Solar Vortices as Conduits for Magnetoacoustic Waves: Multi-Layer Coupling and Their Role in Atmospheric Heating
Abstract
The Sun's atmosphere hosts swirling plasma structures, known as solar vortices, which have long been thought to channel wave energy into higher layers. Until now, no direct observations have confirmed their role in the heating of the atmosphere. Here, we present the first direct evidence that solar vortices act as structured waveguides, carrying magnetoacoustic modes (waves that behave like sound waves but travel through magnetized plasma) that leave clear wave-heating signatures. By mapping vortex regions at multiple heights and analysing the waves they contain, we show that magnetoacoustic waves efficiently transfer energy, offset losses from radiation, and dominate energy transport in the lower chromosphere. These results challenge the long-standing assumption that vortices primarily support twisting disturbances traveling along magnetic field lines (Alfven waves), revealing instead that magnetoacoustic modes play the leading role in the lower atmosphere. This redefines the role of vortices in magnetized plasmas and has broader implications for wave-plasma interactions in regions of strong magnetic fields.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2509.02895,
title = {Solar Vortices as Conduits for Magnetoacoustic Waves: Multi-Layer Coupling and Their Role in Atmospheric Heating},
author = {Suzana S. A. Silva and Ioannis Dakanalis and Luiz A. C. A. Schiavo and Kostas Tziotziou and Istvan Ballai and Shahin Jafarzadeh and Tiago M. D. Pereira and Georgia Tsiropoula and Gary Verth and Iñaki Esnaola and James A. McLaughlin and Gert J. J. Botha and Viktor Fedun},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.02895},
year = {2025}
}