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At least 127 records · Page 7

Recent thermal models of the chromosphere

The paper describes recent research on the calculation of solar chromospheric models. The models included here are based on the observed spectrum, and on the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium. The calculations depend on realistic solutions of the radiative transfer and statistical equilibrium equations for optically thick lines and continua, and on including the effects of large numbers of lines throughout the spectrum. Although spectroheliograms show that the structure of the chromosphere is highly complex, one-dimensional models of particular features are reasonably successful in matching observed spectra. There has been considerable recent progress in applying such models to the interpretation of chromospheric observations.

Avrett, E. H.↗

On the detectability of key-MeV solar protons through their nonthermal Lyman-alpha emission

The intensity and timescale of nonthermal Doppler-shifted hydrogen L alpha photon emission as diagnostics of 10 keV to 10 MeV protons bombarding the solar chromosphere during flares are investigated. The steady-state excitation and ionization balance of the proton beam are determined, taking into account all important atomic interactions with the ambient chromosphere. For a proton energy flux comparable to the electron energy flux commonly inferred for large flares, L alpha wing intensities orders of magnitude larger than observed nonflaring values were found. Investigation of timescales for ionization and charge exchange leads researchers to conclude that over a wide range of values of mean proton energy and beam parameters, Doppler-shifted nonthermal L alpha emission is a useful observational diagnostic of the presence of 10 keV to 10 MeV superthermal proton beams in the solar flare chromosphere.

Canfield, R. C.↗

Mechanisms for chromospheric heating

A nonthermal energy source is required to heat the solar chromosphere and corona. A survey is made of the properties of waves that propagate along magnetic flux tubes, which may transport the needed energy from the convection zone to the chromosphere. It is next explored how convective motions can generate those waves. Finally, various mechanisms by which these waves may develop small scale structures and dissipate via viscosity and resistivity are discussed.

Stein, R. F.↗

The Active Sun Telescope Array

The concept of the Active Sun Telescope Array (ASTA) designed as a part of the NASA Orbiting Solar Laboratory is described together with the details of the ASTA instrument package. The ASTA, which will investigate the phenomenology of the solar chromosphere and the corona, consists of six EUV/XUV solar telescopes designed to provide wide field solar images in narrow wavelength bands, high-resolution spectroheliograms, and line profiles of the solar plasma in the temperature range from 10,000 K to 30,000 K. The detectors used in the ASTA are of the multianode multichannel array photon-counting array detector type.

Walker, Arthur B. C., Jr.↗

Laboratory studies in ultraviolet solar physics

The research activity comprised the measurement of basic atomic processes and parameters which relate directly to the interpretation of solar ultraviolet observations and to the development of comprehensive models of the component structures of the solar atmosphere. The research was specifically directed towards providing the relevant atomic data needed to perform and to improve solar diagnostic techniques which probe active and quiet portions of the solar chromosphere, the transition zone, the inner corona, and the solar wind acceleration regions of the extended corona. The accuracy with which the physical conditions in these structures can be determined depends directly on the accuracy and completeness of the atomic and molecular data. These laboratory data are used to support the analysis programs of past and current solar observations (e.g., the Orbiting solar Observatories, the Solar Maximum Mission, the Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount, and the Naval Research Laboratory's rocket-borne High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph). In addition, we attempted to anticipate the needs of future space-borne solar studies such as from the joint ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Our laboratory activities stressed two categories of study: (1) the measurement of absolute rate coefficients for dielectronic recombination and electron impact excitation; and (2) the measurement of atomic transition probabilities for solar density diagnostics. A brief summary of the research activity is provided.

