We investigate the ratio of the vertical and horizontal velocities of the photospheric plasma flows in the region of emerging magnetic fields on the Sun. We carried out a study of photospheric velocities during the first hours of the appearance of 83 active regions with magnetic flux more than 10^21 Mx with data acquired by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The emerging magnetic fluxes under investigation were isolated from extended concentrations of existing magnetic fields; they have different spatial scales and are located at different distances from the solar disk center. We found that the values of maximum negative Doppler velocities that accompany the emergence of active region magnetic fields during the first 12 hours increase nonlinearly with the heliocentric angle. This result shows that the horizontal photospheric velocities of plasma outflows are higher than the vertical ones of the plasma upflows during the first hours of the emergence of active regions. The horizontal velocity component at the site of emerging active regions exceeds that of convective flows in the quiet Sun. A comparison between the velocities and the maximum value of the total magnetic flux has not revealed any relation.
The variation in area of quiet magnetic network measured over the sunspot cycle should modulate the spatially averaged photospheric temperature gradient, since temperature declines with optical depth more gradually in magnetic flux tube atmospheres. Yet, limb darkening measurements show no dependence upon activity level, even at an rms precision of 0.04%. We study the sensitivity of limb darkening to changes in area filling factor using a 3D MHD model of the magnetized photosphere. The limb darkening change expected from the measured 11 yr area variation lies below the level of measured limb d…
Using numerical simulations of the magnetised solar photosphere carried out with the radiative magneto-hydrodynamic code, MURaM, and detailed spectro-polarimetric diagnostics of the simulated photospheric 6302A FeI line, spectro-polarimetric signatures of Alfven waves in magnetised intergranular lanes of the simulated solar photosphere were analysed at different positions at the solar disk. The torsional Alfven waves in the intergranular lanes are horizontal plasma motions, which do not have a thermal perturbation counterpart. We find signatures of Alfven waves as small-scale line profile Dopp…
Microturbulence (ξ) is a key parameter introduced in stellar spectroscopy to explain the strength of saturated lines by formally incorporating an additional thermal broadening term in the line opacity profile. Although our Sun can serve as an important testing bench to check the usual assumption of constant ξ, the detailed behavior of how ξvaries from the disk center through the limb seems to have never been investigated so far. In order to fill this gap, local ξvalues on the solar disk were determined from the equivalent widths of 46 Fe I lines at 32 points from the center to the limb by requ…
The solar photospheric abundance of oxygen is still a matter of debate. For about ten years some determinations have favoured a low oxygen abundance which is at variance with the value inferred by helioseismology. Among the oxygen abundance indicators, the forbidden line at 630nm has often been considered the most reliable even though it is blended with a NiI line. In Papers I and Paper II of this series we reported a discrepancy in the oxygen abundance derived from the 630nm and the subordinate [OI] line at 636nm in dwarf stars, including the Sun. Here we analyse several, in part new, solar o…
Strongly Doppler-shifted Stokes $V$ profiles have been detected in the quiet Sun with the IMaX instrument on-board the SUNRISE stratospheric balloon-borne telescope. High velocities are required in order to produce such signals, hence these events have been interpreted as jets, although other sources are also possible. We aim to characterize the variation of the main properties of these events (occurrence rate, lifetime, size and velocities) with their position on the solar disk between disk centre and the solar limb. These events have been identified in Sunrise/IMaX data according to the same…
The structure of the photospheric vector magnetic field below a dark filament on the Sun is studied using the observations of the Spectro-Polarimeter attached to the Solar Optical Telescope onboard Hinode. Special attention is paid to discriminate the two suggested models, a flux rope or a bent arcade. "Inverse-polarity" orientation is possible below the filament in a flux rope, whereas "normal-polarity" can appear in both models. We study a filament in active region NOAA 10930, which appeared on the solar disk during 2006 December. The transverse field perpendicular to the line of sight has a…
Photospheric waves in sunspots moving radially outwards at speeds faster than the characteristic wave velocities have been recently detected. It has been suggested that they are the visual pattern of $p-$modes excited around 5 Mm beneath the sunspot. Using numerical simulations, we have performed a parametric study of the waves observed at the photosphere and higher layers produced by sources located at different depths. The observational measurements are consistent with waves driven between approximately 1 Mm and 5 Mm below the sunspot surface.
