The discovery of an unusual form of a wave that goes backward throughout the plasma that forms up the sun has raised eyebrows. However, hardly any of the three conceivable processes to interpret these ripples is compatible with the observations; thus, they continue to be a mystery.
The oscillations, which are known as frequency-elevated retrograde vorticity waves, were discovered by researchers after studying decades of evidence from both ground & space-based observatories. The HFR waves are created by clusters of tiny eddies or cyclones that flow all through the sun in the opposing way of the sun’s spin.
While some waves go across the sun at a slower rate, vortices travel all around the sun at a rate that is 3 times quicker than some other, comparable oscillations — a rate that cannot be described by any one of our theories of plasma movement inside the sun.
There have been three theories put out by the scientists: the waves are generated by the sun’s electromagnetic field, disturbances on the sun’s surface known as gravity waves, or compression of plasma. None of these hypotheses are supported by the evidence.
Perhaps a comparable form of wave can be observed in the Earth’s waters, where ripples known as Rossby waves have been observed to move at a faster rate than scientists are able to justify.
According to researchers, it is still possible that a mix of magnetism, gravity, plus compression is responsible for the appearance of these oscillations. It’s impossible to envisage a situation in which one of those isn’t contributing to the acceleration of the phase speed in some way.
In the absence of any other credible explanations, the experts are hopeful that more comprehensive modeling will be capable of characterizing these unusual waves in the near future.
The study was published in Nature Astronomy.
