Bruce W. Lites

Chromospheric Anemone Jets as Evidence of Ubiquitous Reconnection

The heating of the solar chromosphere and corona is a long-standing puzzle in solar physics. Hinode observations show the ubiquitous presence of chromospheric anemone jets outside sunspots in active regions. They are typically 3 to 7 arc seconds = 2000 to 5000 kilometers long and 0.2 to 0.4 arc second = 150 to 300 kilometers wide, and their velocity is 10 to 20 kilometers per second. These small jets have an inverted Y-shape, similar to the shape of x-ray anemone jets in the corona. These features imply that magnetic reconnection similar to that in the corona is occurring at a much smaller spatial scale throughout the chromosphere and suggest that the heating of the solar chromosphere and corona may be related to small-scale ubiquitous reconnection.

The Sunrise Mission

The first science flight of the balloon-borne Sunrise telescope took place in June 2009 from ESRANGE (near Kiruna/Sweden) to Somerset Island in northern Canada. We describe the scientific aims and mission concept of the project and give an overview and a description of the various hardware components: the 1-m main telescope with its postfocus science instruments (the UV filter imager SuFI and the imaging vector magnetograph IMaX) and support instruments (image stabilizing and light distribution system ISLiD and correlating wavefront sensor CWS), the optomechanical support structure and the instrument mounting concept, the gondola structure and the power, pointing, and telemetry systems, and the general electronics architecture. We also explain the optimization of the structural and thermal design of the complete payload. The preparations for the science flight are described, including AIV and ground calibration of the instruments. The course of events during the science flight is outlined, up to the recovery activities. Finally, the in-flight performance of the instrumentation is discussed.

Quiescent prominence dynamics observed with the Hinode solar optical telescope. I. Turbulent upflow plumes

Hinode/Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) observations reveal two new dynamic modes in quiescent solar prominences: large-scale (20-50 Mm) arches or bubbles that inflate from below into prominences, and smaller-scale (2-6 Mm) dark turbulent upflows. These novel dynamics are related in that they are always dark in visible-light spectral bands, they rise through the bright prominence emission with approximately constant speeds, and the small-scale upflows are sometimes observed to emanate from the top of the larger bubbles. Here we present detailed kinematic measurements of the small-scale turbulent upflows seen in several prominences in the SOT database. The dark upflows typically initiate vertically from 5 to 10 Mm wide dark cavities between the bottom of the prominence and the top of the chromospheric spicule layer. Small perturbations on the order of 1 Mm or less in size grow on the upper boundaries of cavities to generate plumes up to 4-6 Mm across at their largest widths. All plumes develop highly turbulent profiles, including occasional Kelvin-Helmholtz vortex roll-up of the leading edge. The flows typically rise 10-15 Mm before decelerating to equilibrium. We measure the flowfield characteristics with a manual tracing method and with the Nonlinear Affine Velocity Estimator (NAVE) optical flow code tomorexa0» derive velocity, acceleration, lifetime, and height data for several representative plumes. Maximum initial speeds are in the range of 20-30 km s{sup -1}, which is supersonic for a {approx}10,000 K plasma. The plumes decelerate in the final few Mm of their trajectories resulting in mean ascent speeds of 13-17 km s{sup -1}. Typical lifetimes range from 300 to 1000 s ({approx}5-15 minutes). The area growth rate of the plumes (observed as two-dimensional objects in the plane of the sky) is initially linear and ranges from 20,000 to 30,000 km{sup 2} s{sup -1} reaching maximum projected areas from 2 to 15 Mm{sup 2}. Maximum contrast of the dark flows relative to the bright prominence plasma in SOT images is negative and ranges from -10% for smaller flows to -50% for larger flows. Passive scalar cork movies derived from NAVE measurements show that prominence plasma is entrained by the upflows, helping to counter the ubiquitous downflow streams in the prominence. Plume formation shows no clear temporal periodicity. However, it is common to find active cavities beneath prominences that can spawn many upflows in succession before going dormant. The mean flow recurrence time in these active locations is roughly 300-500 s (5-8 minutes). Locations remain active on timescales of tens of minutes up to several hours. Using a column density ratio measurement and reasonable assumptions on plume and prominence geometries, we estimate that the mass density in the dark cavities is at most 20% of the visible prominence density, implying that a single large plume could supply up to 1% of the mass of a typical quiescent prominence. We hypothesize that the plumes are generated from a Rayleigh-Taylor instability taking place on the boundary between the buoyant cavities and the overlying prominence. Characteristics, such as plume size and frequency, may be modulated by the strength and direction of the cavity magnetic field relative to the prominence magnetic field. We conclude that buoyant plumes are a source of quiescent prominence mass as well as a mechanism by which prominence plasma is advected upward, countering constant gravitational drainage.«xa0less

Quiet-Sun Internetwork Magnetic Fields from the Inversion of Hinode Measurements

We analyze Fe I 630 nm observations of the quiet Sun at disk center taken with the spectropolarimeter of the Solar Optical Telescope aboard the Hinode satellite. A significant fraction of the scanned area, including granules, turns out to be covered by magnetic fields. We derive field strength and inclination probability density functions from a Milne-Eddington inversion of the observed Stokes profiles. They show that the internetwork consists of very inclined, hG fields. As expected, network areas exhibit a predominance of kG field concentrations. The high spatial resolution of Hinodes spectropolarimetric measurements brings to an agreement the results obtained from the analysis of visible and near-infrared lines.

