Study of EUV Emission and Properties of a Coronal Streamer from PROBA2/SWAP, Hinode/EIS and Mauna Loa Mk4 Observations

Wide-field EUV telescopes imaging in spectral bands sensitive to 1 MK plasma on the Sun often observe extended ray-like coronal structures stretching radially from active regions to distances of 1.5-2Rsun, which represent the EUV counterparts of white-light streamers. To explain this phenomenon, we investigated the properties of a streamer observed on October 20-21, 2010 by the PROBA2/SWAP EUV telescope together with the Hinode/EIS spectrometer (HOP 165) and the Mauna Loa Mk4 white-light coronagraph. In the SWAP 174 A band comprising the Fe ix - Fe xi lines, the streamer was detected to a distance of 2Rsun. We assume that the EUV emission is dominated by collisional excitation and resonant scattering of monochromatic radiation coming from the underlying corona. Below 1.2Rsun, the plasma density and temperature were derived from the Hinode/EIS data by a line-ratio method. Plasma conditions in the streamer and in the background corona above 1.2Rsun from disk center were determined by forward-modeling the emission that best fit the observational data in both EUV and white light. It was found that plasma in the streamer above 1.2Rsun is nearly isothermal, with a temperature T=1.43+-0.08 MK. The hydrostatic scale-height temperature determined from the evaluated density distribution was significantly higher (1.72+-0.08 MK), which suggests the existence of outward plasma flow along the streamer. We conclude that, inside the streamer, collisional excitation provided more than 90% of the observed EUV emission; whereas, in the background corona, the contribution of resonance scattering became comparable with that of collisions at R > 2Rsun

Signatures of the slow solar wind streams from active regions in the inner corona

Some of local sources of the slow solar wind can be associated with spectroscopically detected plasma outflows at edges of active regions accompanied with specific signatures in the inner corona. The EUV telescopes (e.g. SPIRIT/CORONAS-F, TESIS/CORONAS-Photon and SWAP/PROBA2) sometimes observed extended ray-like structures seen at the limb above active regions in 1MK iron emission lines and described as "coronal rays". To verify the relationship between coronal rays and plasma outflows, we analyze an isolated active region (AR) adjacent to small coronal hole (CH) observed by different EUV instruments in the end of July - beginning of August 2009. On August 1 EIS revealed in the AR two compact outflows with the Doppler velocities V =10-30 km/s accompanied with fan loops diverging from their regions. At the limb the ARCH interface region produced coronal rays observed by EUVI/STEREO-A on July 31 as well as by TESIS on August 7. The rays were co-aligned with open magnetic field lines expanded to the streamer stalks. Using the DEM analysis, it was found that the fan loops diverged from the outflow regions had the dominant temperature of ~1 MK, which is similar to that of the outgoing plasma streams. Parameters of the solar wind measured by STEREO-B, ACE, WIND, STEREO-A were conformed with identification of the ARCH as a source region at the Wang-Sheeley-Arge map of derived coronal holes for CR 2086. The results of the study support the suggestion that coronal rays can represent signatures of outflows from ARs propagating in the inner corona along open field lines into the heliosphere.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics; 31 Pages; 13 Figure

Features of developing SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein population-based seroprevalence during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in the Russian Federation

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, dubbed COVID-19, has become one of the most serious challenges for human populations in the vast majority of countries worldwide. Rapid spreading and increased mortality related to it required new approaches to manage epidemic processes on a global scale. One of such approaches was based on analyzing SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence associated with COVID-19. Our aim was to summarize the results on assessing seroprevalence to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen (Nc) in residents from 26 regions of the Russian Federation, carried out during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic.Materials and methods. Seroprevalence distribution was examined in 26 model regions of the Russian Federation according to the unified method developed by the Rospotrebnadzor with the participation of the Federal State Institution Saint Petersburg Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. Such approach implied formation of a group of volunteer subjects in model geographic region who were tested by ELISA for anti-Nc serum antibody level in peripheral blood. Analyzed primary data obtained in separate regions were either accepted for publication or released.Results. The current paper finalizes the data obtained in all 26 regions of the Russian Federation. The total SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 19.5 (10.0–25.6)% with the maximum and minimum value found in the Kaliningrad Region and the Republic of Crimea, respectively (50.2% vs. 4.3%). A pattern of age-related seroprevalence distribution indicates insignificant predominance of seroprevalence among subjects of 1–17 years old: 22.1 (13.1–31.8)%. Among COVID-19 convalescents positive for SARS-CoV Nc antibodies it reached 60.0 (40.0–73.3)%. The number of contact persons comprised 6285 subjects or 8.5% of total volunteer cohort, with the level of seroprevalence reaching up to 25.3 (17.95–35.8)%. A direct correlation was revealed between levels of seroprevalence in convalescent and contact volunteers. In addition, the reproductive number for SARS-CoV was calculated comprising 5.8 (4.3–8.5) suggesting that one convalescent subject can infect at least 4 healthy individuals. A high level of asymptomatic forms of COVID-19 among seropositive subjects was confirmed empirically comprising up to 93.6 (87.1–94.9)%.Conclusion. A single cross-sectional study performed during 2020 June–August timeframe allowed to assess pattern of sex- and agerelated COVID-19 seroprevalence for general population in 26 Russian Federation regions. The data obtained may serve as a basis for the longitudinal cohort investigation with serial subject sampling. The timing and duration of study will be determined by dynamics of ongoing COVID-19 epidemic

