Can We Determine the Filament Chirality by the Filament Footpoint Location or the Barb-bearing?

We attempt to propose a method for automatically detecting the solar filament chirality and barb bearing. We first introduce the unweighted undirected graph concept and adopt the Dijkstra shortest-path algorithm to recognize the filament spine. Then, we use the polarity inversion line (PIL) shift method for measuring the polarities on both sides of the filament, and employ the connected components labeling method to identify the barbs and calculate the angle between each barb and the spine to determine the bearing of the barbs, i.e., left or right. We test the automatic detection method with H-alpha filtergrams from the Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) H-alpha archive and magnetograms observed with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Four filaments are automatically detected and illustrated to show the results. The barbs in different parts of a filament may have opposite bearings. The filaments in the southern hemisphere (northern hemisphere) mainly have left-bearing (right-bearing) barbs and positive (negative) magnetic helicity, respectively. The tested results demonstrate that our method is efficient and effective in detecting the bearing of filament barbs. It is demonstrated that the conventionally believed one-to-one correspondence between filament chirality and barb bearing is not valid. The correct detection of the filament axis chirality should be done by combining both imaging morphology and magnetic field observations.

Determining Spin Polarization of Seebeck Coefficients via Anomalous Nernst Effect

Recently, Seebeck coefficients of ferromagnetic conductors are found to be spin-dependent. However straightforward method of accurately determining its spin polarization is still to be developed. Here, we have derived a linear dependence of anomalous Nernst coefficient on anomalous Hall angle with scaling factor related to spin polarization of Seebeck coefficient, which has been experimentally verified in [Co/Pt]n superlattices. Based on the dependence, we have also evaluated spin polarization of Seebeck coefficient of some ferromagnetic conductors. Besides, we have also found a new mechanism to generate pure spin current from temperature gradient in ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic hybrid system, which could improve efficiency from thermal energy to spin current.

Diagnostics of Ellerman Bombs with High-resolution Spectral Data

Ellerman bombs (EBs) are tiny brightenings often observed near sunspots. The most impressive characteristic of the EB spectra is the two emission bumps in both wings of the H$alpha$ and ion{Ca}{II} 8542 {AA} lines. High-resolution spectral data of three small EBs were obtained on 2013 June 6 with the largest solar telescope, the 1.6 meter New Solar Telescope (NST), at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. The characteristics of these EBs are analyzed. The sizes of the EBs are in the range of 0.3arcsec--0.8arcsec and their durations are only 3--5 minutes. Our semi-empirical atmospheric models indicate that the heating occurs around the temperature minimum region with a temperature increase of 2700--3000 K, which is surprisingly higher than previously thought. The radiative and kinetic energies are estimated to be as high as 5$times$10$^{25}$--3.0$times$10$^{26}$ ergs despite the small size of these EBs. Observations of the magnetic field show that the EBs appeared just in a parasitic region with mixed polarities and accompanied by mass motions. Nonlinear force-free field extrapolation reveals that the three EBs are connected with a series of magnetic field lines associated with bald patches, which strongly implies that these EBs should be produced by magnetic reconnection in the solar lower atmosphere. According to the lightcurves and the estimated magnetic reconnection rate, we propose that there is a three phase process in EBs: pre-heating, flaring and cooling phases.

Beyond-limit light focusing in the intermediate zone

We experimentally demonstrate that a new nanolens of designed plasmonic subwavelength aperture can focus light to a single-line with its width beyond the diffraction limit that sets the smallest achievable line width at half the wavelength. The measurements indicate that the effect of the near-field on the light focused is negligible in the intermediate zone of 2 < kr < 4 where the line-width is smaller than the limit. Thus, as a verification of theoretical prediction, the fields focused are radiative and with a momentum capable of propagating to the far zone as concerned by the limit.