1,315 research outputs found
IRIS Observations of Spicules and Structures Near the Solar Limb
We have analyzed IRIS spectral and slit-jaw observations of a quiet region
near the South Pole. In this article we present an overview of the
observations, the corrections, and the absolute calibration of the intensity.
We focus on the average profiles of strong (Mg ii h and k, C ii and Si iv), as
well as of weak spectral lines in the near ultraviolet (NUV) and the far
ultraviolet (FUV), including the Mg ii triplet, thus probing the solar
atmosphere from the low chromosphere to the transition region. We give the
radial variation of bulk spectral parameters as well as line ratios and
turbulent velocities. We present measurements of the formation height in lines
and in the NUV continuum, from which we find a linear relationship between the
position of the limb and the intensity scale height. We also find that low
forming lines, such as the Mg ii triplet, show no temporal variations above the
limb associated with spicules, suggesting that such lines are formed in a
homogeneous atmospheric layer and, possibly, that spicules are formed above the
height of 2 arc sec. We discuss the spatio-temporal structure near the limb
from images of intensity as a function of position and time. In these images,
we identify p-mode oscillations in the cores of lines formed at low heights
above the photosphere, slow moving bright features in O i and fast moving
bright features in C ii. Finally, we compare the Mg ii k and h line profiles,
together with intensity values of the Balmer lines from the literature, with
computations from the PROM57Mg non-LTE model developed at the Institut
d'Astrophysique Spatiale and estimated values of the physical parameters. We
obtain electron temperatures in the range of K at small heights to
K at large heights, electron densities from to
cm and a turbulent velocity of km/s.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
First High-resolution Spectroscopic Observations of an Erupting Prominence Within a Coronal Mass Ejection by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)
Spectroscopic observations of prominence eruptions associated with coronal
mass ejections (CMEs), although relatively rare, can provide valuable plasma
and 3D geometry diagnostics. We report the first observations by the Interface
Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission of a spectacular fast CME/prominence
eruption associated with an equivalent X1.6 flare on 2014 May 9. The maximum
plane-of-sky and Doppler velocities of the eruption are 1200 and 460 km/s,
respectively. There are two eruption components separated by ~200 km/s in
Doppler velocity: a primary, bright component and a secondary, faint component,
suggesting a hollow, rather than solid, cone-shaped distribution of material.
The eruption involves a left-handed helical structure undergoing
counter-clockwise (viewed top-down) unwinding motion. There is a temporal
evolution from upward eruption to downward fallback with less-than-free-fall
speeds and decreasing nonthermal line widths. We find a wide range of Mg II k/h
line intensity ratios (less than ~2 expected for optically-thin thermal
emission): the lowest ever-reported median value of 1.17 found in the fallback
material and a comparably high value of 1.63 in nearby coronal rain and
intermediate values of 1.53 and 1.41 in the two eruption components. The
fallback material exhibits a strong () linear correlation between
the k/h ratio and the Doppler velocity as well as the line intensity. We
demonstrate that Doppler dimming of scattered chromospheric emission by the
erupted material can potentially explain such characteristics.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted by ApJ (Feb 15, 2015
Electron density in the quiet solar coronal transition region from SoHO/SUMER measurements of S VI line radiance and opacity
Context: The sharp temperature and density gradients in the coronal
transition region are a challenge for models and observations.
Aims: We set out to get linearly- and quadratically-weighted average electron
densities in the region emitting the S VI lines, using the observed opacity and
the emission measure of these lines.
Methods: We analyze SoHO/SUMER spectroscopic observations of the S VI lines,
using the center-to-limb variations and radiance ratios to derive the opacity.
We also use the Emission Measure derived from radiance at disk center.
Results: We get an opacity at S VI line center of the order of 0.05. The
resulting average electron density is 2.4 10^16 m^-3 at T = 2 10^5 K. This
value is higher than the values obtained from radiance measurements.
Conversely, taking a classical value for the density leads to a too high value
of the thickness of the emitting layer.
