Detection of polarization from the E^4\Pi-A^4\Pi system of FeH in sunspot spectra

Here we report the first detection of polarization signals induced by the Zeeman effect in spectral lines of the E^4\Pi-A^4\Pi system of FeH located around 1.6 $\mu$m. Motivated by the tentative detection of this band in the intensity spectrum of late-type dwarfs, we have investigated the full Stokes sunspot spectrum finding circular and linear polarization signatures that we associate with the FeH lines of the E^4\Pi-A^4\Pi band system. We investigate the Zeeman effect in these molecular transitions pointing out that in Hund's case (a) coupling the effective Land\'e factors are never negative. For this reason, the fact that our spectropolarimetric observations indicate that the Land\'e factors of pairs of FeH lines have opposite signs, prompt us to conclude that the E^4\Pi-A^4\Pi system must be in intermediate angular momentum coupling between Hund's cases (a) and (b). We emphasize that theoretical and/or laboratory investigations of this molecular system are urgently needed for exploiting its promising diagnostic capabilities.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter

Rayleigh-Taylor instability in partially ionized compressible plasmas: one fluid approach

We study the modification of the classical criterion for the linear onset and growth rate of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) in a partially ionized (PI) plasma in the one-fluid description, considering a generalized induction equation. The governing linear equations and appropriate boundary conditions, including gravitational terms, are derived and applied to the case of the RTI in a single interface between two partially ionized plasmas. The boundary conditions lead to an equation for the frequencies in which some of them have positive complex parts, marking the appearance of the RTI. We study the ambipolar term alone first, extending the result to the full induction equation later. We find that the configuration is always unstable because of the presence of a neutral species. In the classical stability regime the growth rate is small, since the collisions prevent the neutral fluid to fully develop the RTI. For parameters in the classical instability regime the growth rate is lowered, but for the considered theoretical values of the collision frequencies and diffusion coefficients for solar prominences the differences with the compressible MHD case are small. We conclude that PI modifies some aspects of the linear RTI instability, since it takes into account that neutrals do not feel the stabilizing effect of the magnetic field. For the set of parameters representative for solar prominences, our model gives the resulting timescale comparable with observed lifetimes of RTI plumes.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Wave propagation and shock formation in different magnetic structures

Velocity oscillations "measured" simultaneously at the photosphere and the chromosphere -from time series of spectropolarimetric data in the 10830 A region- of different solar magnetic features allow us to study the properties of wave propagation as a function of the magnetic flux of the structure (i.e. two different-sized sunspots, a tiny pore and a facular region). While photospheric oscillations have similar characteristics everywhere, oscillations measured at chromospheric heights show different amplitudes, frequencies and stages of shock development depending on the observed magnetic feature. The analysis of the power and the phase spectra, together with simple theoretical modeling, lead to a series of results concerning wave propagation within the range of heights of this study. We find that, while the atmospheric cut-off frequency and the propagation properties of the different oscillating modes depend on the magnetic feature, in all the cases the power that reaches the high chromosphere above the atmospheric cut-off comes directly from the photosphere by means of linear vertical wave propagation rather than from non-linear interaction of modes.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. 29 pages, 9 figures, 12pt, preprin

The Hanle and Zeeman Effects in Solar Spicules: A Novel Diagnostic Window on Chromospheric Magnetism

An attractive diagnostic tool for investigating the magnetism of the solar chromosphere is the observation and theoretical modeling of the Hanle and Zeeman effects in spicules, as shown in this letter for the first time. Here we report on spectropolarimetric observations of solar chromospheric spicules in the He I 10830 \AA multiplet and on their theoretical modeling accounting for radiative transfer effects. We find that the magnetic field in the observed (quiet Sun) spicular material at a height of about 2000 km above the visible solar surface has a strength of the order of 10 G and is inclined by approximately $35^{\circ}$ with respect to the local vertical direction. Our empirical finding based on full Stokes-vector spectropolarimetry should be taken into account in future magnetohydrodynamical simulations of spicules.Comment: 12 pages and 2 figure

Penumbral thermal structure below the visible surface

$Context$. The thermal structure of the penumbra below its visible surface (i.e., $\tau_5 \ge 1$) has important implications for our present understanding of sunspots and their penumbrae: their brightness and energy transport, mode conversion of magneto-acoustic waves, sunspot seismology, and so forth. $Aims$. We aim at determining the thermal stratification in the layers immediately beneath the visible surface of the penumbra: $\tau_5 \in [1,3]$ ($\approx 70-80$ km below the visible continuum-forming layer). $Methods$. We analyzed spectropolarimetric data (i.e., Stokes profiles) in three Fe \textsc{i} lines located at 1565 nm observed with the GRIS instrument attached to the 1.5-meter solar telescope GREGOR. The data are corrected for the smearing effects of wide-angle scattered light and then subjected to an inversion code for the radiative transfer equation in order to retrieve, among others, the temperature as a function of optical depth $T(\tau_5)$. $Results$. We find that the temperature gradient below the visible surface of the penumbra is smaller than in the quiet Sun. This implies that in the region $\tau_5 \ge 1$ the penumbral temperature diverges from that of the quiet Sun. The same result is obtained when focusing only on the thermal structure below the surface of bright penumbral filaments. We interpret these results as evidence of a thick penumbra, whereby the magnetopause is not located near its visible surface. In addition, we find that the temperature gradient in bright penumbral filaments is lower than in granules. This can be explained in terms of the limited expansion of a hot upflow inside a penumbral filament relative to a granular upflow, as magnetic pressure and tension forces from the surrounding penumbral magnetic field hinder an expansion like this.Comment: 5 pages; 2 figures; accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letter

Low-lying magnetic loops in the solar internetwork

The aim of this work is to study the structure of the magnetic field vector in the internetwork and search for the presence of small-scale loops. We invert 1.56 micron spectropolarimetric observations of internetwork regions at disc centre by applying the SIR code. This allows us to recover the atmospheric parameters that play a role in the formation of these spectral lines. We are mainly interested in the structure of the magnetic field vector. We find that many opposite polarity elements of the internetwork are connected by short (2-6''), low-lying (photospheric) loops. These loops connect at least the 10-20 % of the internetwork flux visible in our data. Also we have some evidence that points towards a dynamic scenario which can be produced by the emergence of internetwork magnetic flux.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A letter