Umbral Chromosphere Research Articles

Observational characteristics of oscillations and waves in and around sunspots. Difficulties in observing and interpreting

This paper summarizes the body of work that we have done over the years on the oscillation processes in sunspots, including their umbra, penumbra, and close vicinity. The study analyzes a number of aspects that impede adequate determining of some characteristics of propagating oscillations and lead to misinterpretation. Using running penumbral waves as an example, we show that their horizontal propagation with decreasing frequency is delusive. The effect is due to different oscillations propagating along magnetic field lines with gradually increasing inclination. This also applies to the three-minute oscillations in the sunspot umbral chromosphere. The change in the inclination of the strips in the half-tone space-time diagrams, which are employed to determine the oscillation propagation velocities along coronal loops, is caused by the projection effect as opposed to real changes in the velocity. We propose to use flare modulation of the natural oscillations of the medium to eliminate the uncertainties that arise while measuring the phase differences between signals of the same parameters, which is employed for estimating wave propagation velocities in the solar atmosphere.

Наблюдательные характеристики колебательно-волновых процессов в пятне и его окрестностях. Сложности наблюдений и интерпретации

This paper summarizes the body of work that we have done over the years on the oscillation processes in sunspots, including their umbra, penumbra, and close vicinity. The study analyzes a number of aspects that impede adequate determining of some characteristics of propagating oscillations and lead to misinterpretation. Using running penumbral waves as an example, we show that their horizontal propagation with decreasing frequency is delusive. The effect is due to different oscillations propagating along magnetic field lines with gradually increasing inclination. This also applies to the three-minute oscillations in the sunspot umbral chromosphere. The change in the inclination of the strips in the half-tone space-time diagrams, which are employed to determine the oscillation propagation velocities along coronal loops, is caused by the projection effect as opposed to real changes in the velocity. We propose to use flare modulation of the natural oscillations of the medium to eliminate the uncertainties that arise while measuring the phase differences between signals of the same parameters, which is employed for estimating wave propagation velocities in the solar atmosphere.

Magnetic field fluctuations in the shocked umbral chromosphere

Context. Umbral chromospheric observations show the presence of magnetoacoustic shocks. Several recent studies have reported magnetic field fluctuations associated with these shock waves. The mechanism behind these periodic magnetic field changes is still an unresolved question. Aims. We aim to study the properties and origin of magnetic field fluctuations in the umbral chromosphere. Methods. Temporal series of spectropolarimetric observations were acquired with the GREGOR telescope on 2017 June 18. The chromospheric and photospheric conditions, including the temporal evolution of the magnetic field, were derived from simultaneous inversions of the He I 10 830 Å triplet and the Si I 10 827 Å line using the HAZEL2 code. The oscillations were interpreted using wavelet analysis and context information from ultraviolet observations acquired with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO/AIA) and the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). Results. The chromospheric magnetic field shows strong fluctuations in the sunspot umbra, with peak field strengths of up to 2900 G. This inferred field strength is comparable to the magnetic field strength in the upper photosphere. Magnetic field and velocity umbral oscillations exhibit a strong coherence, with the magnetic field lagging the shock fronts detected in the velocity fluctuations. This points to a common origin of the fluctuations in both parameters, and the analysis of the phase shift between photospheric and chromospheric velocity is consistent with upward wave propagation. These results suggest that the strong inferred magnetic field fluctuations are caused by changes in the response height of the He I 10 830 Å line to the magnetic field, which is sensitive to the high photosphere during and right after the shock. The analysis of extreme ultraviolet data shows a weak brightening in a coronal loop rooted in the umbra around the time of the measured magnetic field fluctuations. This coronal activity could possibly have some impact on the inferred fluctuations, but it is not the main driver of the magnetic field oscillations since they are found before the extreme ultraviolet event takes place. Conclusions. Chromospheric magnetic field fluctuations measured with the He I 10 830 Å triplet arise due to variations in the opacity of the line. After strong shocks are produced by the propagation of slow magnetoacoustic waves, the response of the line to the magnetic field can be shifted down to the upper photosphere. This is seen as remarkably large fluctuations in the line-of-sight magnetic field strength.