Conclusions: The pressure derived from the Emission Measure method compares
well with previous determinations and implies a low opacity of 5 10^-3 to
10^-2. The fact that a direct derivation leads to a much higher opacity remains
unexplained, despite tentative modeling of observational biases. Further
measurements need to be done, and more realistic models of the transition
region need to be used.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure
First high-resolution look at the quiet Sun with ALMA at 3 mm
We present an overview of high resolution quiet Sun observations, from disk
center to the limb, obtained with the Atacama Large mm and sub-mm Array (ALMA)
at 3 mm. Seven quiet Sun regions were observed with resolution of up to 2.5" by
4.5". We produced both average and snapshot images by self-calibrating the ALMA
visibilities and combining the interferometric images with full disk solar
images. The images show well the chromospheric network, which, based on the
unique segregation method we used, is brighter than the average over the fields
of view of the observed regions by K while the intranetwork is less
bright by K, with a slight decrease of the network/intranetwork
contrast toward the limb. At 3 mm the network is very similar to the 1600 \AA\
images, with somewhat larger size. We detected for the first time spicular
structures, rising up to 15" above the limb with a width down to the image
resolution and brightness temperature of 1800 K above the local
background. No trace of spicules, either in emission or absorption, was found
on the disk. Our results highlight ALMA's potential for the study of the quiet
chromosphere.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics (Letters), in pres
ClimWood2030, Climate benefits of material substitution by forest biomass and harvested wood products: Perspective 2030 - Final Report
The ClimWood2030 study, commissioned by DG CLIMA of the European Commission, quantifies the five ways in which the EU forest sector contributes to climate change mitigation: carbon sequestration and storage in EU forests, carbon storage in harvested wood products in the EU, substitution of wood products for functionally equivalent materials and substitution of wood for other sources of energy, and displacement of emissions from forests outside the EU. It also explores through scenario analysis, based on a series of interlocking models (GLOBIOM, G4M and WoodCarbonMonitor), along with detailed analysis of Forest Based Functional Units, based on life cycle assessment (LCA), the consequences for GHG balances of policy choices at present under consideration. The focus is on the EU-28, but GHG balances for other parts of the world are also considered, notably to assess consequences of EU policy choices for other regions. The five scenarios are (I) The ClimWood2030 reference scenario, (II) Increase carbon stock in existing EU forests, (III) Cascade use – increase recovery of solid wood products, (IV) Cascade use – prevent first use of biomass for energy and (V) Strongly increase material wood use. The study presents detailed scenario results for key parameters, the policy instruments linked to the scenarios, and main conclusions
Prenatal Diagnosis of Gómez-López-Hernández Syndrome.
Gómez-López-Hernández syndrome (GLHS), also known as cerebello-trigeminal-dermal dysplasia, is an extremely rare neurocutaneous disease, classically described by the triad of rhombencephalosynapsis (RES), bilateral focal alopecia, and trigeminal anesthesia. The clinical and radiographic spectrum of GLHS is now known to be broader, including craniofacial and supratentorial anomalies, as well as neurodevelopmental issues.
Here, we present a case of antenatally diagnosed GLHS with RES, hydrocephaly, and craniofacial anomalies identified on ultrasound (low-set ears with posterior rotation, hypertelorism, midface hypoplasia, micrognathia, and anteverted nares) which were confirmed by autopsy after termination of pregnancy at 23 weeks of gestation.
As no known genetic causes have been identified and the classical triad is not applicable to prenatal imaging, prenatal diagnosis of GLHS is based on neuroimaging and the identification of supporting features. In presence of an RES associated with craniofacial abnormalities in prenatal (brachycephaly, turricephaly, low-set ears, midface retrusion, micrognathia), GLHS should be considered as "possible" according to postnatal criteria
Monte-Carlo simulations of the recombination dynamics in porous silicon
A simple lattice model describing the recombination dynamics in visible light
emitting porous Silicon is presented. In the model, each occupied lattice site
represents a Si crystal of nanometer size. The disordered structure of porous
Silicon is modeled by modified random percolation networks in two and three
dimensions. Both correlated (excitons) and uncorrelated electron-hole pairs
have been studied. Radiative and non-radiative processes as well as hopping
between nearest neighbor occupied sites are taken into account. By means of
extensive Monte-Carlo simulations, we show that the recombination dynamics in
porous Silicon is due to a dispersive diffusion of excitons in a disordered
arrangement of interconnected Si quantum dots. The simulated luminescence decay
for the excitons shows a stretched exponential lineshape while for uncorrelated
electron-hole pairs a power law decay is suggested. Our results successfully
account for the recombination dynamics recently observed in the experiments.
The present model is a prototype for a larger class of models describing
diffusion of particles in a complex disordered system.Comment: 33 pages, RevTeX, 19 figures available on request to
[email protected]
Solar Orbiter, a High-Resolution Mission to the Sun and Inner Heliosphere
Solar Orbiter will provide, at very high spatial (35 km pixel size) and temporal resolution, novel observations of the solar atmosphere and unexplored inner heliosphere, which will be made in the heliosynchronous segments of the orbits at heliocentric distances near 45 solar radii and out of the ecliptic plane at high heliographic latitudes up to 38°. The Solar Orbiter will achieve its wide-ranging scientific aims with a suite of sophisticated instruments through an innovative orbit design
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