128 research outputs found
Surges and Si IV bursts in the solar atmosphere. Understanding IRIS and SST observations through RMHD experiments
Surges often appear as a result of the emergence of magnetized plasma from
the solar interior. Traditionally, they are observed in chromospheric lines
such as H 6563 \AA and Ca II 8542 \AA. However, whether there is a
response to the surge appearance and evolution in the Si IV lines or, in fact,
in many other transition region lines has not been studied. In this paper we
analyze a simultaneous episode of an H surge and a Si IV burst that
occurred on 2016 September 03 in active region AR12585. To that end, we use
coordinated observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)
and the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST). For the first time, we report
emission of Si IV within the surge, finding profiles that are brighter and
broader than the average. Furthermore, the brightest Si IV patches within the
domain of the surge are located mainly near its footpoints. To understand the
relation between the surges and the emission in transition region lines like Si
IV, we have carried out 2.5D radiative MHD (RMHD) experiments of magnetic flux
emergence episodes using the Bifrost code and including the non-equilibrium
ionization of silicon. Through spectral synthesis we explain several features
of the observations. We show that the presence of Si IV emission patches within
the surge, their location near the surge footpoints and various observed
spectral features are a natural consequence of the emergence of magnetized
plasma from the interior to the atmosphere and the ensuing reconnection
processes.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures. The Astrophysical Journal (Accepted
The stellar atmosphere simulation code Bifrost
Context: Numerical simulations of stellar convection and photospheres have
been developed to the point where detailed shapes of observed spectral lines
can be explained. Stellar atmospheres are very complex, and very different
physical regimes are present in the convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere,
transition region and corona. To understand the details of the atmosphere it is
necessary to simulate the whole atmosphere since the different layers interact
strongly. These physical regimes are very diverse and it takes a highly
efficient massively parallel numerical code to solve the associated equations.
Aims: The design, implementation and validation of the massively parallel
numerical code Bifrost for simulating stellar atmospheres from the convection
zone to the corona.
Methods: The code is subjected to a number of validation tests, among them
the Sod shock tube test, the Orzag-Tang colliding shock test, boundary
condition tests and tests of how the code treats magnetic field advection,
chromospheric radiation, radiative transfer in an isothermal scattering
atmosphere, hydrogen ionization and thermal conduction.
Results: Bifrost completes the tests with good results and shows near linear
efficiency scaling to thousands of computing cores
Ambipolar diffusion in the Bifrost code
Ambipolar diffusion is a physical mechanism related to the drift between
charged and neutral particles in a partially ionized plasma that is key in many
different astrophysical systems. However, understanding its effects is
challenging due to basic uncertainties concerning relevant microphysical
aspects and the strong constraints it imposes on the numerical modeling. Our
aim is to introduce a numerical tool that allows us to address complex problems
involving ambipolar diffusion in which, additionally, departures from
ionization equilibrium are important or high resolution is needed. The primary
application of this tool is for solar atmosphere calculations, but the methods
and results presented here may also have a potential impact on other
astrophysical systems. We have developed a new module for the stellar
atmosphere Bifrost code that improves its computational capabilities of the
ambipolar diffusion term in the Generalized Ohm's Law. This module includes,
among other things, collision terms adequate to processes in the coolest
regions in the solar chromosphere. As a key feature of the module, we have
implemented the Super Time-Stepping (STS) technique, that allows an important
acceleration of the calculations. We have also introduced hyperdiffusion terms
to guarantee the stability of the code. We show that to have an accurate value
for the ambipolar diffusion coefficient in the solar atmosphere it is necessary
to include as atomic elements in the equation of state not only hydrogen and
helium but also the main electron donors like sodium, silicon and potassium. In
