The Resonant Solar Core: A Coherent Plasma Model as a Mechanistic Explanation for Sunquakes

J. Rogers, SE Ohio

Abstract
Recent helioseismological observations have revealed the existence of "sunquakes"—powerful, long-lasting acoustic transients triggered by solar flares. The immense energy and surprising longevity of these seismic events present a significant challenge to the Standard Solar Model, which treats the solar core as a gaseous, two-component plasma of protons and electrons. This paper proposes a novel model wherein the solar core is a three-component plasma (p⁺, e⁻, n) existing in a state of dynamic equilibrium. The constant, reversible compression and decompression of hydrogen into a transient neutron "gas" (p⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ n) creates a coherent, charge-screened medium with emergent properties analogous to a viscoelastic gel, or "jello." We argue that a solar flare acts as a strong mechanical shock, exciting the natural, long-period resonant modes of this "jello-like" core. This model naturally explains the observed high energies and extended durations of sunquakes as the slow dampening of a collective, resonant "jiggle" of the entire solar core, a phenomenon not predicted by standard plasma physics.

1. Introduction: The Anomaly of Sunquakes
Helioseismology has provided unprecedented insight into the solar interior. One of its most intriguing discoveries is the phenomenon of sunquakes, powerful seismic waves triggered by the energetic impact of solar flares on the Sun's surface. While the existence of flare-induced acoustic waves is expected, the observed characteristics of sunquakes are anomalous. Specifically, the energy contained within these seismic events is often greater than models of energy transport from the flare can account for, and their coherent oscillations persist for hours, long after the initial flare impulse should have dissipated.

The Standard Solar Model (SSM), which models the core as a simple, gaseous, two-component (p⁺, e⁻) plasma, struggles to provide a satisfactory, first-principles explanation for these features. This paper posits that sunquakes are not merely acoustic waves propagating through a gas, but are the signature of a fundamental, previously unmodeled state of matter in the solar core.

2. The "EM Jello" Model: A Three-Component Coherent Plasma
Our framework begins with a re-evaluation of the initial step of stellar nucleosynthesis. We reject the statistically improbable and thermodynamically questionable proton-proton chain in favor of a direct, mechanical process based on the known conditions of the solar core. We propose that the core exists in a state of dynamic chemical equilibrium:

p⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ n + νₑ

This constant, reversible "flickering" of protons and electrons into and out of a compressed neutron state has a profound, emergent consequence: it creates a three-component plasma (p⁺, e⁻, n). This transient but persistent "neutron gas" acts as a powerful screening agent, fundamentally altering the nature of the plasma.

The resulting medium is no longer a chaotic gas of independent, violently repelling particles. Instead, it becomes a coherent, coupled system with properties analogous to a viscoelastic gel, or "jello":

• Coherence: The protons are no longer bare charges but are suspended within a dynamic matrix of flickering neutrality. Their motions become coupled and correlated.

• "Soft" Repulsion: The charge screening effect of the neutron gas dampens the long-range Coulomb repulsion, changing the interactions from "hard" collisions to "soft," dampened pushes.

• Viscosity and Resonance: Like a gel, the entire medium possesses a collective viscosity and can support long-lived, large-scale resonant oscillations.

3. Solar Flares as a Mechanical Shock to a Resonant Cavity
A solar flare is a cataclysmic energy release on the Sun's surface. A significant fraction of this energy is directed back into the solar interior as a powerful acoustic and magnetic shock wave.

• The SSM View: The shock wave propagates through the core, creating a transient disturbance that should dissipate according to standard acoustic dampening models in a gaseous medium. This fails to explain the observed longevity and energy of sunquakes.

• The "EM Jello" View: The flare's shock wave is a "sharp tap on the bowl of jello." It does not just create a traveling wave; it excites the natural, global, resonant modes of the entire coherent core. The core begins to "jiggle" as a single, unified object.

4. Explaining the Sunquake Anomalies
This model provides a direct, mechanistic, and intuitive explanation for the puzzling features of sunquakes:

• Explaining the Long Duration: The persistence of sunquake oscillations for hours is a natural consequence of a resonant system. Just as a large bowl of jello will jiggle for a long time after being tapped, the solar core, with its immense mass and "gel-like" coherence, would have extremely long dampening times for its fundamental resonant modes. The observed duration is a direct measure of the "viscosity" of the neutron-screened plasma.

• Explaining the High Energy: The flare does not need to supply all the energy observed in the sunquake. It only needs to supply the trigger energy required to set the entire, massive core into resonant oscillation. The observed energy of the sunquake is not just the energy of the initial shock wave, but the kinetic energy of the entire jiggling core. This naturally explains why the seismic energy appears to be disproportionately large compared to the estimated acoustic energy injected by the flare.

5. Falsifiable Predictions
This model is not merely a qualitative analogy; it makes specific, testable predictions that differ from the SSM:

1. Existence of Specific Resonant Frequencies: The model predicts a spectrum of discrete, low-frequency, global oscillation modes for the core, analogous to the harmonics of a ringing bell. Helioseismology data should contain evidence of these specific, long-lived frequencies being excited after flare events.

2. Anomalous Wave Propagation: As previously argued, this model predicts a second, faster mode of wave propagation via charge-displacement waves. A re-analysis of helioseismology data should reveal evidence of this faster signal preceding or co-existing with the standard acoustic signal.

3. Correlation with Neutrino Flux: A major flare that significantly disturbs the core's equilibrium should also momentarily alter the rate of the p⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ n reaction, leading to a correlated, transient fluctuation in the low-energy solar neutrino flux.

6. Conclusion
The phenomenon of sunquakes provides powerful, observational evidence that the solar core does not behave like a simple gas. Its ability to sustain long-lived, high-energy, global oscillations after an external shock is a hallmark of a coherent, resonant medium.

The proposed "EM Jello" model, in which the solar core is a three-component plasma (p⁺, e⁻, n) unified by a charge-screening neutron gas, naturally and mechanistically explains these observed anomalies. It re-frames sunquakes as the resonant "jiggling" of the entire solar core. This perspective not only solves a perplexing helioseismological puzzle but also lends strong support to a new, causal, and thermodynamically sound model of stellar mechanics. The Sun is not a gas ball; it is a resonant, viscoelastic sphere of coherent plasma. And we can see it ring.