Downflowing umbral flashes as evidence of standing waves in sunspot umbrae

Context. Umbral flashes are sudden brightenings commonly visible in the core of some chromospheric lines. Theoretical and numerical modeling suggests that they are produced by the propagation of shock waves. According to these models and early observations, umbral flashes are associated with upflows. However, recent studies have reported umbral flashes in downflowing atmospheres. Aims. We aim to understand the origin of downflowing umbral flashes. We explore how the existence of standing waves in the umbral chromosphere impacts the generation of flashed profiles. Methods. We performed numerical simulations of wave propagation in a sunspot umbra with the code MANCHA. The Stokes profiles of the Ca II 8542 Å line were synthesized with the NICOLE code. Results. For freely propagating waves, the chromospheric temperature enhancements of the oscillations are in phase with velocity upflows. In this case, the intensity core of the Ca II 8542 Å atmosphere is heated during the upflowing stage of the oscillation. However, a different scenario with a resonant cavity produced by the sharp temperature gradient of the transition region leads to chromospheric standing oscillations. In this situation, temperature fluctuations are shifted backward and temperature enhancements partially coincide with the downflowing stage of the oscillation. In umbral flash events produced by standing oscillations, the reversal of the emission feature is produced when the oscillation is downflowing. The chromospheric temperature keeps increasing while the atmosphere is changing from a downflow to an upflow. During the appearance of flashed Ca II 8542 Å cores, the atmosphere is upflowing most of the time, and only 38% of the flashed profiles are associated with downflows. Conclusions. We find a scenario that remarkably explains the recent empirical findings of downflowing umbral flashes as a natural consequence of the presence of standing oscillations above sunspot umbrae.

Umbral chromospheric fine structure and umbral flashes modelled as one: The corrugated umbra

Context.The chromosphere of the umbra of sunspots features an assortment of dynamic fine structures that are poorly understood and often studied separately. Small-scale umbral brightenings (SSUBs), umbral microjets, spikes or short dynamic fibrils (SDFs), and umbral dark fibrils are found in any observation of the chromosphere with sufficient spatial resolution performed at the correct umbral flash stage and passband. Understanding these features means understanding the dynamics of the umbral chromosphere.Aims.We aim to fully understand the dynamics of umbral chromosphere through analysis of the relationships between distinct observed fine features and to produce complete models that explain both spectral profiles and the temporal evolution of the features. We seek to relate such understanding to umbral flashes.Methods.We studied the spatial and spectral co-evolution of SDFs, SSUBs, and umbral flashes in Ca II8542 Å spectral profiles. We produced models that generate the spectral profiles for all classes of features using non-local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative transfer with a recent version of the NICOLE inversion code.Results.We find that both bright SSUBs and dark SDF structures are described with a continuous feature in the parameter space that is distinct from the surroundings even in pixel-by-pixel inversions. We find a phase difference between such features and umbral flashes in both inverted line-of-sight velocities and timing of the brightenings. For umbral flashes themselves we resolve, for the first time in inversion-based semi-empirical modelling, the pre-flash downflows, post-flash upflows, and the counter-flows present during the umbral flash phase. We further present a simple time-dependent cartoon model that explains the dynamics and spectral profiles of both fine structure, dark and bright, and umbral flashes in umbral chromospheres.Conclusions.The similarity of the profiles between the brightenings and umbral flashes, the pattern of velocities obtained from the inversions, and the phase relationships between the structures all lead us to put forward that all dynamic umbral chromospheric structures observed to this date are a locally delayed or locally early portion of the oscillatory flow pattern that generates flashes, secondary to the steepening large-scale acoustic waves at its source. Essentially, SSUBs are part of the same shock or merely compression front responsible for the spatially larger umbral flash phenomenon, but out of phase with the broader oscillation.

Diagnostic of spectral lines in magnetized solar atmosphere: Formation of the Hβ line in sunspots

Formation of the H$\beta$ $\lambda$4861.34 \AA{} line is an important topic related to the diagnosis of the basic configuration of magnetic fields in the solar and stellar chromospheres. Specifically, broadening of the H$\beta$ $\lambda$4861.34 \AA{} line occurs due to the magnetic and micro-electric fields in the solar atmosphere. The formation of H$\beta$ in the model umbral atmosphere is presented based on the assumption of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium. It is found that the model umbral chromosphere is transparent to the Stokes parameters of the H$\beta$ line, which implies that the observed signals of magnetic fields at sunspot umbrae via the H$\beta$ line originate from the deep solar atmosphere, where $\lg \tau_c\approx-1$ (about 300 km in the photospheric layer for our calculations). This is in contrast to the observed Stokes signals from non-sunspot areas, which are thought to primarily form in the solar chromosphere.

