79 research outputs found
The chromosphere above sunspots at millimeter wavelengths
Aims: The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that millimeter wave data can
be used to distinguish between various atmospheric models of sunspots, whose
temperature structure in the upper photosphere and chromosphere has been the
source of some controversy. Methods: We use observations of the temperature
contrast (relative to the quiet Sun) above a sunspot umbra at 3.5 mm obtained
with the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Array (BIMA), complemented by submm
observations from Lindsey & Kopp (1995) and 2 cm observations with the Very
Large Array. These are compared with the umbral contrast calculated from
various atmospheric models of sunspots. Results: Current mm and submm
observational data suggest that the brightness observed at these wavelengths is
low compared to the most widely used sunspot models. These data impose strong
constraints on the temperature and density stratifications of the sunspot
umbral atmosphere, in particular on the location and depth of the temperature
minimum and the location of the transition region. Conclusions: A successful
model that is in agreement with millimeter umbral brightness should have an
extended and deep temperature minimum (below 3000 K). Better spatial resolution
as well as better wavelength coverage are needed for a more complete
determination of the chromospheric temperature stratification above sunspot
umbrae.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures.
http://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2014/01/aa21321-13/aa21321-13.htm
The relationship between chromospheric emissions and magnetic field strength
Aims. We analyze observational data from 4 instruments to study the
correlations between chromospheric emission, spanning the heights from the
temperature minimum region to the middle chromosphere, and photospheric
magnetic field. Methods: The data consist of radio images at 3.5 mm from the
Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Array (BIMA), UV images at 1600 A from TRACE, Ca II
K-line filtergrams from BBSO, and MDI/SOHO longitudinal photospheric
magnetograms. For the first time interferometric millimeter data with the
highest currently available resolution are included in such an analysis. We
determine various parameters of the intensity maps and correlate the
intensities with each other and with the magnetic field. Results: The
chromospheric diagnostics studied here show a pronounced similarity in their
brightness structures and map out the underlying photospheric magnetic field
relatively well. We find a power law to be a good representation of the
relationship between photospheric magnetic field and emission from
chromospheric diagnostics at all wavelengths. The dependence of chromospheric
brightness on magnetic field is found to be different for network and
internetwork regions.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, 3 table
ALMA detection of dark chromospheric holes in the quiet Sun
We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations
of a quiet-Sun region at a wavelength of 3 mm, obtained during the first solar
ALMA cycle on April 27, 2017, and compare them with available chromospheric
observations in the UV and visible as well as with photospheric magnetograms.
ALMA images clearly reveal the presence of distinct particularly dark/cool
areas in the millimeter maps having temperatures as low as 60% of the normal
quiet Sun at 3 mm, which are not seen in the other data. We speculate that ALMA
is sensing cool chromospheric gas, whose presence had earlier been inferred
from infrared CO spectra.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Millimeter radiation from a 3D model of the solar atmosphere II. Chromospheric magnetic field
We use state-of-the-art, three-dimensional non-local thermodynamic
equilibrium (non-LTE) radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the quiet
solar atmosphere to carry out detailed tests of chromospheric magnetic field
diagnostics from free-free radiation at millimeter and submillimeter
wavelengths (mm/submm). The vertical component of the magnetic field was
deduced from the mm/submm brightness spectra and the degree of circular
polarization synthesized at millimeter frequencies. We used the frequency bands
observed by the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) as a
convenient reference. The magnetic field maps obtained describe the
longitudinal magnetic field at the effective formation heights of the relevant
wavelengths in the solar chromosphere. The comparison of the deduced and model
chromospheric magnetic fields at the spatial resolution of both the model and
current observations demonstrates a good correlation, but has a tendency to
underestimate the model field. The systematic discrepancy of about 10 percent
is probably due to averaging of the restored field over the heights
contributing to the radiation, weighted by the strength of the contribution. On
the whole, the method of probing the longitudinal component of the magnetic
field with free-free emission at mm/submm wavelengths is found to be applicable
to measurements of the weak quiet-Sun magnetic fields. However, successful
exploitation of this technique requires very accurate measurements of the
polarization properties (primary beam and receiver polarization response) of
the antennas, which will be the principal factor that determines the level to
which chromospheric magnetic fields can be measured. Consequently,
high-resolution and high-precision observations of circularly polarized
radiation at millimeter wavelengths can be a powerful tool for producing
chromospheric longitudinal magnetograms.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in A&
A First Comparison of Millimeter Continuum and Mg II Ultraviolet Line Emission from the Solar Chromosphere
We present joint observations of the Sun by the Atacama Large
Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Interface Region Imaging
Spectrograph (IRIS). The observations were made of a solar active region on
2015 December 18 as part of the ALMA science verification effort. A map of the
Sun's continuum emission of size was obtained by ALMA at a
wavelength of 1.25 mm (239 GHz) using mosaicing techniques. A contemporaneous
map of size was obtained in the Mg II h doublet line at
2803.5\AA\ by IRIS. Both mm/submm continuum emission and ultraviolet
(UV) line emission are believed to originate from the solar chromosphere and
both have the potential to serve as powerful and complementary diagnostics of
physical conditions in this poorly understood layer of the solar atmosphere.
