X-ray and EUV diagnostics of active plasma structures with the RES spectroheliograph in the SPIRIT experiment onboard the CORONAS-F satellite

Abstract

We provide a brief overview of the main methods and results of spectroscopic studies of several active plasma structures in the solar corona with the RES spectroheliograph in the SPIRIT experiment. This instrument has allowed ∼ 150 monochromatic images of the entire Sun in extreme UV (EUV) lines in the 175-to 205-and 280-to 330-A spectral bands and in the X-ray Mg XII 8.42-A line to be simultaneously obtained for the first time. The RES instrument has taken ∼ 300000 spectroheliograms with a high time resolution over the period of its operation since the launch of the satellite on July 31, 2001. The accumulated data were used to construct and calibrate the spectra of solar flares and compact active regions with a spectral resolution of 0.04 A. Based on EUV spectra, we determined the temperature distributions of the electron density and differential emission measure (DEM) for several active plasma structures observed in the RES X-ray channel: active regions, flares, and spiders. The results of modeling the physical conditions in an emitting plasma were used to analyze the formation and dynamics of plasma structures detected in the monochromatic X-ray images of the entire Sun.