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Context.The fast solar wind is known to emanate from polar coronal holes.Aims.This Letter reports the first estimate of the expansion rate of polar coronal flows performed by the Metis coronagraph on board Solar Orbiter.Methods.By exploiting simultaneous measurements in polarized white light and ultraviolet intensity of the neutral hydrogen Lyman-αline, it was possible to extend observations of the outflow velocity of the main component of the solar wind from polar coronal holes out to 5.5 R⊙, the limit of diagnostic applicability and observational capabilities.Results.We complement the results obtained with analogous polar observations performed with the UltraViolet Coronagraph Spectrometer on board the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory during the previous full solar activity cycle, and find them to be satisfactorily reproduced by a magnetohydrodynamic turbulence model.Conclusions.This suggests that the dissipation of 2D turbulence energy is a viable mechanism for coronal plasma heating and the subsequent acceleration of the fast solar wind.

ispartof: ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS vol:662 status: published

We study a series of relations between physical parameters in coronal loops of the quiet Sun reconstructed by combining tomographic techniques and modeling of the coronal magnetic field. We use differential emission measure tomography (DEMT) to determine the three-dimensional distribution of the electron density and temperature in the corona, and we model the magnetic field with a potential-field source-surface (PFSS) extrapolation of a synoptic magnetogram. By tracing the DEMT products along the extrapolated magnetic field lines, we obtain loop-averaged electron density and temperature. Also, loop-integrated energy-related quantities are computed for each closed magnetic field line. We apply the procedure to Carrington rotation 2082, during the activity minimum between Solar Cycles 23 and 24, using data from the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft. We find a scaling law between the loop-average density N and loop length L,Nm∼L-0.35, but we do not find a significant relation between loop-average temperature and loop length. We confirm though the previously found result that loop-average temperatures at the equatorial latitudes are lower than at higher latitudes. We associate this behavior with the presence at the equatorial latitudes of loops with decreasing temperatures along their length (“down” loops), which are in general colder than loops with increasing temperatures (“up” loops). We also discuss the role of “down” loops in the obtained scaling laws of heating flux versus loop length for different heliographic latitudes. We find that the obtained scalings for quiet-Sun loops do not generally agree with those found in the case of AR loops from previous observational and theoretical studies. We suggest that to better understand the relations found, it is necessary to forward model the reconstructed loops using hydrodynamic codes working under the physical conditions of the quiet-Sun corona. Fil: Mac Cormack, Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Lopez Fuentes, Marcelo Claudio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Mandrini, Cristina Hemilse. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Lloveras, Diego Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Poisson, Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero; Argentina Fil: Vasquez, Alberto Marcos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero; Argentina

We have carried out a comprehensive study of the temperature structure of plasmoids, which successively occurred in recurrent active region jets. The multithermal plasmoids were seen to be travelling along the multi-threaded spire as well as at the footpoint region in the EUV/UV images recorded by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). The Differential Emission Measure (DEM) analysis was performed using EUV AIA images, and the high-temperature part of the DEM was constrained by combining X-ray images from the X-ray telescope (XRT/Hinode). We observed a systematic rise and fall in brightness, electron number densities and the peak temperatures of the spire plasmoid during its propagation along the jet. The plasmoids at the footpoint (FPs) (1.0-2.5 MK) and plasmoids at the spire (SPs) (1.0-2.24 MK) were found to have similar peak temperatures, whereas the FPs have higher DEM weighted temperatures (2.2-5.7 MK) than the SPs (1.3-3.0 MK). A lower limit to the electron number densities of plasmoids - SPs (FPs) were obtained that ranged between 3.4-6.1$\times$10$^{8}$ (3.3-5.9$\times$10$^{8}$) cm$^{-3}$ whereas for the spire, it ranged from 2.6-3.2$\times$10$^{8}$ cm$^{-3}$. Our analysis shows that the emission of these plasmoids starts close to the base of the jet(s), where we believe that a strong current interface is formed. This suggests that the blobs are plasmoids induced by a tearing-mode instability., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Aims. We investigate a new method to for obtaining the plasma parameters of solar prominences observed in the Mg II h&k spectral lines by comparing line profiles from the IRIS satellite to a bank of profiles computed with a one-dimensional non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) radiative transfer code. Methods. Using a grid of 1007 one-dimensional non-LTE radiative transfer models, some including a prominence-corona transition region (PCTR), we carry out this new method to match computed spectra to observed line profiles while accounting for line core shifts not present in the models. The prominence observations were carried out by the IRIS satellite on 19 April 2018. Results. The prominence is very dynamic with many flows, including a large arm extending from the main body seen near the end of the observation. This flow is found to be redshifted, as is the prominence overall. The models are able to recover satisfactory matches in areas of the prominence where single line profiles are observed. We recover: mean temperatures of 6000–50 000 K; mean pressures of 0.01–0.5 dyne cm−2; column masses of 3.7 × 10−8–5 × 10−4 g cm−2; a mean electron density of 7.3 × 108–1.8 × 1011 cm−3; and an ionisation degree nHII/nHI = 0.03 − 4500. The highest values for the ionisation degree are found in areas where the line of sight crosses mostly plasma from the PCTR, correlating with high mean temperatures and correspondingly no Hα emission. Conclusions. This new method naturally returns information on how closely the observed and computed profiles match, allowing the user to identify areas where no satisfactory match between models and observations can be obtained. The inclusion of the PCTR was found to be important when fitting models to data as regions where satisfactory fits were found were more likely to contain a model encompassing a PCTR. The line core shift can also be recovered from this new method, and it shows a good qualitative match with that of the line core shift found by the quantile method. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach to line core shifts in the new method., Astronomy & Astrophysics, 653, ISSN:0004-6361, ISSN:1432-0746

Context. Coronal loops are the basic building blocks of the solar corona, which are related to the mass supply and heating of solar plasmas in the corona. However, their fundamental magnetic structures are still not well understood. Most coronal loops do not expand significantly, whereas the diverging magnetic field would have an expansion factor of about 5-10 over one pressure scale height. Aims. In this study, we investigate a unique coronal loop with a roughly constant cross section, it is ultra long and quite thin. A coronal loop model with magnetic helicity is presented to explain the small expansion of the loop width. Methods. This coronal loop was predominantly detectable in the 171 A channel of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). Then, the local magnetic field line was extrapolated by a Potential-Field-Source-Surface model. Finally, the differential emission measure analysis made from six AIA bandpasses was applied to obtain the thermal properties of this loop. Results. This coronal loop has a projected length of roughly 130 Mm, a width of about 1.5 +(-) 0.5 Mm and a lifetime of around 90 minutes. It follows an open magnetic field line. The cross section expanded very little (i.e., 1.5-2.0) along the loop length during its whole lifetime. This loop has a nearly constant temperature at about 0.7 +(-) 0.2 MK, whereas its density exhibits the typical structure of a stratified atmosphere. Conclusions. We use a thin twisted flux tube theory to construct a model for this non-expanding loop, and find that indeed with sufficient twist a coronal loop can attain equilibrium. However, we can not rule out other possibilities such as footpoint heating by small-scale reconnection, elevated scale height by a steady flow along the loop etc., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 tables