On the verification of atomic data for K-alpha radiation spectra from the TEXTOR tokamak

High-resolution spectra from the Ar16+ and Ar15+ ions measured at the TEXTOR tokamak are used to verify atomic data necessary for simulation and diagnostics of a hot coronal plasma with an accuracy of about 5%. A self-consistent approach based on solving the inverse problem by the Bayesian iteration method in the framework of the proposed semiempirical "spectroscopic" model is used. The perturbation calculations of the atomic characteristics for [He] and [Li] argon ions by means of the ATOM and MZ codes require 10% correction of the ratios of the effective excitation rates for the intercombination line of the [He] ion and the group of dielectronic satellites corresponding to the 1s2p3l - 1s(2)3l' transitions in the [Li] ion to the resonance line of the [He] ion. The spectra calculated with this correction are in agreement with the measured spectra within the measurement accuracy less than or similar to 10% in the wide rankles similar to 0.8-2.5 keV and similar to 10(13)-10(14) cm(-3) of the central electron temperature and density, respectively. It is found that the central temperature value can be determined in the framework of the spectroscopic model with an accuracy of similar to 5%, and the abundances of the [Li] and [H] argon ions with respect to the [He] ions can be determined with an accuracy of similar to 20 and 50%, respectively. It has been shown that the use of the isothermal approximation when measuring the temperature from the ratio of the intensities of the dielectronic satellites to the resonance line can lead to a large error of similar to 20% in the presence of gradients typical for tokamak plasmas

Recombination mechanisms in He-like argon spectra measured in low-density plasmas

The formation mechanisms of K a emission from hot low-density plasmas are analysed on the basis of accurate measurements of the He-like tokamak spectra carried out over a wide range of plasma conditions. The analysis is supported by the improved calculations of the relevant atomic data. The main focus was made on a study of recombination processes responsible for ionization balance and atomic levels population. In distinction to astrophysical plasma, the simulation of fusion spectra in the coronal approximation showed conflicting results. The derived density of Li-like ions is highly overestimated, while the density of H-like ions appears to be close to the corresponding coronal distribution. The complex influence of charge-exchange recombination (CXR) on the intensity of He-like lines is shown to be a main reason for such confusing interpretation of the measurements. A simple analytical consideration is proposed to explain the behaviour of H-like ions in ohmically heated plasmas. The results of the systematic study of the ionization balance for such plasmas based on the spectra measured at the tokamak TEXTOR have been used to provide a quantitative description of the influence of the background of neutral particles and anomalous transport on the intensity of the spectral lines. The possibility of separating the influence of CXR and impurity transport from the analysis of the spectra is also shown

An iterative method in a probabilistic approach to the spectral inverse problem

Context. Inverse problems are of great importance in astrophysics, e.g., for deriving information about the physical characteristics of hot optically thin plasma sources from their extreme ultraviolet and X-ray spectra. Aims. We describe and test an iterative method developed within the framework of a probabilistic approach to the spectral inverse problem for determining the thermal structures of the emitting plasma. We also demonstrate applications of this method to both high resolution line spectra and broadband imaging data. Methods. Our so-called Bayesian iterative method (BIM) is an iterative procedure based on Bayes’ theorem and is used to reconstruct differential emission measure (DEM) distributions. Results. To demonstrate the abilities of the BIM, we performed various numerical tests and model simulations establishing its robustness and usefulness. We then applied the BIM to observable data for several active regions (AR) previously analyzed with other DEM diagnostic techniques: both SUMER/SOHO (Landi & Feldman 200