Rapid changes in H alpha-flares correlated with microwaves

The time evolution of several flares was studied in H alpha with a time resolution of 1.4 seconds. The time profiles of the linecenter intensity show fast fluctuations and spikes. During the impulsive phase, prominent spikes occur in different kernels and they are correlated with microwave and Hard X-ray spikes. Spectral resolved observations show major changes of the ratio between H alpha line width and H alpha linecenter intensity at time scales in the order of 1 minute. No significant fluctuations occurred at shorter time scales

First Stereoscopic Coronal Loop Reconstructions from Stereo Secchi Images

We present the first reconstruction of the three-dimensional shape of magnetic loops in an active region from two different vantage points based on simultaneously recorded images. The images were taken by the two EUVI telescopes of the SECCHI instrument onboard the recently launched STEREO spacecraft when the heliocentric separation of the two space probes was 12 degrees. We demostrate that these data allow to obtain a reliable three-dimensional reconstruction of sufficiently bright loops. The result is compared with field lines derived from a coronal magnetic field model extrapolated from a photospheric magnetogram recorded nearly simultaneously by SOHO/MDI. We attribute discrepancies between reconstructed loops and extrapolated field lines to the inadequacy of the linear force-free field model used for the extrapolation.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

STEREO/SECCHI Stereoscopic Observations Constraining the Initiation of Polar Coronal Jets

We report on the first stereoscopic observations of polar coronal jets made by the EUVI/SECCHI imagers on board the twin STEREO spacecraft. The significantly separated viewpoints ($\sim$ 11$^\circ$) allowed us to infer the 3D dynamics and morphology of a well-defined EUV coronal jet for the first time. Triangulations of the jet's location in simultaneous image pairs led to the true 3D position and thereby its kinematics. Initially the jet ascends slowly at $\approx$10-20 $\mathrm{{km} {s}^{-1}}$ and then, after an apparent 'jump' takes place, it accelerates impulsively to velocities exceeding 300 $\mathrm{{km} {s}^{-1}}$ with accelerations exceeding the solar gravity. Helical structure is the most important geometrical feature of the jet which shows evidence of untwisting. The jet structure appears strikingly different from each of the two STEREO viewpoints: face-on in the one viewpoint and edge-on in the other. This provides conclusive evidence that the observed helical structure is real and is not resulting from possible projection effects of single viewpoint observations. The clear demonstration of twisted structure in polar jets compares favorably with synthetic images from a recent MHD simulation of jets invoking magnetic untwisting as their driving mechanism. Therefore, the latter can be considered as a viable mechanism for the initiation of polar jets.Comment: ApJL, in pres

Stereoscopic Polar Plume Reconstructions from Stereo/Secchi Images

We present stereoscopic reconstructions of the location and inclination of polar plumes of two data sets based on the two simultaneously recorded images taken by the EUVI telescopes in the SECCHI instrument package onboard the \emph{STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory)} spacecraft. The ten plumes investigated show a superradial expansion in the coronal hole in 3D which is consistent with the 2D results. Their deviations from the local meridian planes are rather small with an average of $6.47^{\circ}$. By comparing the reconstructed plumes with a dipole field with its axis along the solar rotation axis, it is found that plumes are inclined more horizontally than the dipole field. The lower the latitude is, the larger is the deviation from the dipole field. The relationship between plumes and bright points has been investigated and they are not always associated. For the first data set, based on the 3D height of plumes and the electron density derived from SUMER/\emph{SOHO} Si {\sc viii} line pair, we found that electron densities along the plumes decrease with height above the solar surface. The temperature obtained from the density scale height is 1.6 to 1.8 times larger than the temperature obtained from Mg {\sc ix} line ratios. We attribute this discrepancy to a deviation of the electron and the ion temperatures. Finally, we have found that the outflow speeds studied in the O {\sc vi} line in the plumes corrected by the angle between the line of sight and the plume orientation are quite small with a maximum of 10 $\mathrm{km s^{-1}}$. It is unlikely that plumes are a dominant contributor to the fast solar wind.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figure

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

Priority themes for swiss sustainability research

With this report, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences contribute to achieving the SDGs: With a view to meeting Switzerland‘s commitments under the 2030 Agenda as a whole, it identifies our country‘s most urgent research needs

High-resolution Observations of the Shock Wave Behavior for Sunspot Oscillations with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph

We present the first results of sunspot oscillations from observations by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. The strongly nonlinear oscillation is identified in both the slit-jaw images and the spectra of several emission lines formed in the transition region and chromosphere. We first apply a single Gaussian fit to the profiles of the Mgii 2796.35 {\AA}, Cii 1335.71 {\AA}, and Si iv 1393.76 {\AA} lines in the sunspot. The intensity change is about 30%. The Doppler shift oscillation reveals a sawtooth pattern with an amplitude of about 10 km/s in Si iv. In the umbra the Si iv oscillation lags those of Cii and Mgii by about 3 and 12 s, respectively. The line width suddenly increases as the Doppler shift changes from redshift to blueshift. However, we demonstrate that this increase is caused by the superposition of two emission components. We then perform detailed analysis of the line profiles at a few selected locations on the slit. The temporal evolution of the line core is dominated by the following behavior: a rapid excursion to the blue side, accompanied by an intensity increase, followed by a linear decrease of the velocity to the red side. The maximum intensity slightly lags the maximum blueshift in Si iv, whereas the intensity enhancement slightly precedes the maximum blueshift in Mgii. We find a positive correlation between the maximum velocity and deceleration, a result that is consistent with numerical simulations of upward propagating magnetoacoustic shock waves.Comment: 5 figures, in ApJ. Correction of time lags (correct values are 3 and 12s) made on June 17 201