Sunspot Chromosphere Research Articles

A Study of Sunspot 3 Minute Oscillations Using ALMA and GST

Abstract Waves and oscillations are important solar phenomena, not only because they can propagate and dissipate energy in the chromosphere, but also because they carry information about the structure of the atmosphere in which they propagate. The nature of the 3 minute oscillations observed in the umbral region of sunspots is considered to be an effect of propagation of magnetohydrodynamic waves upward from below the photosphere. We present a study of sunspot oscillations and wave propagation in NOAA Active Region 12470 using an approximately 1 hr long data set acquired on 2015 December 17 by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Goode Solar Telescope (GST) operating at the Big Bear Solar Observatory, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. The ALMA data are unique in providing a time series of direct temperature measurements in the sunspot chromosphere. The 2 s cadence of ALMA images allows us to well resolve the 3 minute periods typical of sunspot oscillations in the chromosphere. Fourier analysis is applied to ALMA Band 3 (∼100 GHz, ∼3 mm) and GST Hα data sets to obtain power spectra as well as oscillation phase information. We analyzed properties of the wave propagation by combining multiple wavelengths that probe physical parameters of solar atmosphere at different heights. We find that the ALMA temperature fluctuations are consistent with that expected for a propagating acoustic wave, with a slight asymmetry indicating nonlinear steepening.

Alfvénic Perturbations in a Sunspot Chromosphere Linked to Fractionated Plasma in the Corona

Abstract In this study, we investigate the spatial distribution of highly varying plasma composition around one of the largest sunspots of solar cycle 24. Observations of the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona are brought together with magnetic field modeling of the sunspot in order to probe the conditions that regulate the degree of plasma fractionation within loop populations of differing connectivities. We find that, in the coronal magnetic field above the sunspot umbra, the plasma has photospheric composition. Coronal loops rooted in the penumbra contain fractionated plasma, with the highest levels observed in the loops that connect within the active region. Tracing field lines from regions of fractionated plasma in the corona to locations of Alfvénic fluctuations detected in the chromosphere shows that they are magnetically linked. These results indicate a connection between sunspot chromospheric activity and observable changes in coronal plasma composition.

Spectropolarimetric fluctuations in a sunspot chromosphere.

The instrumental advances made in this new era of 4 m class solar telescopes with unmatched spectropolarimetric accuracy and sensitivity will enable the study of chromospheric magnetic fields and their dynamics with unprecedented detail. In this regard, spectropolarimetric diagnostics can provide invaluable insight into magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) wave processes. MHD waves and, in particular, Alfvénic fluctuations associated with particular wave modes were recently recognized as important mechanisms not only for the heating of the outer layers of the Sun's atmosphere and the acceleration of the solar wind, but also for the elemental abundance anomaly observed in the corona of the Sun and other Sun-like stars (also known as first ionization potential) effect. Here, we take advantage of state-of-the-art and unique spectropolarimetric Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer observations to investigate the relation between intensity and circular polarization (CP) fluctuations in a sunspot chromosphere. Our results show a clear link between the intensity and CP fluctuations in a patch which corresponds to a narrow range of magnetic field inclinations. This suggests the presence of Alfvénic perturbations in the sunspot. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'High-resolution wave dynamics in the lower solar atmosphere'.

Accurately constraining velocity information from spectral imaging observations using machine learning techniques.

Determining accurate plasma Doppler (line-of-sight) velocities from spectroscopic measurements is a challenging endeavour, especially when weak chromospheric absorption lines are often rapidly evolving and, hence, contain multiple spectral components in their constituent line profiles. Here, we present a novel method that employs machine learning techniques to identify the underlying components present within observed spectral lines, before subsequently constraining the constituent profiles through single or multiple Voigt fits. Our method allows active and quiescent components present in spectra to be identified and isolated for subsequent study. Lastly, we employ a Ca ɪɪ 8542 Å spectral imaging dataset as a proof-of-concept study to benchmark the suitability of our code for extracting two-component atmospheric profiles that are commonly present in sunspot chromospheres. Minimization tests are employed to validate the reliability of the results, achieving median reduced χ2-values equal to 1.03 between the observed and synthesized umbral line profiles. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'High-resolution wave dynamics in the lower solar atmosphere'.