addition, we establish a range of criteria to set up an automatic selection of
the free parameters of the STS method that guarantees the best performance,
optimizing the stability and speed for the ambipolar diffusion calculations. We
validate the STS implementation by comparison with a self-similar analytical
solution.Comment: Accepted in A&A, 10 pages, 7 figure
Solar Flux Emergence Simulations
We simulate the rise through the upper convection zone and emergence through
the solar surface of initially uniform, untwisted, horizontal magnetic flux
with the same entropy as the non-magnetic plasma that is advected into a domain
48 Mm wide from from 20 Mm deep. The magnetic field is advected upward by the
diverging upflows and pulled down in the downdrafts, which produces a hierarchy
of loop like structures of increasingly smaller scale as the surface is
approached. There are significant differences between the behavior of fields of
10 kG and 20 or 40 kG strength at 20 Mm depth. The 10 kG fields have little
effect on the convective flows and show little magnetic buoyancy effects,
reaching the surface in the typical fluid rise time from 20 Mm depth of 32
hours. 20 and 40 kG fields significantly modify the convective flows, leading
to long thin cells of ascending fluid aligned with the magnetic field and their
magnetic buoyancy makes them rise to the surface faster than the fluid rise
time. The 20 kG field produces a large scale magnetic loop that as it emerges
through the surface leads to the formation of a bipolar pore-like structure.Comment: Solar Physics (in press), 12 pages, 13 figur
Modelling magnetic flux emergence in the solar convection zone
[Abridged] Bipolar magnetic regions are formed when loops of magnetic flux
emerge at the solar photosphere. Our aim is to investigate the flux emergence
process in a simulation of granular convection. In particular we aim to
determine the circumstances under which magnetic buoyancy enhances the flux
emergence rate (which is otherwise driven solely by the convective upflows). We
use three-dimensional numerical simulations, solving the equations of
compressible magnetohydrodynamics in a horizontally-periodic Cartesian domain.
A horizontal magnetic flux tube is inserted into fully developed hydrodynamic
convection. We systematically vary the initial field strength, the tube
thickness, the initial entropy distribution along the tube axis and the
magnetic Reynolds number. Focusing upon the low magnetic Prandtl number regime
(Pm<1) at moderate magnetic Reynolds number, we find that the flux tube is
always susceptible to convective disruption to some extent. However, stronger
flux tubes tend to maintain their structure more effectively than weaker ones.
Magnetic buoyancy does enhance the flux emergence rates in the strongest
initial field cases, and this enhancement becomes more pronounced when we
increase the width of the flux tube. This is also the case at higher magnetic
Reynolds numbers, although the flux emergence rates are generally lower in
these less dissipative simulations because the convective disruption of the
flux tube is much more effective in these cases. These simulations seem to be
relatively insensitive to the precise choice of initial conditions: for a given
flow, the evolution of the flux tube is determined primarily by the initial
magnetic field distribution and the magnetic Reynolds number.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysic
The formation of the Halpha line in the solar chromosphere
We use state-of-the-art radiation-MHD simulations and 3D non-LTE radiative
transfer computations to investigate \Halpha\ line formation in the solar
chromosphere and apply the results of this investigation to develop the
potential of \Halpha\ as diagnostic of the chromosphere.
We show that one can accurately model \Halpha\ line formation assuming
statistical equilibrium and complete frequency redistribution provided the
computation of the model atmosphere included non-equilibrium ionization of
hydrogen, and the Lyman- and Lyman- line profiles are described
by Doppler profiles.
We find that 3D radiative transfer is essential in modeling hydrogen lines
due to the low photon destruction probability in \Halpha. The \Halpha\ opacity
in the upper chromosphere is mainly sensitive to the mass density and only
weakly sensitive to temperature.
We find that the \Halpha\ line-core intensity is correlated with the average
formation height: the larger the average formation height, the lower the
intensity. The line-core width is a measure of the gas temperature in the
line-forming region. The fibril-like dark structures seen in \Halpha\ line-core
images computed from our model atmosphere are tracing magnetic field lines.
