The discovery of a new form of wave in the Sun has been revealed by astronomers. Because they move in the opposite direction of the Sun’s revolution, they’re termed high-frequency retrograde (HFR) waves. On the Sun’s surface, they appear as vortices — whirling patterns. The waves have a number of unusual properties, the most perplexing of which is their speed. They travel three times faster than Rossby–Haurwitz waves, which arise owing to the Sun’s movement on its axis, according to a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy. So, how did they become so quick?
Three theories have been proposed by the team. The Coriolis force, which causes fluid (such as air in a hurricane) to swirl anticlockwise in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern hemisphere, is the beginning point for these vortices. This is insufficient to accelerate these waves, thus the scientist’s proposed three alternative modifiers. Magnetism is one possibility. After all, the Sun is a sphere of burning plasma with powerful magnetic fields that may be involved. The second is gravity, which is an equally clear explanation. The force’s action might change and amplify these vortices.
Finally, there’s convection. Hotter plasma from the Sun’s interior rises, while cooler plasma near the surface sinks, causing important oscillations within our star. This might have an impact on the waves’ intensity and speed. So, which theory does the evidence favor? None of these, it appears. In a statement, lead author Chris Hanson of New York University Abu Dhabi said, “If the HFR waves could be assigned to any of these three processes, then the result would have solved some unanswered concerns we still have about the Sun.” “However, these new waves appear to be unrelated to existing processes, which is intriguing since it raises a whole new set of concerns.”
We have so many unanswered questions about the Sun, and discovering answers is primarily for the purpose of learning. The Sun’s activity has an influence on life on Earth, and being the nearest star, it serves as a portal to all other stars in the Universe. “The presence of HFR modes and their genesis is a great enigma, and it may refer to interesting physics at work,” said Shravan Hanasoge, one of the paper’s co-authors. “It has the ability to provide insight into the Sun’s hitherto inaccessible innards.”