Optical Tomography of a Sunspot. II. Vector Magnetic Field and Temperature Stratification

An observational determination of the three-dimensional magnetic and thermal structure of a sunspot is presented. It has been obtained through the application of the SIR inversion technique (Stokes Inversion based on Response functions) on a low-noise, full Stokes profile two-dimensional map of the sunspot as observed with the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter. As a result of the inversion, maps of the magnetic field strength, B, zenith angle, γ, azimuth, χ, and temperature, T, over 25 layers at given optical depths (i.e., an optical tomography) are obtained, of which those between log τ5 = 0 and log τ5 = -2.8 are considered to provide accurate information on the physical parameters. All over the penumbra γ increases with depth, while B is larger at the bottom layers of the inner penumbra (as in the umbra) but larger at the top layers of the outer penumbra (as in the canopy). The corrugation of the penumbral magnetic field already observed by other authors has been confirmed by our different inversion technique. Such a corrugation is especially evident in the zenith angle maps of the intermediate layers, featuring the presence of the so-called spines that we further characterize: spines are warmer and have a less inclined magnetic field than the spaces between them and tend to have a smaller gradient of γ with optical depth over the entire penumbra, but with a field strength which is locally stronger in the middle penumbra and locally weaker in the outer penumbra and beyond in the canopy. In the lower layers of these external parts of the sunspot, most of the field lines are seen to return to the solar surface, a result that is closely connected with the Evershed effect (e.g., Westendorp et al., the third paper in this series). The Stokes V net area asymmetry map as well as the average B, γ, and T radial distributions (and that of the line-of-sight velocities; see the third paper in this series) show a border between an inner and an outer penumbra with different three-dimensional structure. We suggest that it is in this middle zone where most of a new family of penumbral flux tubes (some of them with Evershed flow) emerge interlaced (both horizontally and vertically) among themselves and with the background magnetic field of the penumbra. The interlacing along the line of sight is witnessed by the indication of many points in the outer penumbra showing rapid transitions with height between two structures, one with very weak and inclined magnetic field at the bottom of the photosphere and the other with a stronger and less inclined magnetic field. Over the whole penumbra, and at all optical layers, a constant but weak deviation from radiality of some 5° is detected for the azimuth of the vector magnetic field, which may be in agreement with former detections but which is not significantly higher than the size of the errors for this parameter.

Emergence of a Helical Flux Rope under an Active Region Prominence

Continuous observations were obtained of NOAA AR 10953 with the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on board the Hinode satellite from 2007 April 28 to May 9. A prominence was located over the polarity inversion line (PIL) to the southeast of the main sunspot. These observations provided us with a time series of vector magnetic fields on the photosphere under the prominence. We found four features: (1) The abutting opposite-polarity regions on the two sides along the PIL first grew laterally in size and then narrowed. (2) These abutting regions contained vertically weak but horizontally strong magnetic fields. (3) The orientations of the horizontal magnetic fields along the PIL on the photosphere gradually changed with time from a normal-polarity configuration to an inverse-polarity one. (4) The horizontal magnetic field region was blueshifted. These indicate that helical flux rope was emerging from below the photosphere into the corona along the PIL under the preexisting prominence. We suggest that this supply of a helical magnetic flux to the corona is associated with evolution and maintenance of active region prominences.

The Vector Magnetic Field, Evershed Flow, and Intensity in a Sunspot

We present results of simultaneous observations of the vector magnetic field, Evershed flow, and intensity pattern in a nearly axisymmetric sunspot, made with the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter at the Vacuum Tower Telescope at NSO (Sacramento Peak). The vector magnetic field is determined from the Stokes profiles of the magnetically sensitive lines Fe I 630.15 and 630.25 nm, and Doppler velocities and intensities are measured in several lines including the weak C I 538.03 nm line, formed in the deepest layers of the atmosphere. The strength of the magnetic field decreases with increasing zenith angle (angle of inclination to the local vertical), and this decrease is nearly linear over most of the range of values in the sunspot. Magnetic field strength and continuum intensity are inversely related in the sunspot in a manner similar to the characteristic nonlinear relationship found by Kopp & Rabin in the infrared line Fe I 1564.9 nm. A different relationship is found between magnetic field strength and core intensity (in Fe I 630.25 nm), however, with the curve doubling back to give two distinct values of field strength at the same core intensity in the penumbra—the higher and lower field strengths corresponding to the inner and outer penumbra, respectively. In the penumbra the magnetic field pattern consists of spokelike extensions of stronger, more vertical magnetic field separated by regions of weaker, nearly horizontal magnetic field, as found by Degenhardt & Wiehr and Lites et al. The penumbral magnetic field extends outward beyond the outer continuum boundary of the sunspot, forming a canopy at the height of formation of Fe I 630.25 nm. Our results for the Evershed flow confirm the discovery by Rimmele that this flow is generally confined to narrow, elevated channels in the penumbra. In the Fe I 630.25 nm line and other strong photospheric lines we see isolated, radially elongated channels of Evershed flow crossing the outer penumbra. These flow channels lie in regions of the penumbra where the magnetic field is very nearly horizontal. In the weak C I 538.03 nm line (formed at a height h = 40 km) the flow pattern shows small, isolated patches of upflow, lying at the inner end of the Fe I flow channels where the magnetic field is more inclined to the horizontal. These patches presumably correspond to the upstream footpoints of the arched magnetic flux tubes carrying the Evershed flow. For some of the flow channels we find isolated patches of strong downflow in the C I line just outside the penumbra that might correspond to the downstream footpoints of these flux tubes. There is a weak association between the Evershed flow channels and the dark filaments seen in continuum intensity in the penumbra, but a much stronger association between the flow and the dark filaments seen in core intensity measured in the same spectral line.