Parkinson, W. H.↗

Chromospheric heating by acoustic shock waves

Work by Anderson & Athay (1989) suggests that the mechanical energy required to heat the quiet solar chromosphere might be due to the dissipation of weak acoustic shocks. The calculations reported here demonstrate that a simple picture of chromospheric shock heating by acoustic waves propagating upward through a model solar atmosphere, free of both magnetic fields and local inhomogeneities, cannot reproduce their chromospheric model. The primary reason is the tendency for vertically propagating acoustic waves in the range of allowed periods to dissipate too low in the atmosphere, providing insufficient residual energy for the middle chromosphere. The effect of diverging magnetic fields and the corresponding expanding acoustic wavefronts on the mechanical dissipation length is then discussed as a means of preserving a quasi-acoustic heating hypothesis. It is argued that this effect, in a canopy that overlies the low chromosphere, might preserve the acoustic shock hypothesis consistent with the chromospheric radiation losses computed by Anderson & Athay.

Jordan, Stuart D.↗

Time dependent effects at the foot of the chromosphere

A dynamical model was proposed which is in agreement with the observations that suggest the solar chromosphere is heated preferentially in magnetic regions. The dynamical model requires an energy flux that is large enough to lead to amplitudes for which the apparent temperatures match the empirical line temperatures in the UTV lines. Consistency with the observations of chromospheric emission then requires that the emission take place not uniformly over the solar surface but in smaller spatial regions.

Kalkofen, W.↗

Nearly sonic and transsonic convective motions in the solar atmosphere related to the solar wind origin

MHD equations are considered for the solar atmosphere. 15 different simplest MHD regimes are indicated for the momentum transport equation depending on the mutual binary interplay between 6 possible and locally dominant terms: non-stationarity and inhomogeneity of the flow, gas pressure, magnetic tensions, viscous and gravity forces. These regimes are delimited by five physically independent dimensionless parameters, for example, Strouhal, sonic Mach, alfvenic Mach, Reynolds and Froude numbers or their combinations. Another partially overlapping classification of the simplest regimes may be introduced based on the energy conservation equation. There are also 15 independent binary combinations between nonstationary and inhomogeneous convective terms, dissipative energy sinks and sources (viscous, heat-conductive, Joule and radiative ones) in the energy equation. More complicated regimes are considered with multiple dominated terms. All these MHD regimes play their important role somewhere in the solar atmosphere complicated by the tensor transport coefficients in the magnetically dominated regions of the upper atmosphere. Nearly sonic and transsonic nonstationary convective motions with ascending and descending flows are observed in the solar chromosphere. the transition region and the lower pans of the solar corona together with related horizontal velocity components. This convection represents a kind of the 'cocoonery' manufacturing nonstationary vortices generated here and partially connected to the photosphere and to the solar wind. The solar wind originates from this powerful transsonic muddle in the solar atmosphere as a tiny fraction of the streamlines which are temporarily getting detached from the 'cocoons; and going to the infinity. The topologically complicated instantaneous 'runaway surface' around the Sun, i.e., the surface which separates outgoing to the infinity streams from other finite flows in the solar atmosphere was not described in the literature and needs additional investigation. We conclude that a simple one-connected smooth and quasistationary 'critical surface' which is often supposed to be placed somewhere in the solar corona (say, at 4 solar radii) in reality does not exist. Observational and theoretical arguments favor instead of this a highly structured, disordered, patched and time-dependent sonic transition surface in the solar atmosphere permanently fluctuating at positional dependent heights starting sometimes from photospheric (and maybe subphotospheric) levels and more frequently from the chromosphenc network up to several solar radii in the solar corona.

Veselovsky, I. S.↗

Waves, shocks and non-stationary phenomena in the outer solar atmosphere

The dynamics of the solar chromosphere, transition region and corona were investigated. The consequences of the solar dynamics on the formation of spectral features in solar atmosphere regions are discussed. Data mainly from the solar ultraviolet measurement of emitted radiation (SUMER) instrument, showing signatures of non-stationary processes, are presented. These data are compared to the predictions of numerical models of the chromosphere and transition region. The observations seem to support the importance of upwardly propagating acoustic shocks in the heating of the chromosphere.

