Atmospheric Gravity Waves Modulated by the Magnetic Field Configuration

Abstract Atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) are buoyancy-driven waves excited by turbulent convection and contribute to the dynamics and energy transport of the lower solar atmosphere. We present high-resolution, multiwavelength observations from the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer (IBIS) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory to investigate AGW behavior across different viewing geometries and magnetic field configurations. Using Fourier spectral analysis to compute phase differences and coherence spectra, we detect the signature of propagating AGWs carrying energy upward at temporal and spatial scales consistent with theory, simulations, and prior observations. Although AGW behavior is modulated by the magnetic field configuration, particularly the field inclination, these effects are not highly discernible in our observed k h – ν phase difference diagrams. After filtering to isolate the AGW regime, we compute spatial coherence-weighted phase difference maps and examine binned coherence-weighted phase differences as functions of the field strength and inclination. Our results show that AGWs are efficiently suppressed and/or reflected in intermediate-to-strong, vertically oriented fields in the upper photosphere, while they propagate rather freely in quiet-Sun and transverse fields. These findings agree with a simulated vertical 100 G field using CO 5 BOLD. Simulated k h – ν phase differences derived from a 3D magnetohydrodynamic dispersion relation also qualitatively agree with our upper photospheric IBIS diagnostics and reinforce that the magnetic field configuration modulates the propagation of AGWs. This work demonstrates the potential of AGWs as magnetoseismology diagnostics for probing average magnetic field properties in the lower solar atmosphere.