solar convection zone., Comment: 8 pages. To appear in the proceedings of the conference "Waves in Dusty, Solar and Space Plasmas", Leuven, Belgium 21-26 May 2000