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At least 163 records · Page 9
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NASA NTRS2016

Chromospheric LAyer SpectroPolarimeter (CLASP2)

The sounding rocket Chromospheric Lyman-Alpha SpectroPolarimeter (CLASP) was launched on September 3rd, 2015, and successfully detected (with a polarization accuracy of 0.1 %) the linear polarization signals (Stokes Q and U) that scattering processes were predicted to produce in the hydrogen Lyman-alpha line (Ly; 121.567 nm). Via the Hanle effect, this unique data set may provide novel information about the magnetic structure and energetics in the upper solar chromosphere. The CLASP instrument was safely recovered without any damage and we have recently proposed to dedicate its second ight to observe the four Stokes profiles in the spectral region of the Mg II h and k lines around 280 nm; in these lines the polarization signals result from scattering processes and the Hanle and Zeeman effects. Here we describe the modifications needed to develop this new instrument called the "Chromospheric LAyer SpectroPolarimeter" (CLASP2).

CLASP↗
NASA NTRS1994

Gravitational damping of Alfven waves in stellar atmospheres and winds

We consider how gravity affects the propagation of Alfven waves in a stellar atmosphere. We show that when the ion gyrofrequency exceeds the collision rate, the waves are absorbed at a rate proportional to the gravitational acceleration g. Estimates show that this mechanism can readily account for the observed energy losses in the solar chromosphere. The mechanism predicts that the pressure at the top of the chromosphere P(sub Tc) should scale with g as P(sub Tc) proportional to g(exp delta), where delta approximately equals 2/3; this is close to empirical results which suggest delta approximately equals 0.6. Gravitational damping leads to deposition of energy at a rate proportional to the mass of the particles. Hence, heavier ion are heated more effectively than protons. This is consistent with the observed proportionality between ion temperature and mass in the solar wind. Gravitational damping causes the local g to be effectively decreased by an amount proportional to the wave energy. This feature affects the acceleration of the solar wind. Gravitational damping may also lead to self-regulation of the damping of Alfven waves in stellar winds: this is relevant in the context of slow massive winds in cool giants.

Khabibrakhmanov, I. K.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Solar Flare Catalog for SPICE Instrument on the Solar Orbiter

Studying the solar corona, the outermost layer of solar atmosphere, is a pivotal part of understanding the dynamic relations between solar activity and the solar wind, which can disrupt the near-Earth environment. Solar flares emit electromagnetic radiation in the solar corona, capable of releasing large amounts of energy in a matter of minutes. Flares can also be associated with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and affect Earth’s ionosphere. One instrument that can be used to study flares is the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrumentaboard the Solar Orbiter (SolO). SPICE is a high-resolution extreme ultraviolet stigmatic slit spectrometer that covers emission lines formed from the solar chromosphere to corona. Since SPICE is a stigmatic slit spectrometer, the instrument can only take in data from a small spatial area on the Sun at a time. Due to the fast and unpredictable nature of flare events, it can be difficult to determine if and when SPICE has observed a flare. For this reason, we have created a catalog of flares observed by SPICE. This catalog of observational data was assembledby cross referencing data between different solar missions, including data from SolO’s E xtreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) and Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX), Solar Dynamics Observatory’s Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA) instrument, and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R). Supplemental analysis of the SPICE solar flare data includes Gaussian line fitting for flares of particular interest. The catalog can be utilized to locate and study coronal loop structures and flare ribbons. This SPICE solar flare catalog and additional supplemental analysis allows for the ease of identification of useful SPICE spectral data and multi-instrument analysis in order to study solar flare activity. It will be open for use by the Solar Orbiter and broader Heliophysics communities.

Anneliese L. Schmidt↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Demonstration of Chromospheric Magnetic Mapping with CLASP2.1

Probing the magnetic nature of the Sun’s chromosphere requires measurement of the polarization profiles of relevant magnetically sensitive spectral lines, many of which are in the ultraviolet spectrum, necessitating observations above the absorbing terrestrial atmosphere. The CLASP series of sounding rocket missions were designed to develop and test a technique for observing the Sun in ultraviolet light, and for quantifying the polarization of that light. By demonstrating successful measurement and interpretation of the polarization in hydrogen Lyman-alpha and the Mg II h and k spectral lines, these missions are crucial steps towards routine quantitative characterization of the local thermal and magnetic conditions in the solar chromosphere. In the most recent observations, CLASP2.1, the spectrograph slit was scanned across an active region plage to acquire a two-dimensional map of Stokes V/I, to demonstrate the ability of UV spectropolarimetry to yield chromospheric magnetic fields over a large area. The technique yields a set of simultaneous line-of-sight magnetograms at multiple heights within the plage atmosphere. By combining the CLASP2.1 measurements with magnetograms from Hinode/SOT or SDO/HMI, a wide range of atmospheric heights are mapped, from the photosphere to the upper chromosphere.