While a clear correlation between mm- brightness temperature and
the Mg II h line radiation temperature is observed the slope is ,
perhaps as a result of the fact that these diagnostics are sensitive to
different parts of the chromosphere and/or the Mg II h line source function
includes a scattering component. There is a significant offset between the mean
(1.25 mm) and mean (Mg II), the former being
greater than the latter. Partitioning the maps into "sunspot", "quiet regions",
and "plage regions" we find that the slope of the scatter plots between the
IRIS Mg II h line and the ALMA brightness temperature is 0.4
(sunspot), 0.56 (quiet regions), and 0.66 (plage regions). We suggest that this
change may be caused by the regional dependence of the formation heights of the
IRIS and ALMA diagnostics, and/or the increased degree of coupling between the
UV source function and the local gas temperature in the hotter, denser gas in
plage regions.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Inter-network regions of the Sun at millimetre wavelengths
The continuum intensity at wavelengths around 1 mm provides an excellent way
to probe the solar chromosphere. Future high-resolution millimetre arrays, such
as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), will thus produce valuable input
for the ongoing controversy on the thermal structure and the dynamics of this
layer. Synthetic brightness temperature maps are calculated on basis of
three-dimensional radiation (magneto-)hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. While the
millimetre continuum at 0.3mm originates mainly from the upper photosphere, the
longer wavelengths considered here map the low and middle chromosphere. The
effective formation height increases generally with wavelength and also from
disk-centre towards the solar limb. The average intensity contribution
functions are usually rather broad and in some cases they are even
double-peaked as there are contributions from hot shock waves and cool
post-shock regions in the model chromosphere. Taking into account the
deviations from ionisation equilibrium for hydrogen gives a less strong
variation of the electron density and with it of the optical depth. The result
is a narrower formation height range. The average brightness temperature
increases with wavelength and towards the limb. The relative contrast depends
on wavelength in the same way as the average intensity but decreases towards
the limb. The dependence of the brightness temperature distribution on
wavelength and disk-position can be explained with the differences in formation
height and the variation of temperature fluctuations with height in the model
atmospheres.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (15.05.07
ALMA Discovery of Solar Umbral Brightness Enhancement at {\lambda}=3 mm
We report the discovery of a brightness enhancement in the center of a large
sunspot umbra at a wavelength of 3 mm using the Atacama Large
Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA). Sunspots are amongst the most prominent
features on the solar surface, but many of their aspects are surprisingly
poorly understood. We analyzed a {\lambda}=3 mm (100 GHz) mosaic image obtained
by ALMA, which includes a large sunspot within the active region AR12470 on
December 16, 2015. The 3 mm map has a field-of-view and spatial resolution,
which is the highest spatial-resolution map of an entire sunspot in this
frequency range. We find a gradient of 3 mm brightness from a high value in the
outer penumbra to a low value in the inner penumbra/outer umbra. Within the
inner umbra, there is a marked increase in 3mm brightness temperature, which we
call an umbral brightness enhancement. This enhanced emission corresponds to a
temperature excess of 800 K relative to the surrounding inner penumbral region
and coincides with excess brightness in the 1330 and 1400 {\AA} slitjaw images
of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), adjacent to a partial
lightbridge. This {\lambda}=3 mm brightness enhancement may be an intrinsic
feature of the sunspot umbra at chromospheric heights, such as a manifestation
of umbral flashes, or it could be related to a coronal plume since the
brightness enhancement was coincident with the footpoint of a coronal loop
observed at 171 {\AA}.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Lette
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