No Arabic abstract
We use seeing-free high spatial resolution Ca II H data obtained by the SUNRISE observatory to determine properties of slender fibrils in the lower solar chromosphere. In this work we use intensity images taken with the SUFI instrument in the Ca II H line during the second scientific flight of the SUNRISE observatory to identify and track elongated bright structures. After the identification, we analyze theses structures in order to extract their morphological properties. We identify 598 slender Ca II H fibrils (SCFs) with an average width of around 180 km, a length between 500 km and 4000 km, an average lifetime of ~400 s, and an average curvature of 0.002 arcsec^-1. The maximum lifetime of the SCFs within our time series of 57 minutes is ~2000 s. We discuss similarities and differences of the SCFs with other small-scale, chromospheric structures such as spicules of type I and II, or Ca II K fibrils.
We report the detection of oscillations in slender Ca II H fibrils (SCFs) from high-resolution observations acquired with the Sunrise balloon-borne solar observatory. The SCFs show obvious oscillations in their intensity, but also their width. The oscillatory behaviors are investigated at several positions along the axes of the SCFs. A large majority of fibrils show signs of oscillations in intensity. Their periods and phase speeds are analyzed using a wavelet analysis. The width and intensity perturbations have overlapping distributions of the wave period. The obtained distributions have median values of the period of $32pm17$s and $36pm25$s, respectively. We find that the fluctuations of both parameters propagate in the SCFs with speeds of ${11}^{+49}_{-11}$ km/s and ${15}^{+34}_{-15}$ km/s, respectively. Furthermore, the width and intensity oscillations have a strong tendency to be either in anti-phase, or, to a smaller extent, in phase. This suggests that the oscillations of both parameters are caused by the same wave mode and that the waves are likely propagating. Taking all the evidence together, the most likely wave mode to explain all measurements and criteria is the fast sausage mode.
A dense forest of slender bright fibrils near a small solar active region is seen in high-quality narrowband Ca II H images from the SuFI instrument onboard the Sunrise balloon-borne solar observatory. The orientation of these slender Ca II H fibrils (SCF) overlaps with the magnetic field configuration in the low solar chromosphere derived by magnetostatic extrapolation of the photospheric field observed with Sunrise/IMaX and SDO/HMI. In addition, many observed SCFs are qualitatively aligned with small-scale loops computed from a novel inversion approach based on best-fit numerical MHD simulation. Such loops are organized in canopy-like arches over quiet areas that differ in height depending on the field strength near their roots.
Magneto-static models may overcome some of the issues facing force-free magnetic field extrapolations. So far they have seen limited use and have faced problems when applied to quiet-Sun data. Here we present a first application to an active region. We use solar vector magnetic field measurements gathered by the IMaX polarimeter during the flight of the sunrise{} balloon-borne solar observatory in June 2013 as boundary condition for a magneto-static model of the higher solar atmosphere above an active region. The IMaX data are embedded in active region vector magnetograms observed with SDO/HMI. This work continues our magneto-static extrapolation approach, which has been applied earlier ({it Paper I}) to a quiet Sun region observed with sunrise{} I. In an active region the signal-to-noise-ratio in the measured Stokes parameters is considerably higher than in the quiet Sun and consequently the IMaX measurements of the horizontal photospheric magnetic field allow us to specify the free parameters of the model in a special class of linear magneto-static equilibria. The high spatial resolution of IMaX (110-130 km, pixel size 40 km) enables us to model the non-force-free layer between the photosphere and the mid chromosphere vertically by about 50 grid points. In our approach we can incorporate some aspects of the mixed beta layer of photosphere and chromosphere, e.g., taking a finite Lorentz force into account, which was not possible with lower resolution photospheric measurements in the past. The linear model does not, however, permit to model intrinsic nonlinear structures like strongly localized electric currents.
Solar chromospheric fibrils, as observed in the core of strong chromospheric spectral lines, extend from photospheric field concentrations suggesting that they trace magnetic field lines. These images have been historically used as proxies of magnetic fields for many purposes. We use a Bayesian hierarchical model to analyze several tens of thousands of pixels in spectro-polarimetric chromospheric images of penumbrae and chromospheric fibrils. We compare the alignment between the field azimuth inferred from the linear polarization signals through the transverse Zeeman effect and the direction of the fibrils in the image. We conclude that, in the analyzed fields of view, fibrils are often well aligned with the magnetic field azimuth. Despite this alignment, the analysis also shows that there is a non-negligible dispersion. In penumbral filaments, we find a dispersion with a standard deviation of ~16 degrees, while this dispersion goes up to ~34 degrees in less magnetized regions.
Flare loops form an integral part of eruptive events, being detected in the range of temperatures from X-rays down to cool chromospheric-like plasmas. While the hot loops are routinely observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatorys Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA), cool loops seen off-limb are rare. In this paper we employ unique observations of the SOL2017-09-10T16:06 X8.2-class flare which produced an extended arcade of loops. The Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) made a series of spectral images of the cool off-limb loops in the Ca II 8542 r{A} and the hydrogen H$beta$ lines. Our focus is on the loop apices. Non-LTE spectral inversion is achieved through the construction of extended grids of models covering a realistic range of plasma parameters. The Multilevel Accelerated Lambda Iterations (MALI) code solves the non-LTE radiative-transfer problem in a 1D externally-illuminated slab, approximating the studied loop segment. Inversion of the Ca II 8542 r{A} and H$beta$ lines yields two similar solutions, both indicating high electron densities around $2 times 10^{12}$ cm$^{-3}$ and relatively large microturbulence around 25 kms$^{-1}$. These are in reasonable agreement with other independent studies of the same or similar events. In particular, the high electron densities in the range $10^{12} - 10^{13}$ cm$^{-3}$ are consistent with those derived from the SDOs Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager white-light observations. The presence of such high densities in solar eruptive flares supports the loop interpretation of the optical continuum emission of stars which manifest superflares.