We propose to identify the main sources of ionization of the plasma in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at different locations in the coma and to quantify their relative importance, for the first time, for close cometocentric distances (< 20 km) and large heliocentric distances (> 3 au). The ionospheric model proposed is used as an organizing element of a multi-instrument data set from the Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) plasma and particle sensors, from the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis and from the Microwave Instrument on the Rosetta Orbiter, all on board the ESA/Rosetta spacecraft. The calculated ionospheric density driven by Rosetta observations is compared to the RPC-Langmuir Probe and RPC-Mutual Impedance Probe electron density. The main cometary plasma sources identified are photoionization of solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation and energetic electron-impact ionization. Over the northern, summer hemisphere, the solar EUV radiation is found to drive the electron density - with occasional periods when energetic electrons are also significant. Over the southern, winter hemisphere, photoionization alone cannot explain the observed electron density, which reaches sometimes higher values than over the summer hemisphere; electron-impact ionization has to be taken into account. The bulk of the electron population is warm with temperature of the order of 7-10 eV. For increased neutral densities, we show evidence of partial energy degradation of the hot electron energy tail and cooling of the full electron population. QC 20200602

ispartof: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL vol:883 issue:1 status: published

© 2018 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Two kinds of processes could occur during the flare decay phase: processes of energy release or processes of energy relaxation. Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) of the broad-band emission are a good tool for the verification of mechanisms. We aim to study the processes during the decay phase of the X-class solar flare SOL2014-03-29T17:48. The observations in X-ray, microwave, and extreme ultraviolet bands are exploited to study the fine temporal, spatial, and spectral structures of the flare. The periods, amplitudes, and phases of both the fluxes and physical parameters [emission measure (EM), temperature] are studied using standard methods of correlation, Fourier, and wavelet analyses. It is found that the source of the QPPs is associated with the uniform post-flare loop. The X-ray source is located at the top of the arcade. QPPs with the similar characteristic time scales of P ≈ 74-80 s are found in the X-ray (3-25 keV) and microwave (15.7 GHz) emissions. Besides, QPPs with the same period are found in the time profiles of both the temperature (T e) and EM. The QPPs in temperature and the QPPs in EM demonstrate antiphase behaviour. The analysis reveals the quasi-periodic process of energy relaxation, without any additional source of energy during the decay phase. The periods of the QPPs are in a good agreement with second harmonic of standing slow magneto-acoustic wave in the arcade that could be triggered by a Moreton wave initiated by the flare in the direct vicinity of the arcade. ispartof: MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY vol:483 issue:4 pages:5499-5507 status: published

Forward-modeling the emission properties in various passbands is important for confidently identifying magnetohydrodynamic waves in the structured solar corona. We examine how Non-equilibrium Ionization (NEI) affects the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) emissions modulated by standing fast sausage modes (FSMs) in coronal loops, taking the Fe IX 171 \AA\ and Fe XII 193 \AA\ emission lines as examples. Starting with the expressions for linear FSMs in straight cylinders, we synthesize the specific intensities and spectral profiles for the two spectral lines by incorporating the self-consistently derived ionic fractions in the relevant contribution functions. We find that relative to the case where Equilibrium Ionization (EI) is assumed, NEI considerably impacts the intensity modulations, but shows essentially no effect on the Doppler velocities or widths. Furthermore, NEI may affect the phase difference between intensity variations and those in Doppler widths for Fe XII 193 \AA\ when the line-of-sight is oblique to the loop axis. While this difference is $180^\circ$ when EI is assumed, it is $\sim 90^\circ$ when NEI is incorporated for the parameters we choose. We conclude that in addition to viewing angles and instrumental resolutions, NEI further complicates the detection of FSMs in spectroscopic measurements of coronal loops in the EUV passband., Comment: 4 figures, accepted for publication in the ApJ

© 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. We present the first detection of solar flare emission at mid-ultraviolet wavelengths around 2000 by the channel 2 of the Large-Yield RAdiometer (LYRA) on board the PRoject for OnBoard Autonomy 2 mission. The flare (SOL20170906) was also observed in the channel 1 of LYRA centered at the H i Ly line at 1216 showing a clear non-thermal profile in both channels. The flare radiation in channel 2 is consistent with the hydrogen Balmer continuum emission produced by an optically thin chromospheric slab heated up to 10,000 K. Simultaneous observations in channels 1 and 2 allow the separation of the line emission (primarily from the Ly line) from the Balmer continuum emission. Together with the recent detection of the Balmer continuum emission in the near-ultraviolet by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrometer, the LYRA observations strengthen the interpretation of broadband flare emission as the hydrogen recombination continua originating in the chromosphere. ispartof: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS vol:867 issue:2 status: published

This research has received funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (UK) through the consolidated grant ST/N000609/1 and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 647214). D.H.M. would like to thank both the UK STFC and the ERC (Synergy grant: WHOLE SUN, grant Agreement No. 810218) for financial support. D.H.M. and P.P. would like to thank STFC for IAA funding under grant number SMC1-XAS012. This work used the DiRAC@Durham facility man-aged by the Institute for Computational Cosmology on behalf of the STFC DiRAC HPC Facility (www.dirac.ac.uk. The equipment was funded by BEIS capital funding via STFC capital grants ST/P002293/1, ST/R002371/1 and ST/S002502/1,Durham University and STFC operations grant ST/R000832/1. DiRAC is part of the National e-Infrastructure. We acknowledge the use of the open source (gitorious.org/amrvac) MPI-AMRVAC software, relying on coding efforts from C. Xia, O.Porth, R. Keppens. CHIANTI is a collaborative project involving George Mason University, the University of Michigan(USA), University of Cambridge (UK) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (USA). Context. A new generation of coronagraphs used to study solar wind and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are being developed and launched. These coronagraphs will heavily rely on multi-channel observations where visible light (VL) and UV-EUV (ultraviolet-extreme ultraviolet) observations provide new plasma diagnostics. One of these instruments, Metis on board ESA-Solar Orbiter, will simultaneously observe VL and the UV Lyman-α line. The number of neutral hydrogen atoms (a small fraction of coronal protons) is a key parameter for deriving plasma properties, such as the temperature from the observed Lyman-α line intensity. However, these measurements are significantly affected if non-equilibrium ionisation effects occur, which can be relevant during CMEs. Aims. The aim of this work is to determine if non-equilibrium ionisation effects are relevant in CMEs and, in particular, when and in which regions of the CME plasma ionisation equilibrium can be assumed for data analysis. Methods. We used a magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of a magnetic flux rope ejection to generate a CME. From this, we then reconstructed the ionisation state of hydrogen atoms in the CME by evaluating both the advection of neutral and ionised hydrogen atoms and the ionisation and recombination rates in the MHD simulation. Results. We find that the equilibrium ionisation assumption mostly holds in the core of the CME, which is represented by a magnetic flux rope. In contrast, non-equilibrium ionisation effects are significant at the CME front, where we find about 100 times more neutral hydrogen atoms than prescribed by ionisation equilibrium conditions. We find this to be the case even if this neutral hydrogen excess might be difficult to identify due to projection effects. Conclusions. This work provides key information for the development of a new generation of diagnostic techniques that aim to combine visible light and Lyman-α line emissions. The results show that non-equilibrium ionisation effects need to be considered when we analyse CME fronts. Incorrectly assuming equilibrium ionisation in these regions would lead to a systematic underestimate of plasma temperatures. Postprint

