596 research outputs found
Transition region features observed with Hinode/EIS
Two types of active region feature prominent at transition region
temperatures are identified in Hinode/EIS data of AR 10938 taken on 2007
January 20. The footpoints of 1 MK TRACE loops are shown to emit strongly in
emission lines formed at log T=5.4-5.8, allowing the temperature increase along
the footpoints to be clearly seen. A density diagnostic of Mg VII yields the
density in the footpoints, with one loop showing a decrease from 3x10^9 cm^-3
at the base to 1.5x10^9 cm^-3 at a projected height of 20 Mm. The second
feature is a compact active region transition region brightening which is
particularly intense in O V emission (log T=5.4) but also has a signature at
temperatures up to log T=6.3. The Mg VII diagnostic gives a density of 4x10^10
cm^-3, and emission lines of Mg VI and Mg VII show line profiles broadened by
50 km/s and wings extending beyond 200 km/s. Continuum emission in the short
wavelength band is also found to be enhanced, and is suggested to be free-bound
emission from recombination onto He^+.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, submitted to PASJ Hinode first results issu
Flows and Non-thermal Velocities in Solar Active Regions Observed with the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer on Hinode: A Tracer of Active Region Sources of Heliospheric Magnetic Fields?
From Doppler velocity maps of active regions constructed from spectra
obtained by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on the Hinode
spacecraft we observe large areas of outflow (20-50 km/s) that can persist for
at least a day. These outflows occur in areas of active regions that are faint
in coronal spectral lines formed at typical quiet Sun and active region
temperatures. The outflows are positively correlated with non-thermal
velocities in coronal plasmas. The bulk mass motions and non-thermal velocities
are derived from spectral line centroids and line widths, mostly from a strong
line of Fe XII at 195.12 Angstroms. The electron temperature of the outflow
regions estimated from an Fe XIII to Fe XII line intensity ratio is about
1.2-1.4 MK. The electron density of the outflow regions derived from a density
sensitive intensity ratio of Fe XII lines is rather low for an active region.
Most regions average around 7E10+8 cm(-3), but there are variations on pixel
spatial scales of about a factor of 4. We discuss results in detail for two
active regions observed by EIS. Images of active regions in line intensity,
line width, and line centroid are obtained by rastering the regions. We also
discuss data from the active regions obtained from other orbiting spacecraft
that support the conclusions obtained from analysis of the EIS spectra. The
locations of the flows in the active regions with respect to the longitudinal
photospheric magnetic fields suggest that these regions might be tracers of
long loops and/or open magnetic fields that extend into the heliosphere, and
thus the flows could possibly contribute significantly to the solar wind.Comment: one tex file, 11 postscript figure file
Non-thermal recombination - a neglected source of flare hard X-rays and fast electron diagnostic
Context. Flare Hard X-Rays (HXRs) from non-thermal electrons are commonly
treated as solely bremsstrahlung (f-f), recombination (f-b) being neglected.
This assumption is shown to be substantially in error, especially in hot
sources, mainly due to recombination onto Fe ions.
Aims. We analyse the effects on HXR spectra and electron diagnostics by
including non-thermal recombination onto heavy elements in our model.
Methods. Using Kramers hydrogenic cross sections with effective Z, we
calculate f-f and f-b spectra for power-law electron spectra, in both thin and
thick target limits, and for Maxwellians, with summation over all important
ions.
Results. We find that non-thermal electron recombination, especially onto Fe,
must, in general, be included together with f-f, for reliable spectral
interpretation, when the HXR source is hot. f-b contribution is greatest when
the electron spectral index is large, and any low energy cut-off small. f-b
spectra recombination edges mean a cut-off in F(E) appears as a HXR feature at
Photon energy = Ec + Vz, offering an Ec diagnostic. Including f-b lowers,
greatly in some cases, the F(E) needed for prescribed HXR fluxes and, even when
small, seriously distorts F(E) as inferred by inversion or forward fitting
based on f-f alone.
