85 research outputs found
Solar cycle variation in Sun-as-a-star Ca II 854.2 nm bisectors
The bisector of the strong chromospheric Ca II 854.2 nm line has an inverse-C
shape the cause of which is not yet fully understood. We show that the
amplitude of the bisector in Sun-as-a-star observations exhibits a solar cycle
variation with smaller amplitudes during highest activity. The line core
intensity is lower during solar minima while the part of the bisector most
sensitive to the line core shows no systematic change with activity. Our
results support the use of Ca II 854.2 nm bisectors in studying the
relationship between convection and magnetic fields, not only in the Sun but in
other stars as well.Comment: Accepted to Ap
STEREO quadrature observations of coronal dimming at the onset of mini-CMEs
Context: Using unique quadrature observations with the two STEREO spacecraft,
we investigate coronal dimmings at the onset of small-scale eruptions. In CMEs
they are believed to indicate the opening up of the coronal magnetic fields at
the start of the eruption. Aims: It is to determine whether coronal dimming
seen in small-scale eruptions starts before or after chromospheric plasma
ejection. Methods: One STEREO spacecraft obtained high cadence, 75 s, images in
the He II 304A channel, and the other simultaneous images in the Fe IX/FeX 171A
channel. We concentrate on two well-positioned chromospheric eruptions that
occurred at disk center in the 171A images, and on the limb in 304A. One was in
the quiet Sun and the other was in an equatorial coronal hole. We compare the
timing of chromospheric eruption seen in the 304A limb images with the
brightenings and dimmings seen on disk in the 171A images. Further we use
off-limb images of the low frequency 171A power to infer the coronal structure
near the eruptions. Results: In both the quiet Sun and the coronal hole
eruption, on disk 171A dimming was seen before the chromospheric eruption, and
in both cases it extends beyond the site of the chromospheric eruption. The
quiet Sun eruption occurred on the outer edge of the enclosing magnetic field
of a prominence and may be related to a small disruption of the prominence just
before the 171A dimming. Conclusions: These small-scale chromospheric eruptions
started with a dimming in coronal emission just like their larger counterparts.
We therefore suggest that a fundamental step in triggering them was the removal
of overlying coronal field.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figures. To appear A&A Letters. Movies accompanying this
Letter are at http://www.mps.mpg.de/data/outgoing/innes/dims
Expansion of magnetic flux concentrations: a comparison of Hinode SOT d ata and models
Context: The expansion of network magnetic fields with height is a
fundamental property of flux tube models. A rapid expansion is required to form
a magnetic canopy. Aims: We characterize the observed expansion properties of
magnetic network elements and compare them with the thin flux tube and sheet
approximations, as well as with magnetoconvection simulations. Methods: We used
data from the Hinode SOT NFI NaD1 channel and spectropolarimeter to study the
appearance of magnetic flux concentrations seen in circular polarization as a
function of position on the solar disk. We compared the observations with
synthetic observables from models based on the thin flux tube approximation and
magnetoconvection simulations with two different upper boundary conditions for
the magnetic field (potential and vertical). Results: The observed circular
polarization signal of magnetic flux concentrations changes from unipolar at
disk center to bipolar near the limb, which implies an expanding magnetic
field. The observed expansion agrees with expansion properties derived from the
thin flux sheet and tube approximations. Magnetoconvection simulations with a
potential field as the upper boundary condition for the magnetic field also
produce bipolar features near the limb while a simulation with a vertical field
boundary condition does not. Conclusions: The near-limb apparent bipolar
magnetic features seen in high-resolution Hinode observations can be
interpreted using a simple flux sheet or tube model. This lends further support
to the idea that magnetic features with vastly varying sizes have similar
relative expansion rates. The numerical simulations presented here are less
useful in interpreting the expansion since the diagnostics we are interested in
are strongly influenced by the choice of the upper boundary condition for the
magnetic field in the purely photospheric simulations.Comment: accepted for publication in A&
Inertial Range Scaling, Karman-Howarth Theorem and Intermittency for Forced and Decaying Lagrangian Averaged MHD in 2D
We present an extension of the Karman-Howarth theorem to the Lagrangian
averaged magnetohydrodynamic (LAMHD-alpha) equations. The scaling laws
resulting as a corollary of this theorem are studied in numerical simulations,
as well as the scaling of the longitudinal structure function exponents
indicative of intermittency. Numerical simulations for a magnetic Prandtl
number equal to unity are presented both for freely decaying and for forced two
dimensional MHD turbulence, solving directly the MHD equations, and employing
the LAMHD-alpha equations at 1/2 and 1/4 resolution. Linear scaling of the
third-order structure function with length is observed. The LAMHD-alpha
equations also capture the anomalous scaling of the longitudinal structure
function exponents up to order 8.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures author institution addresses added magnetic
Prandtl number stated clearl
Nonlinear force-free field modeling of a solar active region using SDO/HMI and SOLIS/VSM data
We use SDO/HMI and SOLIS/VSM photospheric magnetic field measurements to
model the force-free coronal field above a solar active region, assuming
magnetic forces to dominate. We take measurement uncertainties caused by, e.g.,
noise and the particular inversion technique into account. After searching for
the optimum modeling parameters for the particular data sets, we compare the
resulting nonlinear force-free model fields. We show the degree of agreement of
the coronal field reconstructions from the different data sources by comparing
the relative free energy content, the vertical distribution of the magnetic
pressure and the vertically integrated current density. Though the longitudinal
and transverse magnetic flux measured by the VSM and HMI is clearly different,
we find considerable similarities in the modeled fields. This indicates the
robustness of the algorithm we use to calculate the nonlinear force-free fields
against differences and deficiencies of the photospheric vector maps used as an
input. We also depict how much the absolute values of the total force-free,
virial and the free magnetic energy differ and how the orientation of the
longitudinal and transverse components of the HMI- and VSM-based model volumes
compares to each other.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
The solar chromosphere at high resolution with IBIS. I. New insights from the Ca II 854.2 nm line
(Abridged)
Aims: In this paper, we seek to establish the suitability of imaging
spectroscopy performed in the Ca II 854.2 nm line as a means to investigate the
solar chromosphere at high resolution.
Methods: We utilize monochromatic images obtained with the Interferometric
BIdimensional Spectrometer (IBIS) at multiple wavelengths within the Ca II
854.2 nm line and over several quiet areas. We analyze both the morphological
properties derived from narrow-band monochromatic images and the average
spectral properties of distinct solar features such as network points,
internetwork areas and fibrils.
Results: The spectral properties derived over quiet-Sun targets are in full
agreement with earlier results obtained with fixed-slit spectrographic
observations, highlighting the reliability of the spectral information obtained
with IBIS. Furthermore, the very narrowband IBIS imaging reveals with much
clarity the dual nature of the Ca II 854.2 nm line: its outer wings gradually
sample the solar photosphere, while the core is a purely chromospheric
indicator. The latter displays a wealth of fine structures including bright
points, akin to the Ca II H2V and K2V grains, as well as fibrils originating
from even the smallest magnetic elements. The fibrils occupy a large fraction
of the observed field of view even in the quiet regions, and clearly outline
atmospheric volumes with different dynamical properties, strongly dependent on
the local magnetic topology. This highlights the fact that 1-D models
stratified along the vertical direction can provide only a very limited
representation of the actual chromospheric physics.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures. Accepted in A&A. Revised version after referee's
comments. New Fig. 1 and 7. Higher quality figures in
http://www.arcetri.astro.it/~gcauzzi/papers/ibis.caii.pd
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