In a force-free magnetic field, there is no interaction of field and the plasma in the surrounding atmosphere i.e., electric currents are aligned with the magnetic field, giving rise to zero Lorentz force. The computation of many magnetic parameters like magnetic energy, gradient of twist of sunspot magnetic fields (computed from the force-free parameter $α$), including any kind of extrapolations heavily hinge on the force-free approximation of the photospheric magnetic fields. The force-free magnetic behaviour of the photospheric sunspot fields has been examined by \cite{metc95} and \cite{moo…
In this review, our present day understanding of the Sun's global photospheric and coronal magnetic fields is discussed from both observational and theoretical viewpoints. Firstly, the large-scale properties of photospheric magnetic fields are described, along with recent advances in photospheric magnetic flux transport models. Following this, the wide variety of theoretical models used to simulate global coronal magnetic fields are described. From this, the combined application of both magnetic flux transport simulations and coronal modeling techniques to describe the phenomena of coronal hol…
MHD simulations of sunspots have successfully reproduced many aspects of sunspot fine structure as consequence of magneto convection in inclined magnetic field. We study how global sunspot properties and penumbral fine structure depend on the magnetic top boundary condition as well as on grid spacing. The overall radial extent of the penumbra is subject to the magnetic top boundary condition. All other aspects of sunspot structure and penumbral fine structure are resolved at an acceptable level starting from a grid resolution of 48 [24] km (horizontal [vertical]). We find that the amount of in…
A magnetic field is force-free if there is no interaction between the magnetic field and plasma in surrounding atmosphere i.e., electric currents are aligned with the magnetic field, giving rise to zero Lorentz force. Computation of various magnetic parameters such as magnetic energy, gradient of twist of sunspot fields and any kind of extrapolations, heavily hinge on the force-free approximation of the photospheric sunspot magnetic fields. Thus it is important to inspect the force-freeness of sunspot fields. The force-freeness of sunspot magnetic fields has been examined earlier by some resea…
Measurements of the radius and limb brightening of the Sun provide important information about the solar atmosphere structure and temperature. The solar radius increases as the observation at radio frequency decreases, indicating that each emission originates higher in the atmosphere. Thus, different layers of the solar atmosphere can be probed by observing at multiple wavelengths. In this work, we determined the average radius and limb brightening at 100, 212, 230, and 405 GHz, using data from the Solar Submillimeter Telescope and ALMA's single-dish observations. For the first time, limb brig…
We present observational evidence for the presence of MHD waves in the solar photosphere deduced from SOHO/MDI Dopplergram velocity observations. The magneto-acoustic perturbations are observed as acoustic power enhancement in the sunspot umbra at high-frequency bands in the velocity component perpendicular to the magnetic field. We use numerical modelling of wave propagation through localised non-uniform magnetic field concentration along with the same filtering procedure as applied to the observations to identify the observed waves. Guided by the results of the numerical simulations we class…
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager provides 45 s cadence intensity images and 720 s cadence vector magnetograms. These unprecedented high-cadence and high-resolution data give us a unique opportunity to study the change of photospheric flows and sunspot rotations associated with flares. By using the differential affine velocity estimator method and the Fourier local correlation tracking method separately, we calculate velocity and vorticity of photospheric flows in the flaring NOAA AR 11158, and investigate their temporal evolution around the X2.2 flare on 2011 February 15. It is found that …
We measured the center-to-limb variation of the brightness temperature, $T_b$, from ALMA full-disk images at two frequencies and inverted the solution of the transfer equation to obtain the electron temperature, $T_e$ as a function of optical depth, $τ$. The ALMA images are very similar to AIA images at 1600Å. The brightness temperature at the center of the disk is 6180 and 7250 K at 239 and 100 GHz respectively, with dispersions of 100 and 170 K. Plage regions stand out clearly in the 239/100 GHz intensity ratio, while faculae and filament lanes do not. The solar disk radius, reduced to 1 AU,…
Can We Distinguish the Source Region Location of Filament/Prominence Eruptions from the Sun-as-a-star H$α$ Spectrum?