Magnetic field variations associated with umbral flashes and penumbral waves

Context. Umbral flashes (UF) and running penumbral waves (RPWs) in sunspot chromospheres leave a dramatic imprint in the intensity profile of the Ca II 8542 Å line. Recent studies have focussed on also explaining the observed polarization profiles, which show even more dramatic variations during the passage of these shock fronts. While most of these variations can be explained with an almost constant magnetic field as a function of time, several studies have reported changes in the inferred magnetic field strength during UF phases. These changes could be explained by opacity effects or by intrinsic changes in the magnetic field strength. Aims. In this study we investigate the origin of these periodic variations of the magnetic field strength by analyzing a time-series of high-temporal-cadence observations acquired in the Ca II 8542 Å line with the CRISP instrument at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. In particular, we analyze how the inferred geometrical height scale changes between quiescent and UF phases, and whether those changes are enough to explain the observed changes in the magnetic field, B. Methods. We have performed non local thermodynamical equilibrium (non-LTE) data inversions with the NICOLE code of a time-series of very high spatio-temporal-resolution observations in the Ca II 8542 Å, Fe I 6301.5, and Fe I 6302.5 Å lines. We analyze in detail the variations of the different physical parameters of the model as a function of time. Results. Our results indicate that the Ca II 8542 Å line in sunspots is greatly sensitive to magnetic fields at log τ500 = −5 (hereafter log τ = −5) during UFs and quiescence. However this optical depth value does not correspond to the same geometrical height during the two phases. Our results indicate that during UFs and RPWs the log τ = −5 is located at a higher geometrical height than during quiescence. Additionally, the inferred magnetic field values are higher in UFs (up to ∼270 G) and in RPWs (∼100 G). Conclusions. Our results suggest that opacity changes caused by UFs and RPWs cannot explain the observed temporal variations in the magnetic field, as the line seems to form at higher geometrical heights where the field is expected to be lower.

Magnetic field reconstruction based on sunspot oscillations

AbstractThe magnetic field of a sunspot guides magnetohydrodynamic waves toward higher atmospheric layers. In the upper photosphere and lower chromosphere, wave modes with periods longer than the acoustic cut‐off period become evanescent. The cut‐off period essentially changes due to the atmospheric properties, e.g., increases for larger zenith inclinations of the magnetic field. In this work, we aim at introducing a novel technique of reconstructing the magnetic field inclination on the basis of the dominating wave periods in the sunspot chromosphere and upper photosphere. On 2013 August 21, we observed an isolated, circular sunspot (NOAA11823) for 58 min in a purely spectroscopic multi‐wavelength mode with the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectro‐polarimeter (IBIS) at the Dunn Solar Telescope. By means of a wavelet power analysis, we retrieved the dominating wave periods and reconstructed the zenith inclinations in the chromosphere and upper photosphere. The results are in good agreement with the lower photospheric HMI magnetograms. The sunspot's magnetic field in the chromosphere inclines from almost vertical (0°) in the umbra to around 60° in the outer penumbra. With increasing altitude in the sunspot atmosphere, the magnetic field of the penumbra becomes less inclined. We conclude that the reconstruction of the magnetic field topology on the basis of sunspot oscillations yields consistent and conclusive results. The technique opens up a new possibility to infer the magnetic field inclination in the solar chromosphere. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

SHORT DYNAMIC FIBRILS IN SUNSPOT CHROMOSPHERES

Sunspot chromospheres display vigorous oscillatory signature when observed in chromospheric diagnostics like the strong Ca II lines and H-alpha. New high-resolution sunspot observations from the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope show the ubiquitous presence of small-scale periodic jet-like features that move up and down. This phenomenon has not been described before. Their typical width is about 0.3 arcsec and they display clear parabolic trajectories in space-time diagrams. The maximum extension of the top of the jets is lowest in the umbra, a few 100 km, and progressively longer further away from the umbra in the penumbra, with the longest more than 1000 km. These jets resemble dynamic fibrils found in plage regions but at smaller extensions. LTE inversion of spectro-polarimetric Ca II 8542 observations enabled for a comparison of the magnetic field inclination and the properties of these short jets. We find that the most extended of these jets also have longer periods and tend to be located in regions with more horizontal magnetic fields. This is a direct observational confirmation of the mechanism of long-period waves propagating along inclined magnetic fields into the solar chromosphere. This mechanism was identified earlier as the driver of dynamic fibrils in plage, part of the mottles in quiet Sun, and type I spicules at the limb. The sunspot dynamic fibrils that we report here represent a new class of manifestation of this mechanism. They are not the same as the transient penumbral and umbral micro-jets reported earlier.