Hansteen, V. H.↗

CELIAS: Charge, Element and Isotope Analysis System for the SOHO mission

The status and further development as well as first calibration of the CELIAS experiment on SOHO is presented. CELIAS is designed to measure the mass, ionic charge, and energy of low and high speed solar wind of suprathermal ions and of low energy flare particles. Through analysis of the elemental and isotopic abundances (the ionic charge state and velocity distributions of ions originating on the solar atmosphere), the investigation focuses on studying the plasma processes in various temporal and spatial scales in the solar chromosphere, transition zone, and corona. Additionally, the CELIAS experiment includes the Solar EUV Monitor (SEM). This unit, which consists of an EUV transmission grating spectrometer and three isolated silicon photodiodes as detectors, is described. The three mass and charge discriminating sensors based on the time of flight technique are also described.

Hovestadt, D.↗

Observations of chromospheric lines from OSO-8

Results of OSO-8 measurements of the line profiles of the solar Lyman alpha, Ca II K and Mg II k lines are presented. Observations were obtained with the Laboratoire de Physique Stellaire et Planetaire spectrometer at spectral resolutions of 0.25 and 0.060 A for Lyman alpha and 0.025 A for the Mg II and Ca II lines. The Lyman alpha profiles are found to be highly variable according to spatial position with the intensities of the three lines well correlated, and confirm previous observations of the quiet solar chromosphere. Data suggest that the quiet chromosphere is a dynamical phenomenon whose description in terms of a static model atmosphere is only qualitatively valid at best.

Grossmann-Doerth, U.↗

Inferring chromospheric flare heating from hydrogen-line wings

Strong flare heating that penetrates deeply into the solar chromosphere is examined, and a simple model that is supported by a numerical radiative transfer simulation is applied to study how elevated free electron densities produce markedly increased Stark emission in the wings of hydrogen Lyman and Balmer lines. The proportionality that exists between the observed Stark wing intensity and the total energy deposition in the partially ionized layer is calculated for various Lyman and Balmer lines. It is concluded that when the effects of background opacity sources on the wing enhancements are not important, the magnitude of the nonthermal heating that penetrates the chromosphere may be inferred from the observed line wings. It is predicted that Ly-alpha extended wings will exhibit enhancement of Stark shape, even when inherent damping wing opacity exceeds Stark wing opacity over the entire absorption profile.

Gayley, K. G.↗

High resolution spectroscopy of the disk chromosphere. V - Space-time variations observed simultaneously in seven lines

Time sequence spectroscopic observations of the quiet solar chromosphere along a 200 Mm strip near the center of the disk were reduced to obtain 30 min of data. Oscillations appear in most of the observations in selected photospheric and chromospheric lines, but rarely in continuum observations. At a given point, the oscillations may be prominent or weak, they are never regular in time, and there is no unique relationship between the amplitudes at different heights. There are several examples of granules which apparently excite a burst of short period oscillations. By considering the line shift and intensity variations of all the lines, a working model is derived for the velocity field and related temperature variation.

Cram, L. E.↗

A study of acoustic heating and forced convection in the solar corona

The S055 EUV spectra was used to perform emission measure and line intensity ratio analyses of loop plasma conditions in a study on the thermodynamics of magnetic loops in the solar corona. The evidence that loops contain plasma hotter than the background corona, and thus, require enhanced local dissipation of magnetic or mechanical energy is discussed. The S055 EUV raster pictures were used to study physical conditions in cool ultraviolet absorbing clouds in the solar corona, and optical data were used to derive constraints on the dimension, time scales and optical depths in dark opaque clouds not seen in H alpha and CaK as filaments or prominences. Theoretical modelling of propagation of magnetically guided acoustic shocks in the solar chromosphere finds it still unlikely that high frequency acoustic shocks could reach the solar corona. Dynamic modelling of spicules shows that such guided slow mode shocks can explain the acceleration of cool spicular material seen high in the corona.