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Science（中国科学院国家天文台）；School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学天文与空间科学学院）；Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台暗物质与空间天文重点实验室）；School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学天文与空间科学学院）；National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家空间科学中心）
School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University（南京大学天文与空间科学学院）；Institute for Solar Physics, Dept. of Astronomy, Stockholm University（斯德哥尔摩大学天文学系太阳物理研究所）
本研究利用观测数据和模拟分析，揭示了太阳Fe I 6569 Å线的边缘位移效应，发现方法1在低分辨率下仍保持经典行为，而方法2则出现显著偏离。
Many jets are detected at X-ray wavelengths in the Sun's polar regions, and the ejected plasma along the jets has been suggested to contribute mass to the fast solar wind. From in-situ measurements in the magnetosphere, it has been found that the fast solar wind has photospheric abundances while the slow solar wind has coronal abundances. Therefore, we investigated the abundances of polar jets to determine whether they are the same as that of the fast solar wind. For this study, we selected 22 jets in the polar region observed by Hinode/EIS (EUV Imaging Spectrometer) and XRT (X-Ray Telescope) …
We study the variability of solar activity using new photospheric proxies originally developed for the analysis of stellar magnetism with the CoRoT and Kepler photometric observations. These proxies are obtained by tracking the temporal modulations in the observations associated to the spots and magnetic features as the Sun rotates. We analyze here 21 years, spanning solar cycles 23 and 24, of the observations collected by the space-based photometric VIRGO and radial velocity GOLF instruments on board the SoHO satellite. The photospheric activity proxy Sph is then calculated for each of the th…
Using radiative magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of the magnetised solar photosphere and detailed spectro-polarimetric diagnostics with the FeI $6301.5\mathrmÅ$ and $6302.5\mathrmÅ$ photospheric lines in the local thermodynamic equilibrium approximation, we model active solar granulation as if it was observed at the solar limb. We analyse general properties of the radiation across the solar limb, such as the continuum and the line core limb darkening and the granulation contrast. We demonstrate the presence of profiles with both emission and absorption features at the simulated solar limb, and…
Recently, there have been some reports of unusually strong photospheric magnetic fields (which can reach values of over 7 kG) inferred from Hinode SOT/SP sunspot observations within penumbral regions. These superstrong penumbral fields are even larger than the strongest umbral fields on record and appear to be associated with supersonic downflows. The finding of such fields has been controversial since they seem to show up only when spatially coupled inversions are performed. Here, we investigate and discuss the reliability of those findings by studying in detail observed spectra associated wi…
The Sun's spectrum varies with center-to-limb distance. This variation is governed by the underlying temperature-density structure of the solar atmosphere. To explore the spectrally resolved center-to-limb variation (CLV) we make use of two spectral atlases recorded with the Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) at the McMath-Pierce facility at Kitt Peak. One spectral atlas obtained 10 arcsec inside the solar limb was recorded in 1978-79 as part of the first survey of the Second Solar Spectrum, while the other atlas is the well used reference NSO/Kitt Peak FTS atlas for the disk center. Both at…
Various theoretical and observational results have been reported regarding the presence/absence of net electric currents in the sunspots. The limited spatial resolution of the earlier observations perhaps obscured the conclusions. We have analyzed 12 sunspots observed from Hinode (SOT/SP) to clarify the issue. The azimuthal and radial components of magnetic fields and currents have been derived. The azimuthal component of the magnetic field of sunspots is found to vary in sign with azimuth. The radial component of the field also varies in magnitude with azimuth. While the latter pattern is a c…
High-order Paschen emission from the quiet-Sun off-limb chromosphere
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan（日本国立天文台）；School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University（南京大学天文与空间科学学院）；The University of Tokyo（东京大学）；The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)（综合研究大学院大学）；Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University（名古屋大学宇宙地球环境研究所）；Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung（马克斯·普朗克太阳系统研究所）；Universitat de Valencia（瓦伦西亚大学）；Spanish Space Solar Physics Consortium（西班牙空间太阳物理联盟）；Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC（安达卢西亚天体物理学研究所，西班牙国家研究委员会）