© 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. The shape of the damping profile of kink oscillations in coronal loops has recently allowed the transverse density profile of the loop to be estimated. This requires accurate measurement of the damping profile that can distinguish the Gaussian and exponential damping regimes, otherwise there are more unknowns than observables. Forward modeling of the transverse intensity profile may also be used to estimate the width of the inhomogeneous layer of a loop, providing an independent estimate of one of these unknowns. We analyze an oscillating loop for which the seismological determination of the transverse structure is inconclusive except when supplemented by additional spatial information from the transverse intensity profile. Our temporal analysis describes the motion of a coronal loop as a kink oscillation damped by resonant absorption, and our spatial analysis is based on forward modeling the transverse EUV intensity profile of the loop under the isothermal and optically thin approximations. We use Bayesian analysis and Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to apply our spatial and temporal models both individually and simultaneously to our data and compare the results with numerical simulations. Combining the two methods allows both the inhomogeneous layer width and density contrast to be calculated, which is not possible for the same data when each method is applied individually. We demonstrate that the assumption of an exponential damping profile leads to a significantly larger error in the inferred density contrast ratio compared with a Gaussian damping profile. ispartof: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL vol:860 issue:1 status: published

Solar spectra of ultraviolet bursts and flare ribbons from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) have suggested high electron densities of $>10^{12}$ cm$^{-3}$ at transition region temperatures of 0.1 MK, based on large intensity ratios of Si IV $\lambda$1402.77 to O IV $\lambda$1401.16. In this work a rare observation of the weak O IV $\lambda$1343.51 line is reported from an X-class flare that peaked at 21:41 UT on 2014 October 24. This line is used to develop a theoretical prediction of the Si IV $\lambda$1402.77 to O IV $\lambda$1401.16 ratio as a function of density that is recommended to be used in the high density regime. The method makes use of new pressure-dependent ionization fractions that take account of the suppression of dielectronic recombination at high densities. It is applied to two sequences of flare kernel observations from the October 24 flare. The first shows densities that vary between $3\times 10^{12}$ to $3 \times 10^{13}$ cm$^{-3}$ over a seven minute period, while the second location shows stable density values of around $2\times 10^{12}$ cm$^{-3}$ over a three minute period., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, submitted to ApJ

The Extreme ultraviolet Variability Experiment was designed to observe the Sun-as-a-star in the extreme ultraviolet; a wavelength range that has remained spectrally unresolved for many years. It has provided a wealth of data on solar flares, perhaps most uniquely, on the Lyman spectrum of hydrogen at high cadence and moderate spectral resolution. In this paper we concentrate on the analysis of Lyman continuum (LyC) observations and its temporal evolution in a sample of six major solar flares. By fitting both the pre-flare and flare excess spectra with a blackbody function we show that the color temperature derived from the slope of LyC reveals temperatures in excess of 10$^{4}$ K in the six events studied; an increase of a few thousand Kelvin above quiet-Sun values (typically $\sim$8000-9500 K). This was found to be as high as 17000 K for the 2017 September 6 X9.3 flare. Using these temperature values, and assuming a flaring area of 10$^{18}$ cm$^{2}$, estimates of the departure coefficient of hydrogen, $b_1$, were calculated. It was found that $b_1$ decreased from 10$^{2}$-10$^{3}$ in the quiet-Sun, to around unity during the flares. This implies that LyC is optically thick and formed in local thermodynamic equilibrium during flares. It also emanates from a relatively thin ($\lesssim$100 km) shell formed at deeper, denser layers than in the quiescent solar atmosphere. We show that in terms of temporal coverage and resolution, EVE gives a more comprehensive picture of the response of the chromosphere to the flare energy input with respect to those of the Skylab/Harvard College Observatory spatially resolved observations of the 1970's., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysics Journal. 10 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables

The term "ultraviolet (UV) burst" is introduced to describe small, intense, transient brightenings in ultraviolet images of solar active regions. We inventorize their properties and provide a definition based on image sequences in transition-region lines. Coronal signatures are rare, and most bursts are associated with small-scale, canceling opposite-polarity fields in the photosphere that occur in emerging flux regions, moving magnetic features in sunspot moats, and sunspot light bridges. We also compare UV bursts with similar transition-region phenomena found previously in solar ultraviolet spectrometry and with similar phenomena at optical wavelengths, in particular Ellerman bombs. Akin to the latter, UV bursts are probably small-scale magnetic reconnection events occurring in the low atmosphere, at photospheric and/or chromospheric heights. Their intense emission in lines with optically thin formation gives unique diagnostic opportunities for studying the physics of magnetic reconnection in the low solar atmosphere. This paper is a review report from an International Space Science Institute team that met in 2016-2017., Review article accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews

Context. There is no consensus on the amplitude of the historical solar forcing. The estimated magnitude of the total solar irradiance difference between Maunder minimum and present time ranges from 0.1 to 6 W/m2 making uncertain the simulation of the past and future climate. One reason for this disagreement is the applied evolution of the quiet Sun brightness in the solar irradiance reconstruction models. This work addresses the role of the quiet Sun model choice and updated solar magnetic activity proxies on the solar forcing reconstruction. Aims. We aim to establish a plausible range of the solar irradiance variability on decadal to millennial time scales. Methods. The spectral solar irradiance (SSI) is calculated as a weighted sum of the contributions from sunspot umbra/penumbra, fac- ulae and quiet Sun, which are pre-calculated with the spectral synthesis code NESSY. We introduce activity belts of the contributions from sunspots and faculae and a new structure model for the quietest state of the Sun. We assume that the brightness of the quiet Sun varies in time proportionally to the secular (22-year smoothed) variation of the solar modulation potential. Results. A new reconstruction of the TSI and SSI covering the period 6000 BCE - 2015 CE is presented. The model simulates solar irradiance variability during the satellite era well. The TSI change between the Maunder and recent minima ranges between 3.7 and 4.5 W/m2 depending on the applied solar modulation potential. The implementation of a new quietest Sun model reduces, by approximately a factor of two, the relative solar forcing compared to the largest previous estimation, while the application of updated solar modulation potential increases the forcing difference between Maunder minimum and the present by 25-40 %., Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 10 pages, 10 figures

The dynamical structure of the atmosphere of Cepheids has been well studied in the optical. Several authors have found very interesting spectral features in the J band, but little data have been secured beyond 1.6 um. However, such observations can probe different radial velocities and line asymmetry regimes, and are able to provide crucial insights into stellar physics. Our goal was to investigate the infrared line-forming region in the K-band domain, and its impact on the projection factor and the k-term of Cepheids. We secured CRIRES observations for the long-period Cepheid l Car, with a focus on the unblended spectral line NaI2208.969 nm. We measured the corresponding radial velocities (by using the first moment method) and the line asymmetries (by using the bi-Gaussian method). These quantities are compared to the HARPS visible spectra we previously obtained on l Car. The optical and infrared radial velocity curves show the same amplitude (only about 3% of difference), with a slight radial velocity shift of about 0.5 +/- 0.3 km s^-1 between the two curves. Around the minimum radius (phase ~ 0.9) the visible radial velocity curve is found in advance compared to the infrared one (phase lag), which is consistent with an infrared line forming higher in the atmosphere (compared to the visible line) and with a compression wave moving from the bottom to the top of the atmosphere during maximum outward velocity. The asymmetry of the K-band line is also found to be significantly different from that of the optical line., Comment: A&A, in press

