arXiv subjects

Bart De Pontieu

Publications and source records attributed to Bart De Pontieu.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Chromospheric heating due to cancellation of quiet Sun internetwork fields

The heating of the solar chromosphere remains one of the most important questions in solar physics. Our current understanding is that small-scale internetwork (IN) magnetic fields play an important role as a heating agent. Indeed, cancellations of IN magnetic elements in the photosphere can produce transient brightenings in the chromosphere and transition region. These bright structures might be the signature of energy release and plasma heating, probably driven by magnetic reconnection of IN field lines. Although single events are not expected to release large amounts of energy, their global contribution to the chromosphere may be significant due to their ubiquitous presence in quiet Sun regions. In this paper we study cancellations of IN elements and analyze their impact on the energetics and dynamics of the quiet Sun atmosphere. We use high resolution, multiwavelength, coordinated observations obtained with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) to identify cancellations of IN magnetic flux patches and follow their evolution. We find that, on average, these events live for ~3 minutes in the photosphere and ~12 minutes in the chromosphere and/or transition region. Employing multi-line inversions of the Mg II h & k lines we show that cancellations produce clear signatures of heating in the upper atmospheric layers. However, at the resolution and sensitivity accessible to the SST, their number density still seems to be one order of magnitude too low to explain the global chromospheric heating.

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arXiv2017

Forward modeling of emission in SDO/AIA passbands from dynamic 3D simulations

It is typically assumed that emission in the passbands of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is dominated by single or several strong lines from ions that under equilibrium conditions are formed in a narrow range of temperatures. However, most SDO/AIA channels also contain contributions from lines of ions that have formation temperatures that are significantly different from the "dominant" ion(s). We investigate the importance of these lines by forward modeling the emission in the SDO/AIA channels with 3D radiative MHD simulations of a model that spans the upper layer of the convection zone to the low corona. The model is highly dynamic. In addition, we pump a steadily increasing magnetic flux into the corona, in order to increase the coronal temperature through the dissipation of magnetic stresses. As a consequence, the model covers different ranges of coronal temperatures as time progresses. The model covers coronal temperatures that are representative of plasma conditions in coronal holes and quiet sun. The 131, 171, and 304 Å AIA passbands are found to be least influenced by the so-called "non-dominant" ions, and the emission observed in these channels comes mostly from plasma at temperatures near the formation temperature of the dominant ion(s). On the other hand, the other channels are strongly influenced by the non-dominant ions, and therefore significant emission in these channels comes from plasma at temperatures that are different from the "canonical" values. We have also studied the influence of non-dominant ions on the AIA passbands when different element abundances are assumed (photospheric and coronal), and when the effects of the electron density on the contribution function are taken into account.

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arXiv2017

On the generation of solar spicules and Alfvénic waves

In the lower solar atmosphere, the chromosphere is permeated by jets known as spicules, in which plasma is propelled at speeds of 50 to 150 kilometers per second into the corona. The origin of the spicules is poorly understood, although they are expected to play a role in heating the million-degree corona and are associated with Alfvénic waves that help drive the solar wind. We compare magnetohydrodynamic simulations of spicules with observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph and the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. Spicules are shown to occur when magnetic tension is amplified and transported upward through interactions between ions and neutrals or ambipolar diffusion. The tension is impulsively released to drive flows, heat plasma (through ambipolar diffusion), and generate Alfvénic waves.

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arXiv2017

On the Misalignment between Chromospheric Features and the Magnetic Field on the Sun