本研究借助Sunrise III搭载的SCIP探测到宁静太阳临边外色球的高阶氢帕申线，发现其特性与Ca II 854.2 nm线存在差异，结合非LTE辐射转移模拟揭示其可作为光学薄等离子体的新诊断工具。
The solar magnetic field is responsible for all aspects of solar activity. Sunspots are the main manifestation of the ensuing solar activity. Combining high-resolution and synoptic observations has the ambition to provide a comprehensive description of the sunspot growth and decay processes. Active region NOAA 12396 emerged on 2015 August 3 and was observed three days later with the 1.5-meter GREGOR solar telescope on 2015 August 6. High-resolution spectropolarimetric data from the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph (GRIS) are obtained in the photospheric Si I $λ$ 1082.7 nm and Ca I $λ$1083.9 nm lin…
We present the properties of the inverse Evershed flow (IEF) based on the center-to-limb variation of the plasma speed and loop geometry of chromospheric superpenumbral fibrils in eleven sunspots that were located at a wide range of heliocentric angles from 12 to 79 deg. The observations were acquired at the Dunn Solar Telescope in the spectral lines of Halpha at 656nm, CaII IR at 854 nm and HeI at 1083 nm. All sunspots display opposite line-of-sight (LOS) velocities on the limb and center side with a distinct shock signature near the outer penumbral edge. We developed a simplified flexible su…
CONTEXT: The quiet Sun magnetic fields produce ubiquitous bright points (BPs) that cover a significant fraction of the solar surface. Their contribution to the total solar irradiance (TSI) is so-far unknown. AIMS: To measure the center-to-limb variation (CLV) of the fraction of solar surface covered by quiet Sun magnetic bright points. The fraction is referred to as 'fraction of covered surface', or FCS. METHODS: Counting of the area covered by BPs in G-band images obtained at various heliocentric angles with the 1-m Swedish Solar Telescope on La Palma. Through restoration, the images are clos…
We investigated the role of photospheric plasma motions in the formation and evolution of polar magnetic patches using time-sequence observations with high spatial resolution. The observations were obtained with the spectropolarimeter on board the Hinode satellite. From the statistical analysis using 75 magnetic patches, we found that they are surrounded by strong converging, supergranulation associated flows during their apparent life time and that the converging flow around the patch boundary is better observed in the Doppler velocity profile in the deeper photosphere. Based on our analysis …
We investigate off-limb active region and quiet Sun corona using spectroscopic data. Active region is clearly visible in several spectral lines formed in the temperature range of 1.1--2.8 MK. We derive electron number density using line ratio method, and non-thermal velocity in the off-limb region up to the distance of 140 Mm. We compare density scale heights derived from several spectral line pairs with expected scale heights as per hydrostatic equilibrium model. Using several isolated and unblended spectral line profiles, we estimate non-thermal velocities in active region and quiet Sun. Non…
In this work, we present digital and graphical atlases of spectra of both the solar disk-center and of the limb near the Solar poles using data taken at the UTS-IAP & RIAAM (the University of Tabriz Siderostat, telescope and spectrograph jointly developed with the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris and Research Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics of Maragha). High resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)CCD-slit spectra of the sun for 2 different parts of the disk, namely for $μ$~=~1.0 (solar center) \& for $μ$~=~ 0.3 solar limb) are provided and discussed. While there are several s…
Polarity imbalance of the photospheric magnetic field was studied using synoptic maps of NSO Kitt Peak (1976-2016). Imbalance of positive and negative fluxes was considered for the fields with strength B>50 G in the sunspot zone (5 deg - 40 deg) and for the fields with strength B<50 G at higher latitudes (40 deg - 90 deg). The 22-year periodicity in the imbalance of positive and negative fields was found which maintained itself during four solar cycles. While for the sunspot zone the sign of the imbalance always coincides with the northern hemisphere polarity, for the high latitudes the sign o…
