221 research outputs found
Returning magnetic flux in sunspot penumbrae
We study the presence of reversed polarity magnetic flux in sunspot penumbra.
We applied a new regularized method to deconvolve spectropolarimetric data
observed with the spectropolarimeter SP onboard Hinode. The new regularization
is based on a principal component decomposition of the Stokes profiles. The
resulting Stokes profiles were inverted to infer the magnetic field vector
using SIR. We find, for the first time, reversed polarity fields at the border
of many bright penumbral filaments in the whole penumbra.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Spatial deconvolution of spectropolarimetric data: an application to quiet Sun magnetic elements
Observations of the Sun from the Earth are always limited by the presence of
the atmosphere, which strongly disturbs the images. A solution to this problem
is to place the telescopes in space satellites, which produce observations
without any (or limited) atmospheric aberrations. However, even though the
images from space are not affected by atmospheric seeing, the optical
properties of the instruments still limit the observations. In the case of
diffraction limited observations, the PSF establishes the maximum allowed
spatial resolution, defined as the distance between two nearby structures that
can be properly distinguished. In addition, the shape of the PSF induce a
dispersion of the light from different parts of the image, leading to what is
commonly termed as stray light or dispersed light. This effect produces that
light observed in a spatial location at the focal plane is a combination of the
light emitted in the object at relatively distant spatial locations. We aim to
correct the effect produced by the telescope's PSF using a deconvolution
method, and we decided to apply the code on Hinode/SP quiet Sun observations.
We analyze the validity of the deconvolution process with noisy data and we
infer the physical properties of quiet Sun magnetic elements after the
deconvolution process.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
Structure and dynamics of penumbral filaments
High-resolution observations of sunspots have revealed the existence of dark
cores inside the bright filaments of the penumbra. Here we present the
stationary solution of the heat transfer equation in a stratified penumbra
consisting of nearly horizontal magnetic flux tubes embedded in a stronger and
more vertical field. The tubes and the external medium are in horizontal
mechanical equilibrium. This model produces bright filaments with dark cores as
a consequence of the higher density of the plasma inside the flux tube, which
shifts the surface of optical depth unity toward higher (cooler) layers. Our
results suggest that the surplus brightness of the penumbra is a natural
consequence of the Evershed flow, and that magnetic flux tubes about 250 km in
diameter can explain the morphology of sunspot penumbra.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, conference proceedings: SEA, 2008, Santander,
Spai
Detection of emission in the Si i 1082.7 nm line core in sunspot umbrae
We analyze spectropolarimetric sunspot umbra observations taken in the
near-infrared Si i 1082.7 nm line taking NLTE effects into account. The data
were obtained with the GRIS instrument installed at the German GREGOR
telescope. A point spread function (PSF) was constructed using prior Mercury
observations with GRIS and the information provided by the adaptive optics
system of the GREGOR telescope. The data were then deconvolved from the PSF
using a principal component analysis deconvolution method and were analyzed via
the NICOLE inversion code. The Si i 1082.7 nm line seems to be in emission in
the umbra of the observed sunspot after the effects of scattered light are
removed. We show how the spectral line shape of umbral profiles changes
dramatically with the amount of scattered light. Indeed, the continuum levels
range, on average, from 44% of the quiet Sun continuum intensity to about 20%.
The inferred levels are in line with current model predictions and empirical
umbral models. Current umbral empirical models are not able to reproduce the
emission in the deconvolved umbral Stokes profiles. The results of the NLTE
inversions suggests that to obtain the emission in the Si i 1082.7 nm line, the
temperature stratification should first have a hump located at about log tau -2
and start rising at lower heights when moving into the transition region. This
is, to our knowledge, the first time the Si i 1082.7 nm line is seen in
emission in sunspot umbrae. The results show that the temperature
stratification of current umbral models may be more complex than expected with
the transition region located at lower heights above sunspot umbrae. Our
finding might provide insights into understanding why the sunspot umbra
emission in the millimeter spectral range is less than that predicted by
current empirical umbral models
On the validity of the 630 nm Fe I nm lines for the magnetometry of the internetwork quiet Sun
The purpose of this work is to analyze the reliability of the magnetic field
strengths inferred from the 630 nm pair of Fe I lines at internetwork quiet Sun
regions. Some numerical experiments have been performed that demonstrate the
inability of these lines to recover the magnetic field strength in such low
flux solar regions. It is shown how different model atmospheres, with magnetic
field strengths ranging from few hundred Gauss to kiloGauss, give rise to
Stokes profiles that can not be distinguished. The reasons for this degeneracy
are discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Three dimensional structure of penumbral filaments from Hinode observations
We analyse spectropolarimetric observations of the penumbra of the NOAA AR
10953 at high spatial resolution (0.3"). The full Stokes profiles of the Fe I
lines at 630.1 nm and 630.2 nm have been obtained with the Solar Optical
Telescope (SOT) on board the Hinode satellite. The data have been inverted by
means of the SIR code, deriving the stratifications of temperature, line of
sight velocity, and the components of the magnetic field vector in optical
depth. In order to evaluate the gas pressure and to obtain an adequate
geometrical height scale, the motion equation has been integrated for each
pixel taking into account the terms of the Lorentz force. To establish the
boundary condition, a genetic algorithm has been applied. The final resulting
magnetic field has a divergence compatible with 0 inside its uncertainties.
First analyses of the correlation of the Wilson depression with velocity,
temperature, magnetic field strength, and field inclination strongly support
the uncombed penumbral model proposed by Solanki & Montavon (1993).Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, conference proceeding: SEA meeting 2008,
Santander, Spai
Low-lying magnetic loops in the solar internetwork
The aim of this work is to study the structure of the magnetic field vector
in the internetwork and search for the presence of small-scale loops. We invert
1.56 micron spectropolarimetric observations of internetwork regions at disc
centre by applying the SIR code. This allows us to recover the atmospheric
parameters that play a role in the formation of these spectral lines. We are
mainly interested in the structure of the magnetic field vector. We find that
many opposite polarity elements of the internetwork are connected by short
(2-6''), low-lying (photospheric) loops. These loops connect at least the 10-20
% of the internetwork flux visible in our data. Also we have some evidence that
points towards a dynamic scenario which can be produced by the emergence of
internetwork magnetic flux.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A letter
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