Carlo Benna

First results from UVCS/SOHO

Abstract We present here the first results obtained by the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) operating on board the SOHO satellite. The UVCS started to observe the extended corona at the end of January 1996; it routinely obtains coronal spectra in the 1145 A – 1287 A, 984 A – 1080 A ranges, and intensity data in the visible continuum. Through the composition of slit images it also produces monocromatic images of the extended corona. The performance of the instrument is excellent and the data obtained up to now are of great interest. We briefly describe preliminary results concerning polar coronal holes, streamers and a coronal mass ejection, in particular: the very large r.m.s. velocities of ions in polar holes (hundreds km/sec for OVI and MgX); the puzzling difference between the HI Ly-α image and that in the OVI resonance doublet, for most streamers; the different signatures of the core and external layers of the streamers in the width of the ion lines and in the OVI doublet ratio, indicating larger line-of-sight (l.o.s.) and outflow velocities in the latter.

Solar Wind at 6.8 Solar Radii from UVCS Observation of Comet C/1996Y1

The comet C/1996Y1, a member of the Kreutz family of Sun-grazing comets, was observed with the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite. The Lyα line profile and spatial distribution are interpreted in terms of the theory of bow shocks driven by mass-loading. At the time of the observation, the comet was 6.8 R☉ from the Sun in a region of high-speed wind, a region difficult to observe directly with the SOHO instruments but an important region for testing models of solar wind acceleration and heating. We find a solar wind speed below 640 km s-1 and a constraint on the combination of solar wind speed and proton temperature. The total energy per proton at 6.8 R☉ is 50%-75% of the energy at 1 AU, indicating that significant heating occurs at larger radii. The centroid and width of the Lyα line generally confirm the predictions of models of the cometary bow shock driven by mass-loading as cometary molecules are ionized and swept up in the solar wind. We estimate an outgassing rate of 20 kg s-1, which implies an active area of the nucleus only about 6.7 m in diameter at 6.8 R☉. This is likely to be the size of the nucleus, because any inert mantle would have probably been blown off during the approach to the Sun.

Stray light, radiometric, and spectral characterization of UVCS/SOHO: laboratory calibration and flight performance

The Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer is one of the instruments on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft, which was launched in December, 1995. The instrument is designed to make ultraviolet spectrometric measurements and visible polarimetric measurements of the extended solar corona. Prior to launch laboratory measurements were carried out to determine system level values for many of the key performance parameters. Further measurements on instrument performance have been carried out since launch. Presented are descriptions of measurement techniques and representative results.

The Helium Focusing Cone of the Local Interstellar Medium Close to the Sun

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer is used to observe the interplanetary He focusing cone within 1 AU. Taken over 2 yr and from differing orbit positions, the series of observations includes measurements of He I 584 A and Lyβ intensities. The cone itself is spatially well defined, and the He I intensity within the cone was ~45 R in 1996 December, compared with ~1 R for lines of sight outward from 1 AU. Between 1996 December and 1998 June, the focusing cone dimmed by a factor of 3.3 as the level of solar activity rose. This is the first time that interstellar helium is observed so near the Sun. Measured intensities are compared to a detailed temperature and density model of interstellar helium in the solar system. The model includes EUV ionization but does not include ionization by electron impact from solar wind electrons. There are several features in the data model comparison that we attribute to the absence of electron impact ionization in the model. The absolute maximum intensity of 45 R first measured in 1996 December calls for an ionization 45% more intense than the EUV photoionization alone as measured by the Solar EUV Monitor/Charge, Element, and Isotope Analysis System (SEM/CELIAS) on SOHO. Important day-to-day variations of the intensity are observed, as well as a general decrease as the solar activity rises (both absolute and divided by a model with a constant ionization). This general decrease is even larger than predicted by a model run with the SEM/CELIAS photoionization rate alone, in spite of a factor of 1.5 increase of this rate from 1996 December to 1998 June. At this time, an additional ionization rate of 0.56 × 10-7 s-1 (compared with 1.00 × 10-7 s-1 from solar EUV) is required to fit the measured low intensity. We attribute this additional rate to solar wind electron impact ionization of the atoms. This shows that the helium intensity pattern is a very sensitive indicator of the electron density and temperature near the Sun.

Investigation of the sources of the slow solar wind

Aim of this analysis is to study the variation of the physical conditions of the coronal plasma across the streamer boundary in order to identify the coronal sources of the slow solar wind during the minimum of solar activity. The analysis is based on the observations of equatorial streamers, obtained in the outer corona during the years 1996 and 1997 with the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) onboard SOHO. The outflow velocity, the electron density and the oxygen abundance relative to hydrogen of the coronal plasma have been determined, in the range between 1.6 and 3.5 solar radii (R ), by means of a spectroscopic analysis of the OVI 1032, 1037 A and the HI Ly 1216 A lines. Coronal expansion at low velocity, in the range 80-100 km/s, is observed along regions 15 -20 wide, surrounding the streamer boundary. Evidence for coronal plasma outflows at low velocity is also found further out in the region along the streamer axis. In this case the outflows become significant beyond 2.7 R. Hence, the slow solar wind during solar minimum flows just outside the denser and brighter zone of a streamer, characterized by closed magnetic field lines and in a lane around the heliospheric current sheet, forming just above the closed field line region.

Plasma properties from the multi-wavelength analysis of the November 1st 2003 CME/shock event

The analysis of the spectral properties and dynamic evolution of a CME/shock event observed on November 1st 2003 in white-light by the LASCO coronagraph and in the ultraviolet by the UVCS instrument operating aboard SOHO, has been performed to compute the properties of some important plasma parameters in the middle corona below about 2R⊙. Simultaneous observations obtained with the MLSO/Mk4 white-light coronagraph, providing both the early evolution of the CME expansion in the corona and the pre-shock electron density profile along the CME front, were also used to study this event. By combining the above information with the analysis of the metric type II radio emission detected by ground-based radio spectrographs, we finally derive estimates of the values of the local Alfvén speed and magnetic field strength in the solar corona.

Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer for the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory: instrument description and calibration overview

The SOHO ultraviolet coronagraph spectrometer (UVCS/SOHO) is composed of three reflecting telescopes with external and internal occultation and a spectrometer assembly consisting of two toric grating spectrometers and a visible light polarimeter. The UVCS will perform ultraviolet spectroscopy and visible polarimetry to be combined with plasma diagnostic analysis techniques to provide detailed empirical descriptions of the extended solar corona from the coronal base to a heliographic height of 12 R. In this paper, the salient features of the design of the UVCS instrument are described. An overview of the UVCS test and calibration activities is presented. The results from the calibration activity have demonstrated that the UVCS can achieve all its primary scientific observational goals.