Shock Heating Energy of Umbral Flashes Measured with Integral Field Unit Spectroscopy

Abstract Umbral flashes are periodic brightness increases routinely observed in the core of chromospheric lines within sunspot umbrae and are attributed to propagating shock fronts. In this work we quantify the shock heating energy of these umbral flashes using observations in the near-infrared He i triplet obtained on 2014 December 7 with the SpectroPolarimetric Imager for the Energetic Sun, which is a novel integral field unit spectrograph at the Dunn Solar Telescope. We determine the shock properties (the Mach number and the propagation speed) by fitting the measured He i spectral profiles with a theoretical radiative transfer model consisting of two constant-property atmospheric slabs whose temperatures and macroscopic velocities are constrained by the Rankine–Hugoniot relations. From the Mach number, the shock heating energy per unit mass of plasma is derived to be 2 × 1010 erg g−1, which is insufficient to maintain the umbral chromosphere. In addition, we find that the shocks propagate upward with the sound speed and the Mach number does not depend on the temperature upstream of the shocks. The latter may imply suppression of the amplification of the Mach number due to energy loss of the shocks.

P‐Mode Propagation through the Transition Region into the Solar Corona. I. Observations

Oscillations have long been observed in the sunspot umbral chromosphere and transition region, connected to global p-mode oscillations. These p-modes are thought to undergo mode conversion to slow magnetoacoustic waves in regions of strong magnetic field. More recently, propagating oscillations have also been observed in solar coronal loops. Using new spectroscopic imaging data at transition-region temperatures, combined with coronal imaging, we present direct observations of the propagation of these slow magnetoacoustic p-modes through the transition region and into the solar corona, along the magnetic field. The waves are observed as oscillations in the chromosphere/transition region and propagations in the corona due to the emission scale height of the different temperature lines combined with the magnetic field geometry.

Hα StokesV/IFeatures Observed in a Solar Active Region

AbstractWe carried out an imaging polarimetry observation of active region NOAA 10596 at 9–11 wavelengths around the $\mathrm{H}\alpha$ line with a ferroelectric liquid-crystal polarimeter during 2004 April 20–26. The latitude of the region was $\mathrm{S8}^{\circ}$, and it passed the central meridian on April 23. On the basis of this observation, the Stokes $V/I$ features of the active region in $\mathrm{H}\alpha$, which are expected to indicate the chromospheric longitudinal magnetic field, were revealed as follows: (1) There is persistent weakening (sometimes reversal) of the Stokes $V/I$ signal at the center of the umbra. This is not due to the actual weakening of the magnetic field strength, but probably due to the peculiarity of the atmospheric structure of the umbral chromosphere. (2) The peak wavelengths of the Stokes $V/I$ profile of the plages and that of the sunspot are systematically different from each other and, therefore, it is difficult to apply the weak-field approximation to estimate the chromospheric magnetic field strength. Both of these results mean that an estimation of the chromospheric magnetic field on the basis of the $\mathrm{H}\alpha$ polarimetry is not straightforward, and that an inversion considering the atmospheric structure in the chromosphere is essentially important.

Anomalous polarization profiles in sunspots: possible origin of umbral flashes

We present time-series spectropolarimetric observations of sunspots in the Ca II infrared triplet lines, which show a periodic occurrence of anomalous, asymmetric, circular polarization profiles in the umbral chromosphere. The profiles may be caused by the periodic development of an unresolved atmospheric component in a downward flowing magnetized environment. This active component with upward directed velocities as high as 10 kilometers per second is connected to the umbral flash (UF) phenomenon. We can explain the observations with a semiempirical model of the chromospheric oscillation and of the sunspot magnetized atmospheric plasma during a UF event.