Foukal, P. V.↗

The evaluation of a deformable diffraction grating for a stigmatic EUV spectroheliometer

A high-efficiency, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imaging spectrometer is constructed and tested. The spectrometer employs a concave toroidal grating illuminated at normal incidence in a Rowland circle mounting and has only one reflecting surface. The toroidal grating has been fabricated by a new technique employing an elastically-deformable sub-master grating replicated in a spherical form and then mechanically distorted to produce the desired aspect ratio of the toroidal surface for stigmatic imaging over the selected wavelength range. The fixed toroidal grating used in the spectrometer is then replicated from this surface. Photographic tests and initial photoelectric tests with a two-dimensional, pulse-counting detector system verify the image quality of the toroidal grating at wavelengths near 600 A. The results of these tests and the basic designs of two instruments which could employ the imaging spectrometer for astrophysical investigations in space are described; i.e., a high-resolution EUV spectroheliometer for studies of the solar chromosphere, transition region, and corona; and an EUV spectroscopic telescope for studies of non-solar objects.

Timothy, J. G.↗

Lyman-Alpha Imaging Polarimetry with the CLASP2 Sounding Rocket Mission

Ultraviolet polarimetry offers a unique opportunity to explore the upper solar chromosphere and the transition region (TR) to the million-degree corona. These outer atmospheric regions play a key role in the transfer of mass and energy from the solar photosphere to the corona. With a sounding rocket experiment called the Chromospheric Lyman-Alpha Spectro-Polarimeter (CLASP), in September 2015 we succeeded in obtaining the first measurement of the linear polarization produced by scattering processes in the hydrogen Lyman-alpha line of the solar disk radiation. The analysis and interpretation of such spectro-polarimetric observation allowed us to obtain information on the geometrical complexity of the corrugated surface that delineates the TR, as well as on the magnetic field strength via the Hanle effect. At the same time, the CLASP slit-jaw (SJ) optics system, which is a Lyman-alpha filter imager characterized by a FWHM (Full Width Half Maximum) equals 7 nanometers, allowed us to obtain broad-band Stokes-I and Q/I images over a large field of view. The obtained broad-band Q/I images are dominated by the scattering polarization signals of the Lyman-alpha wings, and not by the much weaker line-center signals where the Hanle effect operates. On April 11, 2019, we performed another sounding rocket experiment, called the Chromospheric LAyer Spectro-Polarimeter (CLASP2). We used the same instrument after significant modifications in order to obtain spectro-polarimetric observations of a plage and a quiet region in the Mg II h & k lines. At the same time, the CLASP2 SJ optics system allowed us to obtain broad-band Q/I and U/I images around the Lyman-alpha wavelength, in addition to the well- known SJ intensity images.

Kano, Ryouhei↗

Ultraviolet solar identifications based on extended absorption series observed in the laboratory spectrum of Si I

The absorption spectrum of Si I in the wavelength region between 1500 and 1900 A has been photographed at high resolution. The silicon vapor was produced in a 122-cm-long King furnace at 1800 to 2300 C. Forty-two Rydberg series have been observed from the ground state terms 3p(2)3P and 1D to terms associated with the 3pns and 3pnd configurations. All of the series from these configurations with J less than 4 have been extended with the 3pnd 3D(3) levels reaching n = 56. Numerous perturbations have been observed. This laboratory work has provided the basis for extending the identification of silicon lines in the solar spectrum. Nearly all lines found in the laboratory spectrum are also found in rocket spectrograms of the solar chromosphere. More than 300 lines have been attributed to Si I. The excellent correlation between laboratory and solar Si I lines is illustrated.

Moore, C. E.↗

Observations of the chromospheric network - Initial results from the Apollo Telescope Mount

A preliminary analysis of early data taken by the HCO spectrometer on Skylab shows that the solar chromospheric network can be clearly seen with varying contrast in the extreme-ultraviolet emission characteristic of temperatures between 10,000 K (the Lyman continuum) and 300,000 K (O VI). In the emission of Mg X, a coronal line formed at about 1,500,000 K, the network is generally unrecognizable. This is interpreted as being due to a spreading of the magnetic field lines of the network boundary in the height interval corresponding to the temperature difference between 300,000 and 1,500,000 K. We note that in certain anomalous cases, bright points of the network are seen to extend with high contrast and essentially unchanged in their cross-section through the full range of temperatures characteristic of the chromosphere, transition region, and low corona.

Reeves, E. M.↗