Conclusions. f-b recombination from non-thermal electrons can be an important
contributor to HXR spectra and should be included in spectral analyses,
especially for hot sources. Accurate results will require use of better cross
sections than ours and consideration of source ionisation structure.Comment: 13 pages, 2 tables, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
Flows in the solar atmosphere due to the eruptions on the 15th July, 2002
<p>Which kind of flows are present during flares? Are they compatible with the present understanding of energy release and which model best describes the observations? We analyze successive flare events in order to answer these questions. The flares were observed in the magnetically complex NOAA active region (AR) 10030 on 15 July 2002. One of them is of GOES X-class. The description of these flares and how they relate to the break-out model is presented in Gary & Moore (2004). The Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer on board SOHO observed this active region for around 14 h. The observed emission lines provided data from the transition region to the corona with a field of view covering more than half of the active region. In this paper we analyse the spatially resolved flows seen in the atmosphere from the preflare to the flare stages. We find evidence for evaporation occurring before the impulsive phase. During the main phase, the ongoing magnetic reconnection is demonstrated by upflows located at the edges of the flare loops (while downflows are found in the flare loops themselves). We also report the impact of a filament eruption on the atmosphere, with flows up to 300 km s<sup>-1</sup> observed at transition-region temperatures in regions well away from the location of the pre-eruptive filament. Our results are consistent with the predictions of the break out model before the impulsive phase of the flare; while, as the flare progresses, the directions of the flows are consistent with flare models invoking evaporation followed by cooling and downward plasma motions in the flare loops.</p>
How Can Active Region Plasma Escape into the Solar Wind from below a Closed Helmet Streamer?
Recent studies show that active-region (AR) upflowing plasma, observed by the
EUV-Imaging Spectrometer (EIS), onboard Hinode, can gain access to open
field-lines and be released into the solar wind (SW) via magnetic-interchange
reconnection at magnetic null-points in pseudo-streamer configurations. When
only one bipolar AR is present on the Sun and it is fully covered by the
separatrix of a streamer, such as AR 10978 in December 2007, it seems unlikely
that the upflowing AR plasma can find its way into the slow SW. However,
signatures of plasma with AR composition have been found at 1 AU by Culhane et
al. (2014) apparently originating from the West of AR 10978. We present a
detailed topology analysis of AR 10978 and the surrounding large-scale corona
based on a potential-field source-surface (PFSS) model. Our study shows that it
is possible for the AR plasma to get around the streamer separatrix and be
released into the SW via magnetic reconnection, occurring in at least two main
steps. We analyse data from the Nan\c{c}ay Radioheliograph (NRH) searching for
evidence of the chain of magnetic reconnections proposed. We find a noise storm
above the AR and several varying sources at 150.9 MHz. Their locations suggest
that they could be associated with particles accelerated during the first-step
reconnection process and at a null point well outside of the AR. However, we
find no evidence of the second-step reconnection in the radio data. Our results
demonstrate that even when it appears highly improbable for the AR plasma to
reach the SW, indirect channels involving a sequence of reconnections can make
it possible.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures. appears in Solar Physics, 201
Alcohol Consumption, Alcohol Outlets, and the Risk of Being Assaulted With a Gun
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65835/1/j.1530-0277.2009.00912.x.pd
EUV emission lines and diagnostics observed with Hinode/EIS
Quiet Sun and active region spectra from the Hinode/EIS instrument are
presented, and the strongest lines from different temperature regions
discussed. A list of emission lines recommended to be included in EIS
observation studies is presented based on analysis of blending and diagnostic
potential using the CHIANTI atomic database. In addition we identify the most
useful density diagnostics from the ions covered by EIS.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PASJ Hinode first results issu
Energy-Dependent Timing of Thermal Emission in Solar Flares
We report solar flare plasma to be multi-thermal in nature based on the
theoretical model and study of the energy-dependent timing of thermal emission
in ten M-class flares. We employ high-resolution X-ray spectra observed by the
Si detector of the "Solar X-ray Spectrometer" (SOXS). The SOXS onboard the
Indian GSAT-2 spacecraft was launched by the GSLV-D2 rocket on 8 May 2003.
