Hans-Peter Doerr

The second flight of the Sunrise Balloon-borne Solar Observatory: overview of instrument updates, the flight, the data, and first results

The SUNRISE balloon-borne solar observatory, consisting of a 1~m aperture telescope that provided a stabilized image to a UV filter imager and an imaging vector polarimeter, carried out its second science flight in June 2013. It provided observations of parts of active regions at high spatial resolution, including the first high-resolution images in the Mg~{\sc ii}~k line. The obtained data are of very high quality, with the best UV images reaching the diffraction limit of the telescope at 3000~\AA\ after Multi-Frame Blind Deconvolution reconstruction accounting for phase-diversity information. Here a brief update is given of the instruments and the data reduction techniques, which includes an inversion of the polarimetric data. Mainly those aspects that evolved compared with the first flight are described. A tabular overview of the observations is given. In addition, an example time series of a part of the emerging active region NOAA AR~11768 observed relatively close to disk centre is described and discussed in some detail. The observations cover the pores in the trailing polarity of the active region, as well as the polarity inversion line where flux emergence was ongoing and a small flare-like brightening occurred in the course of the time series. The pores are found to contain magnetic field strengths ranging up to 2500~G and, while large pores are clearly darker and cooler than the quiet Sun in all layers of the photosphere, the temperature and brightness of small pores approach or even exceed those of the quiet Sun in the upper photosphere.

Comb-calibrated solar spectroscopy through a multiplexed single-mode fiber channel

We investigate a new scheme for astronomical spectrograph calibration using the laser frequency comb at the Solar Vacuum Tower Telescope on Tenerife. Our concept is based upon a single-mode fiber channel, that simultaneously feeds the spectrograph with comb light and sunlight. This yields nearly perfect spatial mode matching between the two sources. In combination with the absolute calibration provided by the frequency comb, this method enables extremely robust and accurate spectroscopic measurements. The performance of this scheme is compared to a sequence of alternating comb and sunlight, and to absorption lines from Earths atmosphere. We also show how the method can be used for radial-velocity detection by measuring the well-explored 5 min oscillations averaged over the full solar disk. Our method is currently restricted to solar spectroscopy, but with further evolving fiber-injection techniques it could become an option even for faint astronomical targets.

Performance of a laser frequency comb calibration system with a high-resolution solar echelle spectrograph

Laser frequency combs (LFC) provide a direct link between the radio frequency (RF) and the optical frequency regime. The comb-like spectrum of an LFC is formed by exact equidistant laser modes, whose absolute optical frequencies are controlled by RF-references such as atomic clocks or GPS receivers. While nowadays LFCs are routinely used in metrological and spectroscopic fields, their application in astronomy was delayed until recently when systems became available with a mode spacing and wavelength coverage suitable for calibration of astronomical spectrographs. We developed a LFC based calibration system for the high-resolution echelle spectrograph at the German Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT), located at the Teide observatory, Tenerife, Canary Islands. To characterize the calibration performance of the instrument, we use an all-fiber setup where sunlight and calibration light are fed to the spectrograph by the same single-mode fiber, eliminating systematic effects related to variable grating illumination.

The photospheric solar oxygen project - III. Investigation of the centre-to-limb variation of the 630 nm [O I]-Ni I blend

Context. The solar photospheric abundance of oxygen is still a matter of debate. For about ten years some determinations have favoured a low oxygen abundance which is at variance with the value inferred by helioseismology. Among the oxygen abundance indicators, the forbidden line at 630 nm has often been considered the most reliable even though it is blended with a Ni i line. In Papers I and II of this series we reported a discrepancy in the oxygen abundance derived from the 630 nm and the subordinate [O I] line at 636 nm in dwarf stars, including the Sun. Aims. Here we analyse several, in part new, solar observations of the centre-to-limb variation of the spectral region including the blend at 630 nm in order to separate the individual contributions of oxygen and nickel. Methods. We analyse intensity spectra observed at different limb angles in comparison with line formation computations performed on a CO5BOLD 3D hydrodynamical simulation of the solar atmosphere. Results. The oxygen abundances obtained from the forbidden line at different limb angles are inconsistent if the commonly adopted nickel abundance of 6.25 is assumed in our local thermodynamic equilibrium computations. With a slightly lower nickel abundance, A(Ni) ≈ 6.1, we obtain consistent fits indicating an oxygen abundance of A(O) = 8.73 ± 0.05. At this value the discrepancy with the subordinate oxygen line remains. Conclusions. The derived value of the oxygen abundance supports the notion of a rather low oxygen abundance in the solar photosphere. However, it is disconcerting that the forbidden oxygen lines at 630 and 636 nm give noticeably different results, and that the nickel abundance derived here from the 630 nm blend is lower than expected from other nickel lines.

