Journal
NATURE PHYSICS
Volume 14, Issue 5, Pages 480-+Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/s41567-018-0058-3
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Funding
- Northern Ireland Department for the Economy
- UK Science and Technology Facilities Council
- Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [P30695-N27]
- Georgian Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation [DI-2016-17]
- Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity [AYA2014-60476-P]
- Leverhulme Trust
- Invest NI [059RDEN-1]
- Randox Laboratories Ltd [059RDEN-1]
- Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [P30695] Funding Source: Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
- STFC [ST/P000304/1, ST/K004220/1, ST/L002744/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Science and Technology Facilities Council [ST/P000304/1] Funding Source: researchfish
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Magnetohydrodynamic Alfven waves(1) have been a focus of laboratory plasma physics(2) and astrophysics(3) for over half a century. Their unique nature makes them ideal energy transporters, and while the solar atmosphere provides preferential conditions for their existence(4), direct detection has proved difficult as a result of their evolving and dynamic observational signatures. The viability of Alfven waves as a heating mechanism relies upon the efficient dissipation and thermalization of the wave energy, with direct evidence remaining elusive until now. Here we provide the first observational evidence of Alfven waves heating chromospheric plasma in a sunspot umbra through the formation of shock fronts. The magnetic field configuration of the shock environment, alongside the tangential velocity signatures, distinguish them from conventional umbral flashes(5). Observed local temperature enhancements of 5% are consistent with the dissipation of mode-converted Alfven waves driven by upwardly propagating magneto-acoustic oscillations, providing an unprecedented insight into the behaviour of Alfven waves in the solar atmosphere and beyond.
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