We present first results of a novel technique that provides, for the first time, constraints on the energy input flux at the coronal base (r ∼ 1.025 R o) of the quiet Sun at a global scale. By combining differential emission measure tomography of EUV images, with global models of the coronal magnetic field, we estimate the energy input flux at the coronal base that is required to maintain thermodynamically stable structures. The technique is described in detail and first applied to data provided by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager instrument, on board the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory mission, and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly instrument, on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission, for two solar rotations with different levels of activity. Our analysis indicates that the typical energy input flux at the coronal base of magnetic loops in the quiet Sun is in the range ∼0.5-2.0 105 (erg s-1 cm-2), depending on the structure size and level of activity. A large fraction of this energy input, or even its totality, could be accounted for by Alfvén waves, as shown by recent independent observational estimates derived from determinations of the non-thermal broadening of spectral lines in the coronal base of quiet-Sun regions. This new tomography product will be useful for the validation of coronal heating models in magnetohydrodinamic simulations of the global corona. Fil: Mac Cormack, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Vasquez, Alberto Marcos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Lopez Fuentes, Marcelo Claudio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Nuevo, Federico Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Landi, Enrico. University of Michigan; Estados Unidos Fil: Frazin, Richard A.. University of Michigan; Estados Unidos

A spectacular manifestation of solar activity is the appearance of transient brightenings in the far wings of the H$\alpha$ line, known as Ellerman bombs (EBs). Recent observations obtained by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) have revealed another type of plasma "bombs" (UV bursts) with high temperatures of perhaps up to $8\times 10^4$ K within the cooler lower solar atmosphere. Realistic numerical modeling showing such events is needed to explain their nature. Here, we report on 3D radiative magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of magnetic flux emergence in the solar atmosphere. We find that ubiquitous reconnection between emerging bipolar magnetic fields can trigger EBs in the photosphere, UV bursts in the mid/low chromosphere and small (nano-/micro-) flares ($10^6$ K) in the upper chromosphere. These results provide new insights on the emergence and build up of the coronal magnetic field and the dynamics and heating of the solar surface and lower atmosphere., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures

Coronal jets represent important manifestations of ubiquitous solar transients, which may be the source of significant mass and energy input to the upper solar atmosphere and the solar wind. While the energy involved in a jet-like event is smaller than that of "nominal" solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), jets share many common properties with these phenomena, in particular, the explosive magnetically driven dynamics. Studies of jets could, therefore, provide critical insight for understanding the larger, more complex drivers of the solar activity. On the other side of the size-spectrum, the study of jets could also supply important clues on the physics of transients close or at the limit of the current spatial resolution such as spicules. Furthermore, jet phenomena may hint to basic process for heating the corona and accelerating the solar wind; consequently their study gives us the opportunity to attack a broad range of solar-heliospheric problems., Comment: 53 pages, 24 figures

The determination of the speed of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) is usually done by tracking brighter features (such as the CME front and core) in visible light coronagraphic images and by deriving unidimensional profiles of the CME speed as a function of altitude or time. Nevertheless, CMEs are usually characterized by the presence of significant density inhomogeneities propagating outward with different radial and latitudinal projected speeds, resulting in a complex evolution eventually forming the Interplanetary CME. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time how coronagraphic image sequences can be analyzed with cross-correlation technique to derive 2D maps of the almost instantaneous plasma speed distribution within the body of CMEs. The technique is first tested with the analysis of synthetic data, and then applied to real observations. Results from this work allow to characterize the distribution and time evolution of kinetic energy inside CMEs, as well as the mechanical energy (combined with the kinetic and potential energy) partition between the core and front of the CME. In the future, CMEs will be observed by two channels (VL and UV Ly-$\alpha$) coronagraphs, such as Metis on-board ESA Solar Orbiter mission as well as Ly-$\alpha$ Solar Telescope (LST) on-board Chinese Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) mission. Our results will help the analysis of these future observations, helping in particular to take into account the 2D distribution of Ly-$\alpha$ Doppler dimming effect., Comment: Accepted

Context. The determination from coronagraphic observations of physical parameters of the plasma embedded in coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is of crucial importance for our understanding of the origin and evolution of these phenomena. Aims. The aim of this work is to perform the first ever numerical simulations of a CME as it will be observed by future two-channel (visible light VL and UV Ly-α) coronagraphs, such as the Metis instrument on-board ESA-Solar Orbiter mission, or any other future coronagraphs with the same spectral band-passes. These simulations are then used to test and optimize the plasma diagnostic techniques to be applied to future observations of CMEs. Methods. The CME diagnostic techniques are tested here by analyzing synthetic coronagraphic observations. First, a numerical three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of a CME is performed, and the plasma parameters in the simulation are used to generate synthetic visible light (VL) and ultraviolet (UV) coronagraphic two-dimensional (2D) images of the eruption (i.e., integrated along the line-of-sight). Second, synthetic data are analyzed with different assumptions (as will be done with real data), to infer the kinematic properties of the CME (such as the extension along the line-of-sight of the emitting region, the expansion speed, and the CME propagation direction), as well as physical parameters of the CME plasma (the plasma electron density and temperature). A comparison between input parameters from the simulation and output parameters from the synthetic data analysis is then performed. Results. The inversion of VL polarized data allows to successfully determine the CME speed and 3D propagation direction (with the polarization ratio technique), as well as to derive information on the extension along the line-of-sight of the emitting plasma, a crucial parameter needed to convert the plasma electron column densities into number densities. These parameters are used to analyze UV Ly-α images and to estimate the CME plasma temperature, also taking into account Doppler dimming effect. Output plasma temperatures are in general underestimated, both in the CME body and core regions. By neglecting the UV Ly-α radiative excitation of H atoms, reliable temperatures can be more easily derived in the CME core (within ∼60%). On the other hand, we show that a determination of temperatures (within ∼20−30%) in the CME body requires 2D maps of CME radial speeds and Doppler dimming coefficients to be derived.

The aim of this study is to explore the suitability of chromospheric images for magnetic modeling of active regions. We use high-resolution images (0.1") from the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer (IBIS) in the Ca II 8542 A line, the Rapid Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere (ROSA) instrument in the H-alpha 6563 A line, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) in the 2796 A line, and compare non-potential magnetic field models obtained from those chromospheric images with those obtained from images of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) in coronal (171 A, etc.) and in chromospheric (304 A) wavelengths. Curvi-linear structures are automatically traced in those images with the OCCULT-2 code, to which we forward-fitted magnetic field lines computed with the Vertical-Current Approximation Non-Linear Force Free Field (VCA-NLFFF) code. We find that the chromospheric images: (1) reveal crisp curvi-linear structures (fibrils, loop segments, spicules) that are extremely well-suited for constraining magnetic modeling; (2) that these curvi-linear structures are field-aligned with the best-fit solution by a median misalignment angle of ~4-7 deg; (3) the free energy computed from coronal data may underestimate that obtained from cromospheric data by a factor of ~ 2-4, (4) the height range of chromospheric features is confined to h ~ 4000$ km, while coronal features are detected up to h ~ 35,000$ km; and (5) the plasma-beta parameter is beta ~ 10^(-5)-10^(-1) for all traced features. We conclude that chromospheric images reveal important magnetic structures that are complementary to coronal images and need to be included in comprehensive magnetic field models, a quest that is not accomodated in standard NLFFF codes., Comment: 29 pages, 11 figures