Firstly we model the spectral evolution of the X-ray line and continuum
emission flux F(\epsilon) from the flare by integrating a series of isothermal
plasma flux. We find that multi-temperature integrated flux F(\epsilon) is a
power-law function of \epsilon with a spectral index (\gamma) \approx -4.65.
Next, based on spectral-temporal evolution of the flares we find that the
emission in the energy range E= 4 - 15 keV is dominated by temperatures of T=
12 - 50 MK, while the multi-thermal power-law DEM index (\gamma) varies in the
range of -4.4 and -5.7. The temporal evolution of the X-ray flux F(\epsilon,t)
assuming a multi-temperature plasma governed by thermal conduction cooling
reveals that the temperature-dependent cooling time varies between 296 and 4640
s and the electron density (n_e) varies in the range of n_e= (1.77-29.3)*10^10
cm-3. Employing temporal evolution technique in the current study as an
alternative method for separating thermal from non-thermal components in the
energy spectra, we measure the break-energy point ranging between 14 and
21\pm1.0 keV.Comment: Solar Physics, in pres
Comment on "CAWSES November 7-8, 2004, superstorm: Complex solar and interplanetary features in the post-solar maximum phase" by B. T. Tsurutani, E. Echer, F. L. Guarnieri, and J. U. Kozyra
Recently Tsurutani et al., (2008) (Paper 1) analyzed the complex
interplanetary structures during 7 to 8 November, 2004 to identify their
properties as well as resultant geomagnetic effects and the solar origins.
Besides mentioned paper by Gopalswamy et al., (2006) the solar and
interplanetary sources of geomagnetic storm on 7-10 November, 2004 have also
been discussed in details in series of other papers. Some conclusions of these
works essentially differ from conclusions of the Paper 1 but have not been
discussed by authors of Paper 1. In this comment we would like to discuss some
of these distinctions.Comment: Submitted for publication in Geophysical Research Letter
Multi-wavelength observations and modelling of a canonical solar flare
This paper investigates the temporal evolution of temperature, emission
measure, energy loss and velocity in a C-class solar flare from both an
observational and theoretical perspective. The properties of the flare were
derived by following the systematic cooling of the plasma through the response
functions of a number of instruments -- RHESSI (>5 MK), GOES-12 (5-30 MK),
TRACE 171 A (1 MK) and SOHO/CDS (~0.03-8 MK). These measurements were studied
in combination with simulations from the 0-D EBTEL model. At the flare on-set,
upflows of ~90 km s-1 and low level emission were observed in Fe XIX,
consistent with pre-flare heating and gentle chromospheric evaporation. During
the impulsive phase, upflows of ~80 km s-1 in Fe XIX and simultaneous downflows
of 20 km s-1 in He I and O V were observed, indicating explosive chromospheric
evaporation. The plasma was subsequently found to reach a peak temperature of
~13 MK in approximately 10 minutes. Using EBTEL, conduction was found to be the
dominant loss mechanism during the initial ~300s of the decay phase. It was
also found to be responsible for driving gentle chromospheric evaporation
during this period. As the temperature fell below ~8 MK, and for the next
~4,000s, radiative losses were determined to dominate over conductive losses.
The radiative loss phase was accompanied by significant downflows of <40 km s-1
in O V. This is the first extensive study of the evolution of a canonical solar
flare using both spectroscopic and broad-band instruments in conjunction with a
hydrodynamic model. While our results are in broad agreement with the standard
flare model, the simulations suggest that both conductive and non-thermal beam
heating play important roles in heating the flare plasma during the impulsive
phase of at least this event.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in A&
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