Evidence for a downward mass flux in the penumbral region of a sunspot

Sunspots were the first extraterrestrial phenomenon found to harbour magnetic fields. But the physical nature of sunspots and their relationship to the Suns global magnetic field are still poorly understood. Perhaps the largest uncertainty is related to the outermost region of sunspots (the penumbra) and, in particular, the nature of the so-called Evershed flow-a stream of material emanating radially from sunspots at velocities of up to ∼ 6 km s -1 (ref. 5), before vanishing abruptly at the outer penumbral edges. Here we make use of a recently developed optical tomographic technique to obtain a three-dimensional model of the magnetic field and mass flow in the vicinity of a sunspot. We find that some of the magnetic field lines, together with a significant part of the Evershed mass flux, flow back towards the Sun in the deepest atmospheric layers at the outer edge of the sunspot and its surroundings. This observation should provide an important clue to our understanding of the appearance, stability and decay of sunspots, the most conspicuous tracers of the solar activity cycle.

Wavelet phase coherence analysis: Application to a quiet-sun magnetic element

A new application of wavelet analysis is presented that utilizes the inherent phase information residing within the complex Morlet transform. The technique is applied to a weak solar magnetic network region, and the temporal variation of phase difference between TRACE 1700 A and SOHO/SUMER C II 1037 A intensities is shown. We present, for the first time in an astrophysical setting, the application of wavelet phase coherence, including a comparison between two methods of testing real wavelet phase coherence against that of noise. The example highlights the advantage of wavelet analysis over more classical techniques, such as Fourier analysis, and the effectiveness of the former to identify wave packets of similar frequencies but with differing phase relations is emphasized. Using cotemporal, ground-based Advanced Stokes Polarimeter measurements, changes in the observed phase differences are shown to result from alterations in the magnetic topology.

Velocity and Magnetic Field Fluctuations in the Photosphere of a Sunspot

We use a data set of exceptionally high quality to measure oscillations of Doppler velocity, intensity, and the vector magnetic field at photospheric heights in a sunspot. Based on the full Stokes inversion of the line profiles of Fe I 630.15 and 630.25 nm, in the sunspot umbra we find upper limits of 4 G (root mean square [rms]) for the amplitude of 5 minute oscillations in magnetic field strength and 009 (rms) for the corresponding oscillations of the inclination of the magnetic field to the line of sight. Our measured magnitude of the oscillation in magnetic field strength is considerably lower than that found in 1997 by Horn, Staude, & Landgraf. Moreover, we find it likely that our measured magnetic field oscillation is at least partly due to instrumental and inversion cross talk between the velocity and magnetic signals, so that the actual magnetic field strength fluctuations are even weaker than 4 G. In support of this we show, on the basis of the eigenmodes of oscillation in a theoretical model of the sunspot umbra, that magnetic field variations of at most 0.5 G are all that is to be expected. The theoretical model also provides an explanation of the shift of power peaks in Doppler velocity to the 3 minute band in chromospheric umbral oscillations, as a natural consequence of the drastic change in character of the eigenmodes of oscillation between frequencies of about 4.5 and 5.0 mHz due to increased tunneling through the acoustic cutoff-frequency barrier. Using measurements of the phase of velocity oscillations above the acoustic cutoff frequency, we determine the relative velocity response height in the umbra of four different photospheric spectral lines from the phase differences between velocities in these lines, assuming that the oscillations propagate vertically at the local sound speed. In spacetime maps of fluctuations in continuum intensity, Doppler velocity, magnetic field strength, and field inclination, we see distinct features that migrate radially inward from the inner penumbra all the way to the center of the umbra, at speeds of a few tenths of a kilometer per second. These moving features are probably a signature of the convective interchange of magnetic flux tubes in the sunspot, although we failed to find any strong correlation among the features in the different quantities, indicating that these features have not been fully resolved.