Slow MHD waves are important tools for understanding the coronal structures and dynamics. In this paper, we report a number of observations, from X-Ray Telescope (XRT) on board HINODE and SDO/AIA of reflecting longitudinal waves in hot coronal loops. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this kind as seen from the XRT and simultaneously with the AIA. The wave appears after a micro-flare occurs at one of the footpoints. We estimate the density and the temperature of the loop plasma by performing DEM analysis on the AIA image sequence. The estimated speed of propagation is comparable or lower than the local sound speed suggesting it to be a propagating slow wave. The intensity perturbation amplitudes, in every case, falls very rapidly as the perturbation moves along the loop and eventually vanishes after one or more reflections. To check the consistency of such reflection signatures with the obtained loop parameters, we perform a 2.5D MHD simulation, which uses the parameters obtained from our observation as inputs and performed forward modelling to synthesize AIA 94~\r{A} images. Analyzing the synthesized images, we obtain the same properties of the observables as for the real observation. From the analysis we conclude that a footpoint heating can generate slow wave which then reflects back and forth in the coronal loop before fading out. Our analysis on the simulated data shows that the main agent for this damping is the anisotropic thermal conduction., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, accepted version

Solar flares are one of the most energetic events in the solar atmosphere. It is widely accepted that flares are powered by magnetic reconnection in the corona. An eruptive flare is usually accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, both of which are probably driven by the eruption of a magnetic flux rope (MFR). Here we report an eruptive flare on 2016 March 23 observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The extreme-ultraviolet imaging observations exhibit the clear rise and eruption of an MFR. In particular, the observations reveal solid evidence for magnetic reconnection from both the corona and chromosphere during the flare. Moreover, weak reconnection is observed before the start of the flare. We find that the preflare weak reconnection is of tether-cutting type and helps the MFR to rise slowly. Induced by a further rise of the MFR, strong reconnection occurs in the rise phases of the flare, which is temporally related to the MFR eruption. We also find that the magnetic reconnection is more of 3D-type in the early phase, as manifested in a strong-to-weak shear transition in flare loops, and becomes more 2D-like in the later phase, as shown by the apparent rising motion of an arcade of flare loops., Comment: ApJ accepted. Comments are welcome

International audience; In this paper, we report the first in-situ detection of the ammonium ion NH4+ at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) in a cometary coma, using the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) / Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer (DFMS). Unlike neutral and ion spectrometers onboard previous cometary missions, the ROSINA/DFMS spectrometer, when operated in ion mode, offers the capability to distinguish NH4+ from H2O+ in a cometary coma. We present here the ion data analysis of mass-to-charge ratios 18 and 19 at high spectral resolution and compare the results with an ionospheric model to put the these results into context. The model confirms that the ammonium ion NH4+ is one of the most abundant ion species, as predicted, in the coma near perihelion.

Accepted manuscript version. Published version available at https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201732353. Aims: We wish to investigate the energy conversion between particles and electromagnetic fields and determine the location where it occurs in the plasma environment of comets. Methods: We used a hybrid plasma model that included photoionization, and we considered two cases of the solar extreme ultraviolet flux. Other parameters corresponded to the conditions of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko at a heliocentric distance of 1.5 AU. Results: We find that a shock-like structure is formed upstream of the comet and acts as an electromagnetic generator, similar to the bow shock at Earth that slows down the solar wind. The Poynting flux transports electromagnetic energy toward the inner coma, where newly born cometary ions are accelerated. Upstream of the shock-like structure, we find local energy transfer from solar wind ions to cometary ions. We show that mass loading can be a local process with a direct transfer of energy, but also part of a dynamo system with electromagnetic generators and loads. Conclusions. The energization of cometary ions is governed by a dynamo system for weak ionization, but changes into a large conversion region with local transfer of energy directly from solar wind protons for high ionization.

We investigate the evolution of a well-observed, long-lived, low-latitude coronal hole (CH) over 10 solar rotations in the year 2012. By combining extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imagery from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatories (STEREO-A/B) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), we are able to track and study the entire evolution of the CH having a continuous 360° coverage of the Sun. The remote sensing data are investigated together with in situ solar wind plasma and magnetic field measurements from STEREO-A/B, the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), and WIND. From this, we obtain how different evolutionary states of the CH as observed in the solar atmosphere (changes in EUV intensity and area) affect the properties of the associated high-speed stream measured at 1 au. Most distinctly pronounced for the CH area, three development phases are derived: (a) growing, (b) maximum, and (c) decaying phase. During these phases the CH area (a) increases over a duration of around three months from about 1 · 1010 km2 to 6 · 1010 km2, (b) keeps a rather constant area for about one month of >9 · 1010 km2, and (c) finally decreases in the following three months below 1 · 1010 km2 until the CH cannot be identified anymore. The three phases manifest themselves also in the EUV intensity and in in situ measured solar wind proton bulk velocity. Interestingly, the three phases are related to a different range in solar wind speed variations, and we find for the growing phase a range of 460–600 km s−1, for the maximum phase 600–720 km s−1, and for the decaying phase a more irregular behavior connected to slow and fast solar wind speeds of 350–550 km s−1.

Spectroscopic measurements of AR NOAA 10871, obtained with the Extreme Ultraviolet Normal Incidence Spectrograph (EUNIS) sounding rocket instrument on 2006 April 12, reveal velocity oscillations in the He II 303.8 Angstrom emission line formed at T ~ 50000K. The oscillations appear to arise in a bright active-region loop arcade about 25" wide which crosses the EUNIS slit. The period of these transition region oscillations is 26 +/- 4 s, coupled with a velocity amplitude of +/- 10 km/s, detected over 4 complete cycles. Similar oscillations are observed in lines formed at temperatures up to T ~ 400000K, but we find no evidence for the coupling of these velocity oscillations with corresponding phenomena in the corona. We interpret the detected oscillations as originating from an almost purely adiabatic plasma, and infer that they are generated by the resonant transmission of MHD waves through the lower active-region atmospheres. Through use of seismological techniques, we establish that the observed velocity oscillations display wave properties most characteristic of fast-body global sausage modes., 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted into ApJ

Recent fully relativistic calculations of radiative rates and electron impact excitation cross sections for Fe {\sc xiii} are used to generate emission-line ratios involving 3s$^{2}$3p$^{2}$--3s3p$^{3}$ and 3s$^{2}$3p$^{2}$--3s$^{2}$3p3d transitions in the 170--225 \AA and 235--450 \AA wavelength ranges covered by the Solar Extreme-Ultraviolet Research Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS). A comparison of these line ratios with SERTS active region observations from rocket flights in 1989 and 1995 reveals generally very good agreement between theory and experiment. Several new Fe {\sc xiii} emission features are identified, at wavelengths of 203.79, 259.94, 288.56 and 290.81 \AA. However, major discrepancies between theory and observation remain for several Fe {\sc xiii} transitions, as previously found by Landi (2002) and others, which cannot be explained by blending. Errors in the adopted atomic data appear to be the most likely explanation, in particular for transitions which have 3s$^{2}$3p3d $^{1}$D$_{2}$ as their upper level. The most useful Fe {\sc xiii} electron density diagnostics in the SERTS spectral regions are assessed, in terms of the line pairs involved being (i) apparently free of atomic physics problems and blends, (ii) close in wavelength to reduce the effects of possible errors in the instrumental intensity calibration, and (iii) very sensitive to changes in N$_{e}$ over the range 10$^{8}$--10$^{11}$ cm$^{-3}$. It is concluded that the ratios which best satisfy these conditions are 200.03/202.04 and 203.17/202.04 for the 170--225 \AA wavelength region, and 348.18/320.80, 348.18/368.16, 359.64/348.18 and 359.83/368.16 for 235--450 \AA., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 10 tables, MNRAS, in press

The temporal variation of a loop system that appears to be changing rapidly is examined. The analyzed data were obtained on 15 May 1999, with the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) during an observing campaign and consist of observations in the Fe ix/Fe x 171 Å and Fe xii 195 Å passbands taken at a cadence of ∼10 min. The special interest in this loop system is that it looks like one expanding loop; however, careful examination reveals that the loop consists of several strands and that new loop strands become visible successively at higher altitudes and lower loop strands fade out during the one hour of our observations. These strands have different widths, densities, and temperatures and are most probably consisting of, at least, a few unresolved thinner threads. Several geometric and physical parameters are derived for two of the strands and an effort is made to determine their 3D structure based on the extrapolation of the magnetic field lines. Electron density estimates allow us to derive radiative and conductive cooling times and to conclude that these loop strands are cooling by radiation.

