Engineering topics
Gary, Allen
Publications and source records attributed to Gary, Allen.
Making Ultraviolet Spectro-Polarimetry Polarization Measurements with the MSFC Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Sounding Rocket
This paper will describe the Marshall Space Flight Center's Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation (SUMI) sounding rocket program. This paper will concentrate on SUMI's VUV optics, and discuss their spectral, spatial and polarization characteristics. While SUMI's first flight (7/30/2010) met all of its mission success criteria, there are several areas that will be improved for its second and third flights. This paper will emphasize the MgII linear polarization measurements and describe the changes that will be made to the sounding rocket and how those changes will improve the scientific data acquired by SUMI.
MgII Linear Polarization Measurements Using the MSFC Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Sounding Rocket
This paper will describe the Marshall Space Flight Center's Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation (SUMI) sounding rocket program, with emphasis on the polarization characteristics of the VUV optics and their spectral, spatial and polarization resolution. SUMI's first flight (7/30/2010) met all of its mission success criteria and this paper will describe the data that was acquired with emphasis on the MgII linear polarization measurements.
MgII Linear Polarization Measurements Using the MSFC Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph
This paper will describe the Marshall Space Flight Center's Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph (SUMI) sounding rocket program, with emphasis on the polarization characteristics of the VUV optics and their spectral, spatial and polarization resolution. SUMI's first flight (7/30/2010) met all of its mission success criteria and this paper will describe the data that was acquired with emphasis on the MgII linear polarization measurements.
MgII Observations Using the MSFC Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph
This paper will describe the scientific goals of our sounding rocket program, the Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation (SUMI). This paper will present a brief description of the optics that were developed to meet SUMI's scientific goals, discuss the spectral, spatial and polarization characteristics of SUMI s optics, describe SUMI's flight which was launched 7/30/2010, and discuss what we have learned from that flight.
Why S, Not X, Marks the Spot for CME/Flare Eruptions
For any major CME/flare eruption: I. The field that erupts is an arcade in which the interior is greatly sheared and twisted. Most of the free magnetic energy to be released: a) Is in the shear and twist of the interior field. b) Is Not due to a big current sheet. The eruption is unleashed by reconnection at a growing current sheet. The current sheet is still little when the reconnection turns on. The unleashed eruption then makes the current sheet much bigger by building it up faster than the reconnection can tear it down. II. Most X-ray jets work the opposite way: a) Tapped free energy is in the field of a pre-jet current sheet. b) Current sheet built by small arcade emerging into ambient field. c) Current sheet still much smaller than the arcade when reconnection turns on and tears it down, producing a jet. III. These rules reflect the low-beta condition in the eruptive magnetic field
Spectral Calibration of the MSFC Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph
This paper describes the scientific goals of a sounding rocket program called the Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation (SUMI), presents a brief description of the optics that were developed to meet those goals and discusses the spectral, spatial and polarization characteristics of SUMI's Toroidal Variable-Line-Space (TVLS) gratings; which are critical to SUMI's measurements of the magnetic field in the Sun's transition region.
Toroidal Variable-Line-Space Gratings: The Good, the Bad and The Ugly
Toroidal variable-line-space (VLS) gratings are an important factor in the design of an efficient VUV solar telescope that will measure the CIV (155nm) and MgII (280nm) emissions lines in the Sun's transition region. In 1983 Kita and Harada described spherical VLS gratings but the technology to commercially fabricate these devices is a recent development, especially for toroidal surfaces. This paper will describe why this technology is important in the development of the Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation (SUMI) sounding rocket program (the good), the delays due to the conversion between the TVLS grating design and the optical fabrication (the bad), and finally the optical testing, alignment and tolerancing of the gratings (the ugly). The Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation, SUMI, has been reported in several papers since this program began in 2000. The emphasis of this paper is to describe SUMI's Toroidal Variable-Line-Space (TVLS) gratings. These gratings help SUMI meet its scientific goals which require both high spectral resolution and high optical efficiency for magnetic field measurements in the vacuum ultraviolet wavelength band of the solar spectrum (the good). Unfortunately, the technology readiness level of these gratings has made their implementation difficult, especially for a sounding rocket payload (the bad). Therefore, this paper emphasizes the problems and solutions that were developed to use these gratings in SUMI (the ugly). Section 2 contains a short review of the scientific goals of SUMI and why this mission is important in the understanding of the 3D structure of the magnetic field on the Sun. The flight hardware that makes up the SUMI payload is described in Section 3 with emphasis on those components that affect the TVLS gratings. Section 4 emphasizes the alignment, testing and optical modeling that were developed to optimize the performance of these gratings.
The Twist Limit for Bipolar Active Regions
We present new evidence that further supports the standard idea that active regions are emerged magnetic-flux-rope omega loops. When the axial magnetic twist of a cylindrical flux rope exceeds a critical amount, the flux rope becomes unstable to kinking, and the excess axial twist is converted into writhe twist by the kinking. This suggests that, if active regions are emerged omega loops, then (1) no active region should have magnetic twist much above the limit set by kinking, (2) active regions having twist near the limit should often arise from kinked omega loops, and (3) since active regions having large delta sunspots are outstandingly twisted, these arise from kinked omega loops and should have twist near the limit for kinking. From each of 36 vector magnetograms of bipolar active regions, we have measured (1) the total flux of the vertical field above 100 G, (2) the area covered by this flux, and (3) the net electric current that arches over the polarity inversion line. These three quantities yield an estimate of the axial magnetic twist in a simple model cylindrical flux rope that corresponds to the top of the active region s hypothetical omega loop prior to emergence. In all 36 cases, the estimated twist is below the critical limit for kinking. The 11 most twisted active regions (1) have estimated twist within a factor of approx.3 of the limit, and (2) include all of our 6 active regions having large delta sunspots. Thus, our observed twist limit for bipolar active regions is in good accord with active regions being emerged omega loops.
Development of a NEW Vector Magnetograph at Marshall Space Flight Center
This paper will describe the Experimental Vector Magnetograph that has been developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). This instrument was designed to improve linear polarization measurements by replacing electro-optic and rotating waveplate modulators with a rotating linear analyzer. Our paper will describe the motivation for developing this magnetograph, compare this instrument with traditional magnetograph designs, and present a comparison of the data acquired by this instrument and original MSFC vector magnetograph.
Development of a Polarimeter for Magnetic Field Measurements in the Ultraviolet
This paper will describe the polarizing optics that are being developed for an ultraviolet magnetograph (SUMI) which will be flown on a sounding rocket payload. With a limited observing program, the polarizing optics were optimized to make simultaneous observation at two magnetic lines CIV (155nm) and MgII (280). This paper will give a brief overview of the SUMI instrument, will describe the polarimeter that will be used in the sounding rocket program and will present some of the measurements that have been made on the (SUMI) polarization optics.
Optical Characteristics of the Marshall Space Flight Center Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph
This paper will describe the scientific objectives of the MSFC SUMI project and the optical components that have been developed to meet those objectives. In order to test the scientific feasibility of measuring magnetic fields in the UV, a sounding rocket payload is being developed, This paper will describe the optical measurements that have been made on the SUMI telescope mirrors and polarization optics.