Simultaneous measurements of sunspot umbral oscillations in the photosphere, chromosphere, and transition region

Measurements of umbral oscillations in a sunspot were made simultaneously from space (with the SMM/UVSP instrument) in the C IV transition-region line and from the ground (with the tower telescope at NSO/sunspot) in spectral lines formed in the photosphere and chromosphere. The power spectra of velocity and intensity variations show multiple peaks in the 3 min band (4.5-10 mHz). A strong oscillation at 5.5 mHz is coherent between the chromosphere and transition region. Another strong oscillation mode at 7.5 mHz is coherent between the photosphere and transition region and appears to have a node in the chromosphere. The rms velocity in the 3 min band is a little over 12 km/sec in both the chromosphere and transition region, but the kinetic energy density is lower in the transition region (by a factor of 10 or more) due to the lower mass density there. These measurements of amplitude and phase of the waves at different heights provided a new, independent method of testing or fitting models of the vertical temperature distribution in the umbral chromosphere and transition regions.

Photoelectric observations of chromospheric sunspot oscillations. IV - The CA II H line and He I 10830 A

view Abstract Citations (65) References (17) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Photoelectric Observations of Chromospheric Sunspot Oscillations. IV. The CA II H Lines and He i lambda 10830 Lites, B. W. Abstract Simultaneous observations of profiles of He I λ10830 and the Ca II H line in sunspot umbrae have been made with the Tower telescope, echelle spectrograph, and multidiode array at the National Solar Observatory/Sunspot. These observations reveal the nature of fluid motions in the upper chromosphere during the cycle of umbral oscillations. Time sequences of profiles show that the chromospheric He I line is in weak absorption during all phases of the umbral oscillations, and that it undergoes periodic Doppler shifts of high amplitude (up to 11 km s-1). The amplitudes and waveforms of the Doppler shifts in the He I line indicate that the oscillations are frequently nonlinear (i.e., forming shocks) and therefore contribute to the heating of the upper umbral chromosphere. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: February 1986 DOI: 10.1086/163964 Bibcode: 1986ApJ...301.1005L Keywords: Abundance; Chromosphere; Electrophotometry; Solar Oscillations; Stellar Spectrophotometry; Sunspots; Calcium; Doppler Effect; Helium Ions; Hydrogen; Line Shape; Line Spectra; Temporal Distribution; Umbras; Solar Physics; SUN: CHROMOSPHERE; SUN: OSCILLATIONS; SUN: SUNSPOTS full text sources ADS | Related Materials (4) Part 1: 1982ApJ...253..386L Part 2: 1984ApJ...277..874L Part 3: 1986ApJ...301..992L Part 5: 1988ApJ...334.1054L

Interpretation of oscillations in UV lines observed above sunspot umbrae

Our theory of a resonator for slow magneto-atmospheric waves in the chromosphere of a sunspot umbra has been used to check different models of the structure of the chromosphere and transition region. Oscillations of velocity and intensity in Civ, Siiv, and Oiv lines observed by Gurman et al. (1982) on the SMM spacecraft have been compared with the calculated oscillations. The observed spectrum of resonant peaks could well be explained by a gradient model of the umbral chromosphere. Different assumptions concerning the structure of the transition region do not influence the calculated resonance periods, but the amplitudes and phases of oscillations are modified. There is strong evidence for a concentration of the observed oscillations in cold fine structure elements of the transition region, even if the filling factor of such elements is very small (some few percent). Isothermal rather than adiabatic oscillations in the cold elements should be assumed in order to explain the observed fluctuations of line intensity; the relative amplitudes of pressure oscillations in the hot main component with a steep gradient of temperature are too small to explain the observed intensity fluctuations.

Photoelectric observations of chromospheric sunspot oscillations. II - Propagation characteristics

Measurements of oscillations in umbrae and penumbrae using the line pairs (Ca II lambda8498--lambda8542) and (Fe I lambda5434--Ca II lambda8498)= are presented for seven sunspots and 11 observing runs. In the umbral chromosphere, the observations reported here, taken with other measurements of umbral oscillations, suggest that the oscillations are upward propagating acoustic (or slow mode) disturbances, and that they become nonlinear and develop into shock waves in the upper layers. They cause a significant increase in the radiative output of the umbral chromosphere, indicating the possibility of nonthermal heating at these levels. On the basis of this picture, umbral chromosphere, indicating the possibility of nonthermal heating at these levels. On the basis of this picture, umbral chromospheres have a greater physical extent in height than predicted by umbral models with coronal pressures greater than those found in the quiet Sun. Oscillations are present in the outer regions of penumbrae with frequencies and phase relationships that suggest the possibility of magneto-gravity waves.

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.