Spectroscopic observations of prominence eruptions associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs), although relatively rare, can provide valuable plasma and 3D geometry diagnostics. We report the first observations by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission of a spectacular fast CME/prominence eruption associated with an equivalent X1.6 flare on 2014 May 9. The maximum plane-of-sky and Doppler velocities of the eruption are 1200 and 460 km/s, respectively. There are two eruption components separated by ~200 km/s in Doppler velocity: a primary, bright component and a secondary, faint component, suggesting a hollow, rather than solid, cone-shaped distribution of material. The eruption involves a left-handed helical structure undergoing counter-clockwise (viewed top-down) unwinding motion. There is a temporal evolution from upward eruption to downward fallback with less-than-free-fall speeds and decreasing nonthermal line widths. We find a wide range of Mg II k/h line intensity ratios (less than ~2 expected for optically-thin thermal emission): the lowest ever-reported median value of 1.17 found in the fallback material and a comparably high value of 1.63 in nearby coronal rain and intermediate values of 1.53 and 1.41 in the two eruption components. The fallback material exhibits a strong ($> 5 \sigma$) linear correlation between the k/h ratio and the Doppler velocity as well as the line intensity. We demonstrate that Doppler dimming of scattered chromospheric emission by the erupted material can potentially explain such characteristics., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted by ApJ (Feb 15, 2015)

D.H.M. would like to thank STFC, the Leverhulme Trust and the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) for their financial support. P.P. would like to thank the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement SWIFF (project 263340, http://www.swiff.eu) and STFC for financial support. These results were obtained in the framework of the projects GOA/2009-009 (KU Leuven), G.0729.11 (FWO-Vlaanderen) and C 90347 (ESA Prodex 9). The research leading to these results has also received funding from the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under the grant agreements SOLSPANET (project No. 269299, http:// www.solspanet.eu), SPACECAST (project No. 262468, fp7-spacecast.eu), eHeroes (project n 284461, http://www.eheroes.eu). The computational work for this paper was carried out on the joint STFC and SFC (SRIF) funded cluster at the University of St Andrews (Scotland, UK). Context. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are the most violent phenomena observed on the Sun. Currently, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) are providing new insights into the early phase of CME evolution. In particular, observations now show the ejection of magnetic flux ropes from the solar corona and how they evolve into CMEs. While this is the case, these observations are difficult to interpret in terms of basic physical mechanisms and quantities. To fully understand CMEs we need to compare equivalent quantities derived from both observations and theoretical models. This will aid in bridging the gap between observations and models. Aims: To this end, we aim to produce synthesised AIA observations from simulations of a flux rope ejection. To carry this out we include the role of thermal conduction and radiative losses, both of which are important for determining the temperature distribution of the solar corona during a CME. Methods: We perform a simulation where a flux rope is ejected from the solar corona. From the density and temperature of the plasma in the simulation we synthesise AIA observations. The emission is then integrated along the line of sight using the instrumental response function of AIA. Results: We sythesise observations of AIA in the channels at 304 Å, 171 Å, 335 Å, and 94 Å. The synthesised observations show a number of features similar to actual observations and in particular reproduce the general development of CMEs in the low corona as observed by AIA. In particular we reproduce an erupting and expanding arcade in the 304 Å and 171 Å channels with a high density core. Conclusions: The ejection of a flux rope reproduces many of the features found in the AIA observations. This work is therefore a step forward in bridging the gap between observations and models, and can lead to more direct interpretations of EUV observations in terms of flux rope ejections. We plan to improve the model in future studies in order to perform a more quantitative comparison. Movies associated with Figs. 3, 9, and 10 are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org Publisher PDF

Ground- and space-based observations of solar flares from radio wavelengths to gamma-rays have produced considerable insights but raised several unsolved controversies. The last unexplored wavelength frontier for solar flares is in the range of submillimeter and infrared wavelengths. Here we report the detection of an intense impulsive burst at 30 THz using a new imaging system. The 30 THz emission exhibited remarkable time coincidence with peaks observed at microwave, mm/submm, visible, EUV and hard X-ray wavelengths. The emission location coincides with a very weak white-light feature, and is consistent with heating below the temperature minimum in the atmosphere. However, there are problems in attributing the heating to accelerated electrons. The peak 30 THz flux is several times larger than the usual microwave peak near 9 GHz, attributed to non-thermal electrons in the corona. The 30 THz emission could be consistent with an optically thick spectrum increasing from low to high frequencies. It might be part of the same spectral component found at sub-THz frequencies whose nature remains mysterious. Further observations at these wavelengths will provide a new window for flare studies., 9 pages, 11 figures, accepted by Astrophysical Journal, March 23, 2013

"We present observations of the millimeter and submillimeter wavelength radio emission from an extended solar prominence. The data were obtained at the Solar Submillimeter Telescope (SST) during regular observations on 2009 September 26. The prominence signals were detected at 1.41 mm (212 GHz) and 0.74 mm (405 GHz) in an east-west raster practiced on the solar disk. Detection was confirmed by the He II image from the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (EIT/SOHO). The peak brightness temperature at the 1.41 mm and 0.74 mm are separated by ~4 arcmin with the 0.74 mm one closer to the solar limb. Assuming a free-free emission mechanism, both peak intensities correspond to an excess of brightness temperature of Tb ~ 2×103 K and they are consistent with an electron temperature and density of Te ~ 5.6 × 103 K and ne ~ 1010 cm-3, respectively."

Quasi-periodic propagating disturbances in coronal structures have been interpreted as slow magneto-acoustic waves and/or periodic upflows. Here we aim to understand their nature from the observed properties using a three-hour imaging sequence from AIA/SDO in two different temperature channels. We also compare the characteristics with a simple wave model. We searched for propagating disturbances in open-loop structures at three different locations; a fan loop-structure off-limb, an on-disk plume-like structure and the plume/interplume regions in the north pole of the sun. In each of the subfield regions chosen to cover these structures, the time series at each pixel location was subjected to wavelet analysis to find the different periodicities. We then constructed powermaps in three different period ranges. We also constructed space-time maps for the on-disk plume structure to estimate the propagation speeds in different channels. We find propagating disturbances in all three structures. Powermaps indicate that the power in the long-period range is significant up to comparatively longer distances along the loop than that in the shorter periods. This nature is observed in all three structures. A detailed analysis on the on-disk plume structure gives consistently higher propagation speeds in the 193 \AA channel and also reveals spatial damping along the loop. The amplitude and the damping length values are lower in hotter channels, indicating their acoustic dependence. These properties can be explained very well with a propagating slow-wave model. We suggest that these disturbances are more likely to be caused by propagating slow magneto-acoustic waves than by high-speed quasi-periodic upflows. We find that intensity oscillations in longer periods are omnipresent at larger heights even in active regions., Comment: accepted for publication in A & A