David E McKenzie↗
NASA NTRS1990

Performance of compact multilayer coated telescopes at soft X-ray/EUV and far ultraviolet wavelengths

Compact soft X-ray/EUV (XUV) and far-ultraviolet (FUV) multilayer coated telescopes have been developed for the study of the solar chromosphere corona and corona/solar wind interface. Because they operate at short wavelengths (between about 40 and 1550 A), the modest apertures of 40 to 127 mm allow observations at very high angular resolution (0.1 to 0.7 arcsec). In addition to permitting traditional normal incidence optical configurations such as Cassegrain, Ritchey-Chretien, and Herschelian to be used at XUV wavelengths, multilayer coatings also allow a narrow wavelength band to be selected for imaging. The resulting telescopes provide a very powerful and flexible diagnostic instrument for the study of both the fine scale structure of the chromosphere/corona interface and the large scale structure of the corona and corona/solar wind interface. A new solar rocket payload, the Multi-Spectral Solar Telescope Array (MSSTA), composed of 17 of these compact telescopes, was developed. This paper reports on the performance of seven MSSTA Ritchey-Chretien telescopes.

Hoover, Richard B.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Excitation of Mg/+/ by electron collisions.

Demonstration that the Mg II resonance doublet at 2800 A represents a suitable diagnostic tool for the study of physical conditions in the solar chromosphere. The interpretation of intensities and line profiles requires the knowledge of all electron collision cross sections, which can affect directly or indirectly the population of upper levels of the doublet. For this purpose collision cross sections for transitions between levels 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 3p, 4p, 5p, 3d, 4d, and 5d have been calculated in the unitarized Coulomb-Born approximation without exchange. For the 3s-3p and 3s-3d transitions the present results are in a good agreement with the close-coupling calculations of Burke and Moores (1968).

Blaha, M.↗
NASA NTRS1973

A kinematic model of a solar flare.

Hyder advocated the idea that the optical (H-alpha) flares can be identified with the response of the solar chromosphere to an infalling material stream resulting from the 'disparition brusque' of a prominence. Since some flares are observed without any apparent association with infalling streams, in this paper we examine the possibility of identifying the optical flare with the response of the chromosphere to a supersonic disturbance, i.e., a shock, propagating downward. The undisturbed chromosphere is represented by the Harvard-Smithsonian Reference Atmosphere and the evolution of the shock is evaluated with the use of the CCW (Chisnell, Chester, Whitham) approximation based on the theory of characteristics. It is shown that the chromosphere is heated by the shock, that radiation is enhanced, and that the enhanced radiation terminates the shock around the height of the temperature minimum.

Nakagawa, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Extreme-ultraviolet observations of coronal holes - Initial results from Skylab

We compare the appearance and physical parameters of the solar chromosphere, transition zone, and corona in areas of coronal holes with that of quiet areas outside the hole. Measurements of the height of emission of various ions in a coronal hole appearing at the polar limb give a quantitative indication of the increased thickness of the transition zone underlying coronal holes.

Huber, M. C. E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Resonance-line transfer with partial redistribution. VII Angle-dependent redistribution

A method is presented for treating radiative transfer in resonance lines, allowing for the full angle and frequency dependence of redistribution in the scattering process, as seen in the laboratory frame. The case of an equivalent-two-level-atom source function is considered; the problem to be treated is then linear in the radiation field. We apply this method to the Ca II lines in the solar atmosphere, using a redistribution function which takes into account a mixture of coherence in the atom's frame, with Doppler redistribution in the laboratory frame (for atoms which have not suffered an elastic collision), and of complete redistribution in the laboratory frame (for atoms that are collisionally perturbed during the emission process). Both the angle-averaged approximation and the full angle-dependent solution were obtained, and were compared to assess, differentially, the effects of angular redistribution upon the computed line profile and its center-to-limb behavior. For the Ca II line in a homogeneous solar chromosphere the angle-dependent effects are found to be negligible, indicating that one may use angle-averaged redistribution functions when studying partial redistribution effects in line profiles.

Milkey, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Observed and theoretical profiles of the Si II lines at lambda 1814

Emission line spectra observed at the limb of the solar disc are presented for transitions of singly ionized silicon at lambdas 1816.93, 1817.45 and 1808.01. The profiles show self-reversals in the line cores. A non-LTE analysis for a simplified model of the silicon ion is presented, and calculated line profiles are compared with the observations. The study indicates that some modification of the Vernazza et al. (1973) model of the solar chromosphere in the transition region is needed to reconcile the calculated and observed profiles.