Physical properties of a sunspot chromosphere with umbral flashes

We present new high-resolution spectro-polarimetric Ca II 8542 observations of umbral flashes in sunspots. At nearly 0.18", and spanning about one hour of continuous observation, this is the most detailed dataset published thus far. Our study involves both LTE and non-LTE inversions (but includes also a weak field analysis as a sanity check) to quantify temperatures, mass flows and the full magnetic field vector geometry. We confirm earlier reports that UFs have very fine structure with hot and cool material intermixed at sub-arcsecond scales. The shock front is roughly 1000 K hotter than the surrounding material. We do not observe significant fluctuations of the field in the umbra. In the penumbra, however, the passage of the running penumbral waves alter the magnetic field strength by some 200 G (peak-to-peak amplitude) but it does not change the field orientation (at least not significantly within our sensitivity of a few degrees). We find a trend of decreasing high-frequency modulation power for more inclined magnetic fields for the line-of-sight velocity and magnetic field strength. In the outer penumbra we find an absence of high frequency power while there is increasingly more power at high frequencies towards the umbra.

10.1007/s11443-008-2006-5

The difficulties of the primary interpretation of wave processes observed in the sunspot chromosphere are discussed. Frequency filtering is shown to be helpful in revealing traveling waves more clearly, which eventually affects the objectivity of estimating their parameters. The measured horizontal phase velocities are 40–70 km s−1 for umbrae and 30–70 km s−1 for penumbrae. Analysis of high-cadence observations has revealed an altitude inversion of the spatial localization of the three-minute oscillation power. It is pointed out that the pattern of umbral traveling waves is not constant and periodically gives way to the pattern of standing waves.

Running waves in the sunspot chromosphere

Running waves at the chromospheric level (Hα) in sunspots are studied. Propagating 3-min oscillations are shown to be typical of many spots. Presumably, they propagate along the vertical magnetic-field lines. Their propagation speed is measured. According to our analysis, the 5-min oscillations propagating in the penumbral chromosphere are not a continuation of the 3-min umbral oscillations. The wavelength and propagation speed of the running penumbral waves are determined.

Traveling waves in the sunspot chromosphere: Problems and puzzles of experiments

The difficulties of the primary interpretation of wave processes observed in the sunspot chromosphere are discussed. Frequency filtering is shown to be helpful in revealing traveling waves more clearly, which eventually affects the objectivity of estimating their parameters. The measured horizontal phase velocities are 40–70 km s−1 for umbrae and 30–70 km s−1 for penumbrae. Analysis of high-cadence observations has revealed an altitude inversion of the spatial localization of the three-minute oscillation power. It is pointed out that the pattern of umbral traveling waves is not constant and periodically gives way to the pattern of standing waves.

Initial Observations of Sunspot Oscillations Excited by Solar Flare

Observations of a large solar flare on 2006 December 13 using Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on board the Hinode spacecraft revealed high-frequency oscillations excited by the flare in the sunspot chromosphere. These oscillations are observed in the region of strong magnetic field of the sunspot umbra and may provide a new diagnostic tool for probing the structure of sunspots and understanding physical processes in solar flares.

Two modes of propagating waves in sunspots

AbstractThe observations of sunspot chromosphere are presented. The authors suggest the existence of two modes of propagating waves at the chromospheric level. The connection between these modes and magnetic field topology can be inferred from the analysis of mode propagation velocity and spatial localization. Two hypotheses are tested to explain the phenomenon: “Visual pattern” and “Trans-sunspot wave”.

Are Electric Currents Heating the Magnetic Chromosphere?

This paper presents an analysis of three-dimensional vector currents and temperatures observed in a sunspot from the photosphere to the chromosphere, spanning a range of heights of approximately 1500 km. With this unique dataset, based on novel spectro-polarimetric observations of the 850 nm spectral region, it is possible to conduct for the first time an empirical study of the relation between currents and chromospheric heating. It is shown that, while resistive current dissipation contributes to heat the sunspot chromosphere, it is not the dominant factor. The heating effect of current dissipation is more important in the penumbra of the sunspot, but even there it is still a relatively modest contribution.