Magnetic loops are building blocks of the closed-field corona. While active region loops are readily seen in images taken at EUV and X-ray wavelengths, quiet Sun loops are seldom identifiable and therefore difficult to study on an individual basis. The first analysis of solar minimum (Carrington Rotation 2077) quiet Sun (QS) coronal loops utilizing a novel technique called the Michigan Loop Diagnostic Technique (MLDT) is presented. This technique combines Differential Emission Measure Tomography (DEMT) and a potential field source surface (PFSS) model, and consists of tracing PFSS field lines through the tomographic grid on which the Local Differential Emission Measure (LDEM) is determined. As a result, the electron temperature Te and density Ne at each point along each individual field line can be obtained. Using data from STEREO/EUVI and SOHO/MDI, the MLDT identifies two types of QS loops in the corona: so-called "up" loops in which the temperature increases with height, and so-called "down" loops in which the temperature decreases with height. Up loops are expected, however, down loops are a surprise, and furthermore, they are ubiquitous in the low-latitude corona. Up loops dominate the QS at higher latitudes. The MLDT allows independent determination of the empirical pressure and density scale heights, and the differences between the two remain to be explained. The down loops appear to be a newly discovered property of the solar minimum corona that may shed light on the physics of coronal heating. The results are shown to be robust to the calibration uncertainties of the EUVI instrument., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, waiting for the full biblio info

We report observations of quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) during the X2.2 flare of 2011 February 15, observed simultaneously in several wavebands. We focus on fluctuations on timescale 1-30 s and find different time lags between different wavebands. During the impulsive phase, the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager channels in the range 25-100 keV lead all the other channels. They are followed by the Nobeyama RadioPolarimeters at 9 and 17 GHz and the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) channels of the Euv SpectroPhotometer (ESP) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory. The zirconium and aluminum filter channels of the Large Yield Radiometer on board the Project for On-Board Autonomy satellite and the soft X-ray (SXR) channel of ESP follow. The largest lags occur in observations from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, where the channel at 1-8 angstrom leads the 0.5-4 angstrom channel by several seconds. The time lags between the first and last channels is up to approximate to 9 s. We identified at least two distinct time intervals during the flare impulsive phase, during which the QPPs were associated with two different sources in the Nobeyama RadioHeliograph at 17 GHz. The radio as well as the hard X-ray channels showed different lags during these two intervals. To our knowledge, this is the first time that time lags are reported between EUV and SXR fluctuations on these timescales. We discuss possible emission mechanisms and interpretations, including flare electron trapping. ispartof: The Astrophysical Journal. Letters vol:749 issue:1 status: published

The Very high Angular resolution ULtraviolet Telescope (VAULT) is a sounding rocket payload built to study the crucial interface between the solar chromosphere and the corona by observing the strongest line in the solar spectrum, the Ly-a line at 1216 {\AA}. In two flights, VAULT succeeded in obtaining the first ever sub-arcsecond (0.5") images of this region with high sensitivity and cadence. Detailed analyses of those observations have contributed significantly to new ideas about the nature of the transition region. Here, we present a broad overview of the Ly-a atmosphere as revealed by the VAULT observations, and bring together past results and new analyses from the second VAULT flight to create a synthesis of our current knowledge of the high-resolution Ly-a Sun. We hope that this work will serve as a good reference for the design of upcoming Ly-a telescopes and observing plans., Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures

We study the effect of the coronal background in the determination of the diameter of EUV loops, and we analyze the suitability of the procedure followed in a previous paper (L��pez Fuentes, Klimchuk & D��moulin 2006) for characterizing their expansion properties. For the analysis we create different synthetic loops and we place them on real backgrounds from data obtained with the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (\textit{TRACE}). We apply to these loops the same procedure followed in our previous works, and we compare the results with real loop observations. We demonstrate that the procedure allows us to distinguish constant width loops from loops that expand appreciably with height, as predicted by simple force-free field models. This holds even for loops near the resolution limit. The procedure can easily determine when loops are below resolution limit and therefore not reliably measured. We find that small-scale variations in the measured loop width are likely due to imperfections in the background subtraction. The greatest errors occur in especially narrow loops and in places where the background is especially bright relative to the loop. We stress, however, that these effects do not impact the ability to measure large-scale variations. The result that observed loops do not expand systematically with height is robust., Accepted for publication in ApJ

At high spatial and temporal resolution, coronal loops are observed to have a highly dynamic nature. Recent observations with SOHO and TRACE frequently show localized brightenings "raining" down towards the solar surface. What is the origin of these features? Here we present for the first time a comparison of observed intensity enhancements from an EIT shutterless campaign with non-equilibrium ionization simulations of coronal loops in order to reveal the physical processes governing fast flows and localized brightenings. We show that catastrophic cooling around the loop apex as a consequence of footpoint-concentrated heating offers a simple explanation for these observations. An advantage of this model is that no external driving mechanism is necessary as the dynamics result entirely from the non-linear character of the problem. ispartof: Astronomy & astrophysics vol:436 issue:3 pages:1067-1074 status: published

A halo coronal mass ejection (CME) was observed at 15:03 UT on 1998 May 2 by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Large-Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph. The observation of the CME was preceded by a major soft X-ray flare in NOAA Active Region 8210, characterized by a delta spot magnetic configuration and some activity in region 8214. A large transequatorial interconnecting loop (TIL) seen in the soft X-rays connected AR 8210 to a faint magnetic field region in the periphery of region 8214. Smaller loop systems were also connecting AR 8210 to other fainter bipolar magnetic structures, the interconnecting loop (IL) east of AR 8210 being one of the most visible. We present here a multiwavelength analysis of the large- and small-scale coronal structures associated with the development of the flare and of the CME, with emphasis placed on radio-imaging data. In the early phases of the flare, the radio emission sources traced the propagation paths of electrons along the TIL and the IL, which are accelerated in the vicinity of AR 8210. Furthermore, jetlike flows were observed in soft X-rays and in H alpha in these directions. Significantly, the TIL and IL loop systems disappeared at least partially after the CME. An EUV Imaging Telescope (EIT) dimming region of similar size and shape to the soft X-ray TIL, but noticeably offset from it, was also observed. During the "flash" phase of the flare, new radio sources appeared, presenting signatures of destabilization and reconnection at discrete locations of the connecting loops. We interpret these as possible signatures of the CME liftoff on the disk. An H alpha Moreton wave (blast wave) and an "EIT wave" were also observed, originating from the flaring AR 8210. The signatures in radio, after the wave propagated high into the corona, include type II-like emissions in the spectra. The radio images link these emissions to fast-moving sources, presumably formed at locations where the blast wave encounters magnetic structures. The opening of the CME magnetic field is revealed by the radio observations, which show large and expanding moving sources overlying the later-seen EIT dimming region. Astrophysical Journal