It is now well established that the quiet Sun contains in total more magnetic flux than active regions and represents an important reservoir of magnetic energy. But the nature and evolution of these fields remain largely unknown. We investigate the solar-cycle and center-to-limb variations of magnetic-flux structures at small scales in internetwork regions of the quiet Sun. We used Hinode SOT/SP data from the irradiance program between 2008 and 2016. Maps of the magnetic-flux density are derived from the center-of gravity method applied to the FeI 630.15 nm and FeI 630.25 nm lines. To correct …
Using numerical simulations of the magnetised solar photosphere and radiative diagnostics of the simulated photospheric models, we further analyse the physical nature of magnetic photospheric intergranular vortices. We confirm the magnetic nature of the vortices and find that most MHD Umov-Poynting flux is produced by horizontal vortex motions in the magnetised intergranular lanes. In addition, we consider possible ways to directly observe photospheric magnetic vortices using spectropolarimetry. Although horizontal plasma motions cannot be detected in the spectropolarimetric observations of so…
Observational power spectra of the photospheric magnetic field turbulence, of the quiet-sun, were presented in a recent paper by Abramenko and Yurchyshyn. Here I focus on the power spectrum derived from the observations of the Near InfraRed Imaging Spectrapolarimeter (NIRIS) operating at the Goode Solar Telescope. The latter exhibits a transition from a power law with index $-1.2$ to a steeper power law with index $-2.2$, for smaller spatial scales. The present paper presents an interpretation of this change. Furthermore, this interpretation provides an estimate for the effective width of the …
We study the plasma flows in the solar photosphere during the emergence of two small active regions, NOAA 9021 and 10768. Using SOHO/MDI data, we find that the strong plasma upflows appear at the initial stage of active region formation, with maximum upflow velocities of -1650 and -1320 m/s. The structures with enhanced upflows have size about 8 Mm in diameter, and they exist for 1-2 hr. The parameters of the enhanced upflows are consistent with those of the large active region NOAA 10488, which may suggest the possibility that the elementary emerging magnetic loops that appear at the earliest…
We observed an elongated filamentary bright structure inside the umbra of the big sunspot in active region NOAA 12529, which differs from the light bridges usually observed in sunspots for its morphology, magnetic configuration, and velocity field. We used observations taken with the Solar Dynamic Observatory satellite to characterize this feature. Its lifetime is 5 days, during which it reaches a maximum length of about 30". In the maps of the vertical component of the photospheric magnetic field, a portion of the feature has a polarity opposite to that of the hosting sunspot. At the same tim…
Wave theories of heating the chromosphere, corona, and solar wind due to photospheric fluctuations are strengthened by the existence of observed wave coherency up to the transition region (TR). The coherency of solar spicules' intensity oscillations was explored using the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on the Hinode spacecraft with a height increase above the solar limb in active region (AR). We used time sequences near the southeast region from the Hinode/SOT in Ca II H line obtained on April 3, 2015 and applied the de-convolution procedure to the spicule in order to illustrate how effectively…
We investigate the vertical gradient of the magnetic field of sunspots in the photospheric layer. Independent observations were obtained with the SOT/SP onboard the Hinode spacecraft and with the TIP-2 mounted at the VTT. We apply state-of-the-art inversion techniques to both data sets to retrieve the magnetic field and the corresponding vertical gradient. In the sunspot penumbrae we detected patches of negative vertical gradients of the magnetic field strength, i.e.,the magnetic field strength decreases with optical depth in the photosphere. The negative gradient patches are located in the in…
We studied the dynamics of the solar atmosphere in the region of a large quiet-Sun filament, which erupted on 21 October 2010. The filament eruption started at its northern end and disappeared from the H$α$ line-core filtergrams line within a few hours. The very fast motions of the northern leg were recorded in ultraviolet light by AIA. We aim to study a wide range of available datasets describing the dynamics of the solar atmosphere for five days around the filament eruption. This interval covers three days of the filament evolution, one day before the filament growth and one day after the er…