Anomalous Circular Polarization Profiles in Sunspot Chromospheres

This paper presents a detailed description, analysis, and interpretation of the spectropolarimetric observations recently reported by Socas-Navarro, Trujillo Bueno, & Ruiz Cobo. These observations consist of time series of Stokes I and V profiles above a sunspot umbra. The spectral lines observed simultaneously are the Ca II chromospheric lines at 8498 and 8542 A and the photospheric Fe I line at 8497 A. These spectropolarimetric observations unveil an intriguing time-dependent behavior of the Stokes V profiles in the chromospheric lines. This behavior should be considered as an observational reference for future radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of sunspot chromospheres. The analysis of the observed time series shows that a normal, nearly antisymmetric V profile rapidly evolves toward an anomalous, completely asymmetric profile, returning later to the normal state. The occurrence of such anomalous circular polarization profiles repeats itself with a periodicity of ~150 s. After giving arguments to discard other scenarios, we are able to interpret the anomalous V profiles as a consequence of the development of a second unresolved atmospheric component. This unresolved component seems to be the same that produces the umbral flashes observed in other sunspots, where it is present with a larger filling factor.

Non‐LTE Inversion of Stokes Profiles Induced by the Zeeman Effect

This paper presents a new diagnostic tool for the inference of the thermal, dynamic, and magnetic properties of the solar chromosphere. It consists of a non-LTE inversion code of Stokes profiles induced by the Zeeman effect in magnetized stellar atmospheres. This code is the generalization, to the non-LTE Stokes transfer case, of the inversion code for unpolarized line profiles of Socas-Navarro, Ruiz Cobo, & Trujillo Bueno. It is based upon a full non-LTE multilevel treatment of Zeeman line transfer in which the thermal, magnetic, and dynamic properties of the atmospheric model are adjusted automatically by means of nonlinear least-squares-fitting techniques until a best fit to the observed Stokes profiles is obtained. Our non-LTE inversion approach is based on the concept of response functions, which measure the emergent Stokes profiles' first-order reaction to changes in the atmospheric parameters. We generalize our fixed departure coefficients (FDC) approximation in order to allow fast computation of such response functions in the present non-LTE Zeeman line transfer context. We present several numerical tests showing the reliability of our inversion method for retrieving the information about the thermodynamics and the magnetic field vector that is contained in the polarization state of the chosen spectral lines. We also explore the limitations of the inversion code by applying it to simulated observations where the physical hypotheses on which it is based on are not met. Finally, we apply our non-LTE Stokes inversion code to real spectropolarimetric observations of a sunspot observed in the IR triplet lines of Ca II. As a result, a new mean model of the sunspot chromosphere is provided.

Nonlinear Sunspot Transition Region Oscillations in NOAA 8378

Observations obtained with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory joint observing program for velocity fields in sunspot regions are used to study the 3 minute transition region oscillations above four sunspots. Here we report mainly on the results obtained for NOAA 8378, based on simultaneous recordings of the transition region lines O V λ629 and N V λλ1238, 1242 and the chromospheric Si II λ1260 line with the Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation instrument. The 3 minute transition region oscillations in NOAA 8378 occur mainly above the umbra and show (1) larger peak line intensity amplitudes than reported before, (2) clear signs of nonlinearities, (3) significant oscillations in line width, (4) maxima in peak line intensity and maxima in velocity directed toward the observer that are nearly, but not exactly in phase, and (5) a clear connection to the oscillations in the sunspot chromosphere. The suggestion that the waves are upward-propagating acoustic waves is confronted with the observations by a simple test.

Reference models of sunspot chromospheres

Recent observational and theoretical studies of the structure of umbral chromosphres have led us to propose new models of the region. We combine space and ground based determinations of the densitytemperature structure of the transition region with existing Caii H, K, and IR triplet spectral data to establish relatively high density, ‘gradient’ models of the sunspot chromosphere.

On the dynamics of the chromosphere above sunspots

The brightness oscillations of a sunspot umbra in the Hα and Ca+ K lines are studied. The observational results are explained in terms of the resonance theory of slow-mode magnetohydrodynamic waves in the sunspot chromosphere. The thickness of the chromosphere above a sunspot varies quasi-periodically from 420 km to 1000 km.

A model of a sunspot chromosphere based on OSO 8 observations

OSO 8 spectrometer observations of the H I, Mg II, and Ca II resonance lines of a large quiet sunspot during November 16-17, 1975, along with a C IV line of that event obtained by a ground-based spectrometer, are analyzed together with near-simultaneous ground-based Stokes measurements to yield an umbral chromosphere and transition region model. Features of this model include a chromosphere that is effectively thin in the resonance lines of H I and Mg II, while being saturated in Ca II, and an upper chromospheric structure similar to that of quiet-sun models. The similarity of the upper chromosphere of the sunspot umbra to the quiet-sun chromosphere suggests that the intense magnetic field plays only a passive role in the chromospheric heating mechanism, and the observations cited indicate that solar-type stars with large areas of ordered magnetic flux would not necessarily exhibit extremely active chromosphere.