Abstract
Small-scale, newly emerging internetwork (IN) magnetic fields are considered a viable source of energy and mass for the solar chromosphere and possibly the corona. Multiple studies show that ...single events of flux emergence can indeed locally heat the low solar atmosphere through interactions of the upward propagating magnetic loops and the preexisting ambient field lines. However, the global impact of the newly emerging IN fields on the solar atmosphere is still unknown. In this paper, we study the spatiotemporal evolution of IN bipolar flux features and analyze their impact on the energetics and dynamics of the quiet-Sun atmosphere. We use high-resolution, multiwavelength, coordinated observations obtained with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, Hinode, and the Solar Dynamics Observatory to identify emerging IN magnetic fields and follow their evolution. Our observational results suggest that only the largest IN bipoles are capable of heating locally the low solar atmosphere, while the global contribution of these bipoles appears to be marginal. However, the total number of bipoles detected and their impact estimated in this work is limited by the sensitivity level, spatial resolution, and duration of our observations. To detect smaller and weaker IN fields that would maintain the basal flux, and examine their contribution to the chromospheric heating, we will need higher resolution, higher sensitivity, and longer time series obtained with current and next-generation ground- and space-based telescopes.
Abstract
Internetwork (IN) magnetic fields are highly dynamic, short-lived magnetic structures that populate the interior of supergranular cells. Since they emerge all over the Sun, these small-scale ...fields bring a substantial amount of flux, and therefore energy, to the solar surface. Because of this, IN fields are crucial for understanding the quiet Sun (QS) magnetism. However, they are weak and produce very small polarization signals, which is the reason why their properties and impact on the energetics and dynamics of the solar atmosphere are poorly known. Here we use coordinated, high-resolution, multiwavelength observations obtained with the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope and the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) to follow the evolution of IN magnetic loops as they emerge into the photosphere and reach the chromosphere and transition region. We studied in this paper three flux emergence events having total unsigned magnetic fluxes of 1.9 × 10
18
, 2.5 × 10
18
, and 5.3 × 10
18
Mx. The footpoints of the emerging IN bipoles are clearly seen to appear in the photosphere and to rise up through the solar atmosphere, as observed in Fe
i
6173 Å and Mg
i
b
2
5173 Å magnetograms, respectively. For the first time, our polarimetric measurements taken in the chromospheric Ca
ii
8542 Å line provide direct observational evidence that IN fields are capable of reaching the chromosphere. Moreover, using IRIS data, we study the effects of these weak fields on the heating of the chromosphere and transition region.
Abstract
Judge et al. recently argued that a region of the solar spectrum in the near-UV between about 250 and 290 nm is optimal for studying magnetism in the solar chromosphere, due to an abundance ...of Mg
ii
, Fe
ii
, and Fe
i
lines that sample various heights in the solar atmosphere. In this paper, we derive requirements for spectropolarimetric instruments to observe these lines. We derive a relationship between the desired sensitivity to magnetic field and the signal-to-noise ratio of the measurement from the weak-field approximation of the Zeeman effect. We find that many lines will exhibit observable polarization signals for both longitudinal and transverse magnetic field with reasonable amplitudes.
We analyze several unusual filamentary structures which appeared in the umbra of one of the sunspots in AR 11302. They do not resemble typical light bridges in morphology or in evolution. We analyze ...data from SDO/HMI to investigate their temporal evolution, Hinode/SP for photospheric inversions, IBIS for chromospheric imaging, and SDO/AIA for the overlying corona. Photospheric inversions reveal a horizontal, inverse Evershed flow along these structures, which we call umbral filaments. Chromospheric images show brightenings and energy dissipation, while coronal images indicate that bright coronal loops seem to end in these umbral filaments. These rapidly evolving features do not seem to be common, and are possibly related to the high flare-productivity of the active region. Their analysis could help to understand the complex evolution of active regions.
The existence of asymmetries in the circular polarization (Stokes V) profiles emerging from the solar photosphere has been known since the 1970s. These profiles require the presence of a velocity ...gradient along the line of sight (LOS), possibly associated with gradients of magnetic field strength, inclination, and/or azimuth. We have focused our study on the Stokes V profiles showing extreme asymmetry in the form of only one lobe. Using Hinode spectropolarimetric measurements, we have performed a statistical study of the properties of these profiles in the quiet Sun. We show their spatial distribution, their main physical properties, how they are related with several physical observables, and their behavior with respect to their position on the solar disk. The single-lobed Stokes V profiles occupy roughly 2% of the solar surface. For the first time, we have observed their temporal evolution and have retrieved the physical conditions of the atmospheres from which they emerged using an inversion code implementing discontinuities of the atmospheric parameters along the LOS. In addition, we use synthetic Stokes profiles from three-dimensional magnetoconvection simulations to complement the results of the inversion. The main features of the synthetic single-lobed profiles are in general agreement with the observed ones, lending support to the magnetic and dynamic topologies inferred from the inversion. The combination of all these different analyses suggests that most of the single-lobed Stokes V profiles are signals coming from the magnetic flux emergence and/or submergence processes taking place in small patches in the photosphere of the quiet Sun.
NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) provides high-resolution observations of the solar atmosphere through ultraviolet spectroscopy and imaging. Since the launch of IRIS in June 2013, ...we have conducted systematic observation campaigns in coordination with the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope (SST) on La Palma. The SST provides complementary high-resolution observations of the photosphere and chromosphere. The SST observations include spectropolarimetric imaging in photospheric Fe
I
lines and spectrally resolved imaging in the chromospheric Ca
II
8542 Å, H
α
, and Ca
II
K lines. We present a database of co-aligned IRIS and SST datasets that is open for analysis to the scientific community. The database covers a variety of targets including active regions, sunspots, plages, the quiet Sun, and coronal holes.
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Aims.We investigate the spatial distribution of magnetic polarities in the penumbra of a spot observed very close to disk center. Methods.High angular and temporal resolution magnetograms taken with ...the Narrowband Filter Imager aboard Hinode are used in this study. They provide continuous and stable measurements in the photospheric $\ion{Fe}{i}$ 630.25 line for long periods of time. Results.Our observations show small-scale, elongated, bipolar magnetic structures that appear in the mid penumbra and move radially outward. They occur in between the more vertical fields of the penumbra, and can be associated with the horizontal fields that harbor the Evershed flow. Many of them cross the outer penumbral boundary, becoming moving magnetic features in the sunspot moat. We determine the properties of these structures, including their sizes, proper motions, footpoint separation, and lifetimes. Conclusions.The bipolar patches can be interpreted as being produced by sea-serpent field lines that originate in the mid penumbra and eventually leave the spot in the form moving magnetic features. The existence of such field lines has been inferred from Stokes inversions of spectropolarimetric measurements at lower angular resolution, but this is the first time they are imaged directly. Our observations add another piece of evidence in favor of the uncombed structure of penumbral magnetic fields.
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The 3D magnetic field topology of solar filaments/prominences is strongly debated, because it is not directly measureable in the corona. Among various prominence models, several are consistent with ...many observations, but their related topologies are very different. We conduct observations to address this paradigm. We measure the photospheric vector magnetic field in several small flux concentrations surrounding a filament observed far from disc center. Our objective is to test for the presence/absence of magnetic dips around/below the filament body/barb, which is a strong constraint on prominence models, and that is still untested by observations. Our observations are performed with the THEMIS/MTR instrument. The four Stokes parameters are extracted, from which the vector magnetic fields are calculated using a PCA inversion. The resulting vector fields are then deprojected onto the photospheric plane. The $180^\circ$ ambiguity is then solved by selecting the only solution that matches filament chirality rules. Considering the weakness of the resulting magnetic fields, a careful analysis of the inversion procedure and its error bars was performed, to avoid over-interpretation of noisy or ambiguous Stokes profiles. Thanks to the simultaneous multi-wavelength THEMIS observations, the vector field maps are coaligned with the Hα image of the filament. By definition, photospheric dips are identifiable where the horizontal component of the magnetic field points from a negative toward a positive polarity. Among six bipolar regions analyzed in the filament channel, four at least display photospheric magnetic dips, i.e. bald patches. For barbs, the topology of the endpoint is that of a bald patch located next to a parasitic polarity, not of an arcade pointing within the polarity. The observed magnetic field topology in the photosphere tends to support models of prominence based on magnetic dips located within weakly twisted flux tubes. Their underlying and lateral extensions form photospheric dips both within the channel and below barbs.
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The high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution achieved by Hinode instruments gives much better understanding of the behavior of some elusive solar features, such as pores and naked sunspots. ...Their fast evolution and, in some cases, their small sizes have made their study difficult. The moving magnetic features (MMFs) have been studied during the last 40 years. They have been always associated with sunspots, especially with the penumbra. However, a recent observation of a naked sunspot (one with no penumbra) has shown MMF activity. The authors of this reported observation expressed their reservations about the explanation given to the bipolar MMF activity as an extension of the penumbral filaments into the moat. How can this type of MMF exist when a penumbra does not? In this Letter, we study the full magnetic and (horizontal) velocity topology of the same naked sunspot, showing how the existence of a magnetic field topology similar to that observed in sunspots can explain these MMFs, even when the intensity map of the naked sunspot does not show a penumbra.
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