Element abundance ratios of magnesium to neon (Mg/Ne) and neon to oxygen (Ne/O) in the transition region of the quiet Sun have been derived by re-assessing previously published data from the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory in the light of new atomic data. The quiet Sun Mg/Ne ratio is important for assessing the effect of magnetic activity on the mechanism of the first ionization potential (FIP) effect, while the Ne/O ratio can be used to infer the solar photospheric abundance of neon, which can not be measured directly. The average Mg/Ne ratio is…
Observations of chromospheric spectral lines near and beyond the solar limb provide information on the solar chromosphere without any photospheric contamination. For ground-based observations near and off the limb with real-time image correction by adaptive optics (AO), some technical requirements have to be met, such as an AO lock point that is independent of the location of the field of view observed by the science instruments, both for 1D and 2D instruments. We show how to obtain simultaneous AO-corrected spectra in Ca II H, Ha, Ca II IR at 854 nm, and He I at 1083 nm with the instrumentati…
Solar active regions contain electric currents. Information on the distribution of currents is important for understanding the processes of energy release on the surface of the Sun and in the overlying layers. The paper presents an analysis of the probability density function (PDF) of the absolute value of the photospheric vertical electric current density ($|j_z|$) in 48 active regions before and after flares in 2010--2017. Calculation of $|j_z|$ is performed by applying the differential form of Ampere's circuital law to photospheric vector magnetograms obtained from observations of the Helio…
The distribution of magnetic fields of positive and negative polarities over the surface of the Sun was studied. Synoptic maps of the photospheric magnetic field (NSO Kitt Peak, 1978--2016) were used for the analysis. In the time-latitude diagram for weak magnetic fields ($B \leq 5 G$), inclined bands are clearly visible, indicating the alternating dominance of magnetic fields with positive or negative polarity drifting towards the poles of the Sun. Analysis of the time-latitude diagram using the method of empirical orthogonal functions (EOF) made it possible to establish a cyclic change in th…
Following Couvidat (2013), we analyze data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instruments onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory: Doppler velocity and continuum intensity at 6173 A as well as intensity maps at 1600 A and 1700 A. Datasets of 14 active regions and four quiet-Sun regions are studied at four heights in the solar photosphere. An Hankel-Fourier analysis is performed around these regions of interest. Outgoing-ingoing scattering phase shifts at a given atmospheric height are computed, as well as ingoing-ingoing and outgoing-outgo…
Some models for the topology of the magnetic field in sunspot penumbrae predict the existence of field-free or dynamically weak-field regions in the deep Photosphere. To confirm or rule out the existence of weak-field regions in the deepest photospheric layers of the penumbra. The magnetic field at $\logτ_5=0$ is investigated by means of inversions of spectropolarimetric data of two different sunspots located very close to disk center with a spatial resolution of approximately 0.4-0.45 arcsec. The data have been recorded using the GRIS instrument attached to the 1.5-meters GREGOR solar telesco…
By focusing on the oscillations of the cross-sectional area and the intensity of magnetic waveguides located in the lower solar atmosphere, we aim to detect and identify magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) sausage waves. Capturing several series of high-resolution images of pores and sunspots and employing wavelet analysis in conjunction with empirical mode decomposition (EMD) makes the MHD wave analysis possible. For this paper, two sunspots and one pore (with a light bridge) were chosen as representative examples of MHD waveguides in the lower solar atmosphere. The sunspots and pore display a range of…
Meridional circulation is a crucial component of the Sun's internal dynamics, but its inference in the deep interior is complicated by a systematic center-to-limb effect in helioseismic measurement techniques. Previously, an empirical method, removing travel-time shifts measured for east-west traveling waves in the equatorial area from those measured for north-south traveling waves in the central meridian area, was used, but its validity and accuracy need to be assessed. Here we develop a new method to separate the center-to-limb effect, δτ_CtoL, and meridional-flow-induced travel-time shifts,…