These structures are caused by field-aligned ridges of enhanced chromospheric
mass density that raise their average formation height, and therefore makes
them appear dark against their deeper-formed surroundings. We compare with
observations, and find that the simulated line-core widths are very similar to
the observed ones, without the need for additional microturbulence.Comment: Accepted for Ap
Study of single-lobed circular polarization profiles in the quiet Sun
The existence of asymmetries in the circular polarization (Stokes V) profiles
emerging from the solar photosphere is known since the 1970s. These profiles
require the presence of a velocity gradient along the line of sight, possibly
associated with gradients of magnetic field strength, inclination and/or
azimuth. We have focused our study on the Stokes V profiles showing extreme
asymmetry in the from of only one lobe. Using Hinode spectropolarimetric
measurements we have performed a statistical study of the properties of these
profiles in the quiet sun. We show their spatial distribution, their main
physical properties, how they are related with several physical observables and
their behavior with respect to their position on the solar disk. The single
lobed Stokes V profiles occupy roughly 2% of the solar surface. For the first
time, we have observed their temporal evolution and have retrieved the physical
conditions of the atmospheres from which they emerged using an inversion code
implementing discontinuities of the atmospheric parameters along the line of
sight. In addition, we use synthetic Stokes profiles from 3D magnetoconvection
simulations to complement the results of the inversion. The main features of
the synthetic single-lobed profiles are in general agreement with the observed
ones, lending support to the magnetic and dynamic topologies inferred from the
inversion. The combination of all these different analysis suggests that most
of the single-lobed Stokes V profiles are signals coming from magnetic flux
emergence and/or submergence processes taking place in small patches in the
photospheric of the quiet sun.Comment: 21 pages, 26 figures, 1 tabl
An Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph first view on Solar Spicules
Solar spicules have eluded modelers and observers for decades. Since the
discovery of the more energetic type II, spicules have become a heated topic
but their contribution to the energy balance of the low solar atmosphere
remains unknown. Here we give a first glimpse of what quiet Sun spicules look
like when observed with NASA's recently launched Interface Region Imaging
Spectrograph (IRIS). Using IRIS spectra and filtergrams that sample the
chromosphere and transition region we compare the properties and evolution of
spicules as observed in a coordinated campaign with Hinode and the Atmospheric
Imaging Assembly. Our IRIS observations allow us to follow the thermal
evolution of type II spicules and finally confirm that the fading of Ca II H
spicules appears to be caused by rapid heating to higher temperatures. The IRIS
spicules do not fade but continue evolving, reaching higher and falling back
down after 500-800 s. Ca II H type II spicules are thus the initial stages of
violent and hotter events that mostly remain invisible in Ca II H filtergrams.
These events have very different properties from type I spicules, which show
lower velocities and no fading from chromospheric passbands. The IRIS spectra
of spicules show the same signature as their proposed disk counterparts,
reinforcing earlier work. Spectroheliograms from spectral rasters also confirm
that quiet Sun spicules originate in bushes from the magnetic network. Our
results suggest that type II spicules are indeed the site of vigorous heating
(to at least transition region temperatures) along extensive parts of the
upward moving spicular plasma.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. For
associated movies, see http://folk.uio.no/tiago/iris_spic
Detection of supersonic downflows and associated heating events in the transition region above sunspots
IRIS data allow us to study the solar transition region (TR) with an
unprecedented spatial resolution of 0.33 arcsec. On 2013 August 30, we observed
bursts of high Doppler shifts suggesting strong supersonic downflows of up to
200 km/s and weaker, slightly slower upflows in the spectral lines Mg II h and
k, C II 1336 \AA, Si IV 1394 \AA, and 1403 \AA, that are correlated with
brightenings in the slitjaw images (SJIs). The bursty behavior lasts throughout
the 2 hr observation, with average burst durations of about 20 s. The locations
of these short-lived events appear to be the umbral and penumbral footpoints of
EUV loops. Fast apparent downflows are observed along these loops in the SJIs
and in AIA, suggesting that the loops are thermally unstable. We interpret the
observations as cool material falling from coronal heights, and especially
coronal rain produced along the thermally unstable loops, which leads to an
increase of intensity at the loop footpoints, probably indicating an increase
of density and temperature in the TR. The rain speeds are on the higher end of
previously reported speeds for this phenomenon, and possibly higher than the
free-fall velocity along the loops. On other observing days, similar bright
dots are sometimes aligned into ribbons, resembling small flare ribbons. These
observations provide a first insight into small-scale heating events in
sunspots in the TR.Comment: accepted by ApJ
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