We used the Pixelised Wavelet Filtering (PWF) method to compute narrow-band power maps of SDO/AIA imaging datasets in the 1700 \AA{}, 1600 \AA{} and 304 \AA{} bandpasses that correspond to different heights. The cut-off frequency was defined as contours where the spectral power droped to the median level. It was measured as a function of the spatial location. We inferred the magnetic field inclination according to the MAG wave theory in the low-$\beta$ limit and compared it with the potential field extrapolation.{We analysed intensity oscillations in a symmetric sunspot AR11131(08 Dec 2010) and an asymmetric sunspot AR11330 (27 Oct 2011). We reconstructed the magnetic field inclination in the radial direction for the symmetric sunspot and in both radial and azimuthal directions for the asymmetric sunspot. We observed 3D variation of the main oscillation periods in sunspots. We found that shorter-period oscillations were mostly constrained in sunspot umbrae, while longer-period oscillations formed an annular shape enclosing the umbra. Longer periods are found to be distributed further away from the sunspot centre. Our results indicate that 3-min oscillation are generated in the chromosphere, possibly by the acoustic resonator model, while 5-min and longer-period oscillations seemed to originate in a level under the photosphere. The reconstructed field inclinations gives the values of the field inclination that are systematically larger than the values obtained by the potential field extrapolation. The inclined magnetic field line can account for 60-80% of cut-offfrequency lowering only., Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures

We compare simultaneous sequences of H alpha and He II 304 Angstrom images near the solar limb. We propose to distinguish polar surges and giant spicules (macrospicules), among the He II structures observed beyond the solar Limb. Polar surges have a complex structure when observed in H alpha and an eruptive nature, reminiscent of normal surges in small scale. Giant spicules are simple spikes, very narrow compared to surges. They don't go as high as polar surges and apparently have shorter lifetimes. We found that most polar surges and giant spicules observed in He II are associated with H alpha spikes; however there were cases without any corresponding H alpha structure. Furthermore we observed H alpha spikes that did not have He II counterparts. We analyze an example of a polar surge that appeared in He II well before its appearance in Her and remained visible for a longer time. Most polar surges that we observed showed a similar behavior. Astronomy and Astrophysics

A solar flare is composed of impulsive energy release events by magnetic reconnection, which forms and heats flare loops. Recent studies have revealed a two-phase evolution pattern of UV 1600 Å emission at the feet of these loops: a rapid pulse lasting for a few seconds to a few minutes, followed by a gradual decay on timescales of a few tens of minutes. Multiple band EUV observations by the Atmosphere Imaging Assembly further reveal very similar signatures. These two phases represent different but related signatures of an impulsive energy release in the corona. The rapid pulse is an immediate response of the lower atmosphere to an intense thermal conduction flux resulting from the sudden heating of the corona to high temperatures (we rule out energetic particles due to a lack of significant hard X-ray emission). The gradual phase is associated with the cooling of hot plasma that has been evaporated into the corona. The observed footpoint emission is again powered by thermal conduction (and enthalpy), but now during a period when approximate steady-state conditions are established in the loop. UV and EUV light curves of individual pixels may therefore be separated into contributions from two distinct physical mechanisms to shed light on the nature of energy transport in a flare. We demonstrate this technique using coordinated, spatially resolved observations of UV and EUV emissions from the footpoints of a C3.2 thermal flare. Publisher PDF

Neutral nickel (Ni I) is abundant in the solar atmosphere and is one of the important elements that contribute to the emission and absorption of radiation in the spectral range between 1900 and 3900 A. Previously, the Solar Radiation Physical Modeling (SRPM) models of the solar atmosphere considered only few levels of this species. Here we improve the Ni I atomic model by taking into account 61 levels and 490 spectral lines. We compute the populations of these levels in full NLTE using the SRPM code and compare the resulting emerging spectrum with observations. The present atomic model improves significantly the calculation of the solar spectral irradiance at near-UV wavelengths that are important for Earth atmo spheric studies, and particularly for ozone chemistry., Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Understanding changes in the solar flux over geologic time is vital for understanding the evolution of planetary atmospheres because it affects atmospheric escape and chemistry, as well as climate. We describe a numerical parameterization for wavelength-dependent changes to the non-attenuated solar flux appropriate for most times and places in the solar system. We combine data from the Sun and solar analogs to estimate enhanced UV and X-ray fluxes for the young Sun and use standard solar models to estimate changing visible and infrared fluxes. The parameterization, a series of multipliers relative to the modern top of the atmosphere flux at Earth, is valid from 0.1 nm through the infrared, and from 0.6 Gyr through 6.7 Gyr, and is extended from the solar zero-age main sequence to 8.0 Gyr subject to additional uncertainties. The parameterization is applied to a representative modern day flux, providing quantitative estimates of the wavelength dependence of solar flux for paleodates relevant to the evolution of atmospheres in the solar system (or around other G-type stars). We validate the code by Monte Carlo analysis of uncertainties in stellar age and flux, and with comparisons to the solar proxies κ1 Cet and EK Dra. The model is applied to the computation of photolysis rates on the Archean Earth. Publisher PDF

The combination of Differential Emission Measure Tomography (DEMT) with extrapolation of the photospheric magnetic field allows determinatio/n of the electron density and electron temperature along individual magnetic field lines. This is especially useful in quiet Sun (QS) plasmas where individual loops cannot otherwise be identified. In Paper I (Huang et al. 2012), this approach was applied to study QS plasmas during Carrington rotation (CR) 2077, at the minimum between solar cycles (SC)-23 and 24. In that work, two types of quiet QS coronal loops were identified: ``up" loops in which the temperature increases with height, and ``down" loops in which the temperature decreases with height. While the first ones were expected, the latter ones were a surprise and, furthermore, were found to be ubiquitous in the low-latitude corona. In the present work we extend the analysis to 11 CRs around the last solar minimum. We find that the ``down´´ population, always located at low-latitudes, was maximum at the time when the sunspot number was minimum, and the number of down loops systematically increased during the declining phase of SC-23 and diminished during the rising phase of SC-24. ``Down´´ loops are found to have systematically larger values of $eta$ than do ``up´´ loops. These discoveries are interpreted in terms of excitation of Alfv´en waves in the photosphere, and mode conversion and damping in the low corona. Fil: Nuevo, Federico Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio(i); Argentina Fil: Huang, Zhenguang. Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences. University of Michigan; Estados Unidos de América; Fil: Frazin, Richard A.. Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences. University of Michigan; Estados Unidos de América; Fil: Manchester IV, Ward B.. Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences. University of Michigan; Estados Unidos de América; Fil: Jin, Meng. Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences. University of Michigan; Estados Unidos de América; Fil: Vasquez, Alberto Marcos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio(i); Argentina

We report on the discovery of periodic coronal rain in an off-limb sequence of {\it Solar Dynamics Observatory}/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly images. The showers are co-spatial and in phase with periodic (6.6~hr) intensity pulsations of coronal loops of the sort described by Auchere et al. (2014) and Froment et al. (2015, 2017). These new observations make possible a unified description of both phenomena. Coronal rain and periodic intensity pulsations of loops are two manifestations of the same physical process: evaporation / condensation cycles resulting from a state of thermal nonequilibrium (TNE). The fluctuations around coronal temperatures produce the intensity pulsations of loops, and rain falls along their legs if thermal runaway cools the periodic condensations down and below transition-region (TR) temperatures. This scenario is in line with the predictions of numerical models of quasi-steadily and footpoint heated loops. The presence of coronal rain -- albeit non-periodic -- in several other structures within the studied field of view implies that this type of heating is at play on a large scale., By mistake, this article was originally submitted as a replacement (version v4) of arXiv:1608.03789. This latter was then replaced with a correct v5 (identical to v3) The present paper was then properly submitted as a new submission (this version)