Igor Zayer

STRUCTURE AND ROTATION OF THE SOLAR INTERIOR: INITIAL RESULTS FROM THE MDI MEDIUM-L PROGRAM

The medium-l program of the Michelson Doppler Imager instrument on board SOHO provides continuous observations of oscillation modes of angular degree, l, from 0 to ∼ 300. The data for the program are partly processed on board because only about 3% of MDI observations can be transmitted continuously to the ground. The on-board data processing, the main component of which is Gaussian-weighted binning, has been optimized to reduce the negative influence of spatial aliasing of the high-degree oscillation modes. The data processing is completed in a data analysis pipeline at the SOI Stanford Support Center to determine the mean multiplet frequencies and splitting coefficients.

Results from proton damage tests on the Michelson Doppler Imager CCD for SOHO

Protons from solar flares represent the major threat to the scientific performance of a CCD in the SOHO orbit at L1, decreasing CTE and thus non-uniformly degrading the MTF of the detector. Lattice damage assessment and prediction rely on accurate radiation damage experiments to calibrate numerical simulations and modeling. The energy ranges where TRIM and NIEL represent valid models overlap around a few MeV. Thus, the proton beam from Lockheed PARLs 0.1 to 3 MeV Van de Graaff generator provides a convenient test facility. We present results from an accurate experiment using 2 MeV protons on the MDI detector (LORAL 1024 X 1024 21 micrometers 3P MPP CCD). A premiere feature in the experiment is the achievement of a stable, uniform low fluence and extremely accurate dosimetry at this relatively low energy. Pre- and post-radiation CTE measurements for our specific mode of operation (relatively fast readout rate of 500 kpix/s) is obtained using Fe55 method over a wide temperature range. They reveal somewhat unexpected results. The damage is more severe to parallel CTE than to serial CTE and the former worsens when cooled down to -50 degree(s)C, then improves when cooled further.

Internal structure and rotation of the Sun: First results from the MDI data

The Medium- l Program of the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) instrument on board SOHO provides continuous observations of oscillation modes of angular degree, l , from 0 to ∼ 300. The initial results show that the noise in the Medium- l oscillation power spectrum is substantially lower than in ground-based measurements. This enables us to detect lower amplitude modes and, thus, to extend the range of measured mode frequencies. The MDI observations also reveal the asymmetry of oscillation spectral lines. The line asymmetries agree with the theory of mode excitation by acoustic sources localized in the upper convective boundary layer. The sound-speed profile inferred from the mean frequencies gives evidence for a sharp variation at the edge of the energy-generating core. In a thin layer just beneath the convection zone, helium appears to be less abundant than predicted by theory. Inverting the multiplet frequency splittings from MDI, we detect significant rotational shear in this thin layer.