We study point-like explosive events (EE), characterized by emission in the far wings of spectral lines, in a quiet region near the South Pole, using Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spectra at two slit positions, slit-jaw (SJ) observations and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) images. The events were best visible in SiIV spectra; they were weak in SJs, occasionally visible in 1600 A and 304 A AIA images, and invisible in higher temperature AIA images. We identified EEs from position--time images in the far wings of the SiIV lines and measured their distance from the limb. A Gauss…
From the inversion of a time series of high resolution slit spectrograms obtained from the quiet sun, the spatial and temporal distribution of the thermodynamical quantities and the vertical flow velocity is derived as a function of logarithmic optical depth and geometrical height. Spatial coherence and phase shift analyzes between temperature and vertical velocity depict the height variation of these physical quantities for structures of different size. An average granular cell model is presented, showing the granule-intergranular lane stratification of temperature, vertical velocity, gas pre…
Small-scale magnetic fields can be observed on the Sun in high resolution G-band filtergrams as magnetic bright points (MBPs). We study Hinode/ Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) longitude and latitude scans of the quiet solar surface taken in the G-band in order to characterise the centre-to-limb dependence of MBP properties (size and intensity). We find that the MBP's sizes increase and their intensities decrease from the solar centre towards the limb. The size distribution can be fitted using a log-normal function. The natural logartihm of the mean (parameter μ) of this function follows a second…
Chromospheric and photospheric properties of sunspots as inferred from Stokes inversions under magneto-hydrostatic and non-local-thermodynamic equilibrium
Institut für Sonnenphysik（太阳物理研究所）；Institute for Solar Physics, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University（斯德哥尔摩大学天文学系太阳物理研究所）；Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)（波茨坦阿诺德·爱因斯坦天文 Leibniz 研究所）；ETH Zürich, Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics（苏黎世联邦理工学院粒子物理与天体物理研究所）；Istituto ricerche solari Aldo e Cele Daccò (IRSOL), Faculty of Informatics, Università della Svizzera italiana（意大利瑞士大学信息学院阿尔多和塞莱达科太阳研究所以及研究所）
Advances in understanding of the white light faculae measured at the Royal Greenwich Observatory from 1874 to 1976 suggest that they offer a more direct measure of solar brightening by small diameter photospheric magnetic flux tubes than do chromospheric proxies. Proxies such as the area of Ca K plages, the Mg index or the microwave flux include many dark photospheric structures as well as pores and sunspots. Our reconstruction of variation in total solar irradiance,TSI,based on the faculae indicates that the sun dimmed by almost 0.1 percent in the mid- twentieth century rather than brightenin…
Spectra of the cellular photospheric flows are determined from full-disk Doppler velocity observations acquired by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft. Three different analysis methods are used to separately determine spectral coefficients representing the poloidal flows, the toroidal flows, and the radial flows. The amplitudes of these spectral coefficients are constrained by simulated data analyzed with the same procedures as the HMI data. We find that the total velocity spectrum rises smoothly to a peak at a wavenumber of …
Observations of the Sun's off-limb white-light (WL) flares offer rare opportunities to study the energy release and transport mechanisms in flare loops. One of the best such events was SOL2017-09-10, an X8.2 flare that occurred near the Sun's west limb on 2017 September 10 and produced a WL loop system lasting more than 60 minutes and reaching an altitude higher than 30 Mm. The event was well observed by a suite of ground- and space-based instruments, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (SDO/HMI) that captured its off-limb loops in WL continuum near Fe I 6…
Solar flares abruptly release the free energy stored as a non-potential magnetic field in the corona and may be accompanied by eruptions of the coronal plasma. Formation of a non-potential magnetic field and the mechanisms for triggering the onset of flares are still poorly understood. In particular, photospheric dynamics observed near those polarity inversion lines that are sites of major flare production have not been well observed with high spatial resolution spectro-polarimetry. This paper reports on a remarkable high-speed material flow observed along the polarity inversion line located b…