Inference of magnetic fields in the very quiet Sun

Context. Over the past 20 yr, the quietest areas of the solar surface have revealed a weak but extremely dynamic magnetism occurring at small scales ( Aims. We present high-precision spectro-polarimetric data with high spatial resolution (0.4′′) of the very quiet Sun at 1.56 μ m obtained with the GREGOR telescope to shed some light on this complex magnetism. Methods. We used inversion techniques in two main approaches. First, we assumed that the observed profiles can be reproduced with a constant magnetic field atmosphere embedded in a field-free medium. Second, we assumed that the resolution element has a substructure with either two constant magnetic atmospheres or a single magnetic atmosphere with gradients of the physical quantities along the optical depth, both coexisting with a global stray-light component. Results. Half of our observed quiet-Sun region is better explained by magnetic substructure within the resolution element. However, we cannot distinguish whether this substructure comes from gradients of the physical parameters along the line of sight or from horizontal gradients (across the surface). In these pixels, a model with two magnetic components is preferred, and we find two distinct magnetic field populations. The population with the larger filling factor has very weak (~150 G) horizontal fields similar to those obtained in previous works. We demonstrate that the field vector of this population is not constrained by the observations, given the spatial resolution and polarimetric accuracy of our data. The topology of the other component with the smaller filling factor is constrained by the observations for field strengths above 250 G: we infer hG fields with inclinations and azimuth values compatible with an isotropic distribution. The filling factors are typically below 30%. We also find that the flux of the two polarities is not balanced. From the other half of the observed quiet-Sun area ~50% are two-lobed Stokes V profiles, meaning that 23% of the field of view can be adequately explained with a single constant magnetic field embedded in a non-magnetic atmosphere. The magnetic field vector and filling factor are reliable inferred in only 50% based on the regular profiles. Therefore, 12% of the field of view harbour hG fields with filling factors typically below 30%. At our present spatial resolution, 70% of the pixels apparently are non-magnetised.

A Laser Frequency Comb System for Absolute Calibration of the VTT Echelle Spectrograph

A wavelength calibration system based on a laser frequency comb (LFC) was developed in a co-operation between the Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik, Freiburg, Germany and the Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching, Germany for permanent installation at the German Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) on Tenerife, Canary Islands. The system was installed successfully in October 2011. By simultaneously recording the spectra from the Sun and the LFC, for each exposure a calibration curve can be derived from the known frequencies of the comb modes that is suitable for absolute calibration at the meters per second level. We briefly summarize some topics in solar physics that benefit from absolute spectroscopy and point out the advantages of LFC compared to traditional calibration techniques. We also sketch the basic setup of the VTT calibration system and its integration with the existing echelle spectrograph.

Verification of the helioseismic Fourier-Legendre analysis for meridional flow measurements

Measuring the Suns internal meridional flow is one of the key issues of helioseismology. Using the Fourier-Legendre analysis is a technique for addressing this problem. We validate this technique with the help of artificial helioseismic data. The analysed data set was obtained by numerically simulating the effect of the meridional flow on the seismic wave field in the full volume of the Sun. In this way, a 51.2-hour long time series was generated. The resulting surface velocity field is then analyzed in various settings: Two

How different are the Liège and Hamburg atlases of the solar spectrum

360^\circ \times 90^\circ

A new code for Fourier‐Legendre analysis of large datasets: First results and a comparison with ring‐diagram analysis

halfspheres, two

Polarization effects in Fabry-Pérot interferometer-based solar spectrometers

120^\circ \times 60^\circ