Finn, G. D.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Overlapping emission peaks in the solar C I multiplets at lambda 1560 and lambda 1657

Observations of the C I multiplets at 1560 and 1657 A made with the University of Colorado spectrometer on the OSO 8 satellite are presented and compared with computed profiles for the Vernazza-Avrett-Loeser solar atmosphere. These are optically thick emission lines formed in the solar chromosphere that show the central reversals typical of such lines. In each multiplet there is an interesting case of overlapping emission peaks which shows that such peaks do not constructively combine but instead weaken. This behavior is easily understood and reproduced with an optically thick, non-LTE mode of formation for these lines and is not consistent with an optically thin mechanism. We also find that the shapes of these blends are very sensitive to the magnitude of the nonthermal microvelocities.

Shine, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Spectrum synthesis of EUV solar flare line profiles

A classic double ribbon flare of importance 1B occurred at approximately 1405 UT on June 15, 1973, reached an H alpha maximum at 1413 UT, and ended at 1455 UT. The flare occurred in an old and simplifying bipolar region at N18 W32. This flare was studied due to the extensive temporal data available. A total of 136 spectra of wavelength ranges from 1100 to 3000 A were taken during the flare's duration by the Naval Research Laboratory normal incidence slit spectrograph. Using this data the nature of the solar chromosphere of a flare event as a function of time was determined.

Tripp, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Emission measures derived from far ultraviolet spectra of T Tauri stars

Spectroscopic diagnostics based on UV emission line observations have been developed to study the solar chromosphere, transition region, and corona. The atmospheric properties that can be inferred from observations of total line intensities include the temperature, by identifying the ionic species present; the temperature distribution of the emission measure, from the absolute intensities; and the electron density of the source, from line intensity ratios sensitive to the electron density. In the present paper, the temperature distribution of the emission measure is estimated from observations of far UV emission line fluxes of the T Tauri stars, RW Aurigae and RU Lupi, made on the IUE. A crude estimate of the electron density of one star is obtained, using density-sensitive line ratios.

Cram, L. E.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The ultraviolet spectrum of the T Tauri star RW Aurigae

Ultraviolet spectra of the T Tauri star RW Aurigae have been obtained with the International Ultraviolet Explorer. Emission lines include Mg II, Fe II, Cr II, Si I, Si II, Si III, Si IV, C II, C IV, and L alpha. The spectrum roughly resembles the solar chromospheric spectrum, but the surface fluxes are 200 times greater. N V and He II appear to be absent, a possible indication of either an extended chromosphere cooled by mass loss or an optically thick, hot shocked region. The ultraviolet excess in RW Aur is strong, consistent with Balmer continuum emission. The observed continuum may be used to set limits on the type and amount of extinction affecting the star.

Imhoff, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

On the theory of coronal heating mechanisms

The present state-of-the-art of two classes of theories of coronal heating is examined: (1) heating by acoustic processes in the 'nonmagnetic' parts of the atmosphere (the shock-wave theory is an example); and (2) heating by electrodynamic processes in the magnetic regions of the corona (beta much less than 1) either by MHD waves or current heating in regions with high electric current densities (flare-type heating). It is concluded that the mechanism of the heating of the solar chromosphere and corona remains an open question, especially in explaining detailed atmospheric structures. The acoustic theory might be correct with little modification for most of the chromosphere, but as soon as the atmosphere shows a high degree of structure as in the corona and transition layer the magnetic field must play a dominant role. It appears that the current heating theories have a small range of applicability, while the MHD-wave theories are the most promising.

Kuperus, M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

H I Lyman-alpha in the sun - The effects of partial redistribution in the line wings

A form for the Lyman-alpha redistribution function that is modified to include the effects of collisional coupling between different energy states is presented. It is noted that this extends the work of Yelnik et al. (1981) and Roussel-Dupre(1982). By separating the source function into its primary components at all heights, the formation of Lyman-alpha radiation is investigated in detail. Frequencies in the line wing can be mapped back in such a way that the heights of formation for a change in lambda of plus or minus 0.5-6 A span the entire solar chromosphere. The usefulness of the Lyman-alpha wing as an atmospheric probe, however, is limited by long thermalization lengths, which result from almost coherent scattering outside of the Doppler core. When the line profiles calculated from the chromospheric models of Vernazza et al. (1981) are compared with the quiet-sun observations of Roussel-Dupre, agreement is found in integrated core intensities and in the line wing shape and normalized center-to-limb behavior. The calculated wing intensities, however, are a factor of four too small.

Roussel-Dupre, D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Neutrons and Gamma Rays from Solar Flares

The theory of neutron and gamma-ray production in flares is reviewed and comparisons of the calculations with data are made. The principal conclusions pertain to the accelerated proton and electron numbers and spectra in flares and to the interaction site of these particles in the solar atmosphere. For the June 21, 1980 flare, from which high-energy neutrons and high-energy ( MeV) photons were seen, the electron-to-proton ratio is energy dependent and much smaller than unity at energies greater than 1 MeV. The interaction site of these particles appears to be the solar chromosphere.

Ramaty, R.↗