According to the researchers, the solar vibrates consistently with acoustic waves generated by turbulent motions beneath its surface.
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GUWAHATI
Researchers from Tezpur University in North-central Assam have discovered that the refined vibrations on the sun’s surface may very well be transporting huge quantities of power into its outer environment.
The analysis, carried out by physicists Souvik Das and Pralay Kumar Karmakar from the college’s Department of Physics, examines the dynamics of photo voltaic surface waves often called p-mode oscillations, occurring roughly each 5 minutes.
Their study, printed in The Astrophysical Journal, explored how these oscillations behave within the presence of non-thermal electron populations—high-energy particles that don’t comply with the standard thermal distribution anticipated in plasma.
According to the researchers, the solar vibrates consistently with acoustic waves generated by turbulent motions beneath its surface. These waves kind international oscillation patterns that enable scientists to probe the sun’s inside in a area often called helioseismology.
They used a sophisticated statistical mannequin, often called the generalised (r, q) distribution, to look at how each low-energy and high-energy electrons affect these oscillations. Their evaluation reveals that high-frequency p-mode oscillations can carry important mechanical power upward from the photosphere.
The researchers estimated that these waves might transport power flux exceeding 1 million watts per sq. metre close to the decrease photo voltaic surface. This power can journey into the sun’s outer layers and doubtlessly energy numerous photo voltaic actions.
Such power switch might contribute to the formation of options like spicules — jet-like plasma eruptions from the photo voltaic surface — in addition to oscillations in coronal loops, the enormous arcs of plasma seen within the sun’s outer environment.
The study additionally discovered that low-frequency oscillations, often called g-modes, don’t considerably contribute to heating the photo voltaic corona. The photo voltaic corona is the outermost, tenuous layer of the sun’s environment, which extends tens of millions of kilometres into house and seems as a faint white halo throughout complete photo voltaic eclipses.
Using numerical simulations and observational information from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellite tv for pc, the researchers additional examined how the power carried by these oscillations decreases because it strikes larger into the sun’s environment.
“In summary, this study integrates non-thermal kinetic theory, dispersion analysis, energy flux modelling, and observational validation to investigate how the high-frequency p-modes redistribute mechanical energy from the solar interior to the upper atmosphere,” the study mentioned.
“The proposed framework successfully explains the heating mechanisms behind a variety of features in the chromosphere and corona, highlighting the fundamental role of wave-driven processes in solar atmospheric energetics. Future extensions may include nonlinear interactions, magnetic field coupling, and real-time data-driven simulations to further expand the applicability of this model to active and eruptive solar phenomena,” it concluded.
Published – March 18, 2026 02:57 pm IST
