Anton Reva

The TESIS experiment on the CORONAS-PHOTON spacecraft

On February 26, 2009, the first data was obtained in the TESIS experiment on the research of the solar corona using imaging spectroscopy. The TESIS is a part of the scientific equipment of the CORONAS-PHO-TON spacecraft and is designed for imaging the solar corona in soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet regions of the spectrum with high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions at altitudes from the transition region to three solar radii. The article describes the main characteristics of the instrumentation, management features, and operation modes.

EUV observations of the solar corona with superhigh spatial resolution in the ARCA project

Observing the Sun’s hot corona with sub-second spatial resolution is important in solving a number of basic solar physics problems. The new ARCA satellite observatory under development at the Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, will be first to provide images of the hot solar corona with a spatial resolution of about 0.18 arcsec. Scientific and technical features of the observatory are discussed.

Initiation and Early Evolution of the Coronal Mass Ejection on 2009 May 13 from Extreme-ultraviolet and White-light Observations

We present the results of the observations of a coronal mass ejection (CME) that occurred on 2009 May 13. The most important feature of these observations is that the CME was observed from the very early stage (the solar surface) up to a distance of 15 solar radii (R ☉). Below 2 R ☉, we used the data from the TESIS extreme-ultraviolet telescopes obtained in the Fe 171 A and He 304 A lines, and above 2 R ☉, we used the observations of the LASCO C2 and C3 coronagraphs. The CME was formed at a distance of 0.2-0.5R ☉ from the Suns surface as a U-shaped structure, which was observed both in the 171 A images and in the white light. Observations in the He 304 A line showed that the CME was associated with an erupting prominence, which was not located above—as the standard model predicts—but rather in the lowest part of the U-shaped structure close to the magnetic X point. The prominence location can be explained with the CME breakout model. Estimates showed that CME mass increased with time. The CME trajectory was curved—its heliolatitude decreased with time. The CME started at a latitude of 50° and reached the ecliptic plane at distances of 2.5 R ☉. The CME kinematics can be divided into three phases: initial acceleration, main acceleration, and propagation with constant velocity. After the CME, onset GOES registered a sub-A-class flare.

EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA OF SOLAR FLARES FROM THE EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET SPECTROHELIOGRAPH SPIRIT ONBOARD THE CORONAS-F SATELLITE

We present detailed extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectra of four large solar flares: M5.6, X1.3, X3.4, and X17 classes in the spectral ranges 176-207 A and 280-330 A. These spectra were obtained by the slitless spectroheliograph SPIRIT onboard the CORONAS-F satellite. To our knowledge, these are the first detailed EUV spectra of large flares obtained with a spectral resolution of ~0.1 A. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the obtained spectra and provide identification of the observed spectral lines. The identification was performed based on the calculation of synthetic spectra (the CHIANTI database was used), with simultaneous calculations of the differential emission measure (DEM) and density of the emitting plasma. More than 50 intense lines are present in the spectra that correspond to a temperature range of T = 0.5-16 MK; most of the lines belong to Fe, Ni, Ca, Mg, and Si ions. In all the considered flares, intense hot lines from Ca XVII, Ca XVIII, Fe XX, Fe XXII, and Fe XXIV are observed. The calculated DEMs have a peak at T ~ 10 MK. The densities were determined using Fe XI-Fe XIII lines and averaged 6.5 × 109 cm–3. We also discuss the identification, accuracy, and major discrepancies of the spectral line intensity prediction.

Spectroscopic characterization of novel multilayer mirrors intended for astronomical and laboratory applications

We report measurements of the reflection spectra of (i) concave (spherical and parabolic) Mo/Si, Mg/Si, and Al/Zr multilayer mirrors (MMs) intended for imaging solar spectroscopy in the framework of the TESIS/CORONAS-FOTON Satellite Project and of (ii) an aperiodic Mo/Si MM optimized for maximum uniform reflectivity in the 125-250 Å range intended for laboratory applications. The reflection spectra were measured in the configuration of a transmission grating spectrometer employing the radiation of a tungsten laser-driven plasma as the source. The function of detectors was fulfilled by backside-illuminated CCDs coated with Al or Zr/Si multilayer absorption filters. High-intensity second-order interference reflection peaks at wavelengths of about 160 Å were revealed in the reflection spectra of the 304-Å Mo/Si MMs. By contrast, the second-order reflection peak in the spectra of the new-generation narrow-band (~12 Å FWHM) 304-Å Mg/Si MMs is substantially depressed. Manifestations of the NEXAFS structure of the L2, 3 absorption edges of Al and Al2O3 were observed in the spectra recorded. The broadband Mo/Si MM was employed as the focusing element of spectrometers in experiments involving (i) the charge exchange of multiply charged ions with the donor atoms of a rare-gas jet; (ii) the spectroscopic characterization of a debris-free soft X-ray radiation source excited by Nd laser pulses in a Xe jet (iii) near-IR-to-soft-X-ray frequency conversion (double Doppler effect) occurring in the retroreflection from the relativistic electron plasma wake wave (flying mirror) driven by a multiterawatt laser in a pulsed helium jet.

The TESIS Solar imaging spectroscopy experiment on board the CORONAS-Photon satellite

The CORONAS-Photon spacecraft was successfully launched in January 2009. Its scientific payload included the TESIS complex of telescopes and spectrometers, designed to obtain high spectral, temporal and spatial resolution solar corona images in soft X-ray to far UV spectral range.

CURRENT SHEET STRUCTURES OBSERVED BY THE TESIS EUV TELESCOPE DURING A FLUX ROPE ERUPTION ON THE SUN

We use the TESIS EUV telescope to study the current sheet signatures observed during flux rope eruption. The special feature of the TESIS telescope was its ability to image the solar corona up to a distance of 2 from the Suns center in the Fe 171 A line. The Fe 171 A line emission illuminates the magnetic field lines, and the TESIS images reveal the coronal magnetic structure at high altitudes. The analyzed coronal mass ejection (CME) had a core with a spiral—flux rope—structure. The spiral shape indicates that the flux rope radius varied along its length. The flux rope had a complex temperature structure: cold legs (70,000 K, observed in He 304 A line) and a hotter core (0.7 MK, observed in Fe 171 A line). Such a structure contradicts the common assumption that the CME core is a cold prominence. When the CME impulsively accelerated, a dark double Y-structure appeared below the flux rope. The Y-structure timing, location, and morphology agree with the previously performed MHD simulations of the current sheet. We interpreted the Y-structure as a hot envelope of the current sheet and hot reconnection outflows. The Y-structure had a thickness of 6.0 Mm. Its length increased over time from 79 Mm to more than 411 Mm.

Processing method of images obtained during the TESIS/CORONAS-PHOTON experiment

In January 2009, the CORONAS-PHOTON spacecraft was successfully launched. It includes a set of telescopes and spectroheliometers—TESIS—designed to image the solar corona in soft X-ray and EUV spectral ranges. Due to features of the reading system, to obtain physical information from these images, it is necessary to preprocess them, i.e., to remove the background, correct the white field, level, and clean. The paper discusses the algorithms and software developed and used for the preprocessing of images.