Observations of the upper chromosphere shows an enormous amount of intricate fine structure. Much of this comes in the form of linear features which are most often assumed to be well aligned with the direction of the magnetic field in the low plasma beta regime thought to dominate the upper chromosphere. We use advanced radiative MHD simulations including the effects of ion-neutral interactions (using the generalized Ohm's law) in the partially ionized chromosphere to show that the magnetic field is often not well aligned with chromospheric features. This occurs where the ambipolar diffusion is large, i.e., ions and neutral populations decouple as the ion-neutral collision frequency drops allowing the field to slip through the neutral population, currents perpendicular to the field are strong, and thermodynamic timescales are longer than or similar to the those of ambipolar diffusion. We find this often happens in dynamic spicule or fibril-like features at the top of the chromosphere. This has important consequences for field extrapolation methods which increasingly use such upper chromospheric features to help constrain the chromospheric magnetic field: our results invalidate the underlying assumption that these features are aligned with the field. In addition, our results cast doubt on results from 1D hydrodynamic models, which assume that plasma remains on the same field lines. Finally, our simulations show that ambipolar diffusion significantly alters the amount of free energy available in the coronal part of our simulated volume, which is likely to have consequences for studies of flare initiation.

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arXiv2017

Why Is Non-thermal Line Broadening of Spectral Lines in The Lower Transition Region of the Sun Independent of Spatial Resolution?

Spectral observations of the solar transition region (TR) and corona show broadening of spectral lines beyond what is expected from thermal and instrumental broadening. The remaining non-thermal broadening is significant (5-30 km/s) and correlated with the intensity. Here we study spectra of the TR Si IV 1403 Angstrom line obtained at high resolution with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). We find that the large improvement in spatial resolution (0.33 arcsec) of IRIS compared to previous spectrographs (2 arcsec) does not resolve the non-thermal line broadening which in most regions remains at pre-IRIS levels of about 20 km/s. This invariance to spatial resolution indicates that the processes behind the broadening occur along the line-of-sight (LOS) and/or on spatial scales (perpendicular to the LOS) smaller than 250 km. Both effects appear to play a role. Comparison with IRIS chromospheric observations shows that, in regions where the LOS is more parallel to the field, magneto-acoustic shocks driven from below impact the TR and can lead to significant non-thermal line broadening. This scenario is supported by MHD simulations. While these do not show enough non-thermal line broadening, they do reproduce the long-known puzzling correlation between non-thermal line broadening and intensity. This correlation is caused by the shocks, but only if non-equilibrium ionization is taken into account. In regions where the LOS is more perpendicular to the field, the prevalence of small-scale twist is likely to play a significant role in explaining the invariance and correlation with intensity.

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arXiv2017

Observations and numerical models of solar coronal heating associated with spicules

Spicules have been proposed as significant contributors to the mass and energy balance of the corona. While previous observations have provided a glimpse of short-lived transient brightenings in the corona that are associated with spicules, these observations have been contested and are the subject of a vigorous debate both on the modeling and the observational side. Therefore, it remains unclear whether plasma is heated to coronal temperatures in association with spicules. We use high-resolution observations of the chromosphere and transition region with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and of the corona with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to show evidence of the formation of coronal structures associated with spicular mass ejections and heating of plasma to transition region and coronal temperatures. Our observations suggest that a significant fraction of the highly dynamic loop fan environment associated with plage regions may be the result of the formation of such new coronal strands, a process that previously had been interpreted as the propagation of transient propagating coronal disturbances (PCD)s. Our observations are supported by 2.5D radiative MHD simulations that show heating to coronal temperatures in association with spicules. Our results suggest that heating and strong flows play an important role in maintaining the substructure of loop fans, in addition to the waves that permeate this low coronal environment.

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arXiv2017

What causes the high apparent speeds in chromospheric and transition region spicules on the Sun?

Spicules are the most ubuiquitous type of jets in the solar atmosphere. The advent of high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and ground-based observatories has revealed the presence of very high apparent motions of order 100-300 km/s in spicules, as measured in the plane of the sky. However, line-of-sight measurements of such high speeds have been difficult to obtain, with values deduced from Doppler shifts in spectral lines typically of order 30-70 km/s. In this work we resolve this long-standing discrepancy using recent 2.5D radiative MHD simulations. This simulation has revealed a novel driving mechanism for spicules in which ambipolar diffusion resulting from ion-neutral interactions plays a key role. In our simulation we often see that the upward propagation of magnetic waves and electrical currents from the low chromosphere into already existing spicules can lead to rapid heating when the currents are rapidly dissipated by ambipolar diffusion. The combination of rapid heating and the propagation of these currents at Alfvénic speeds in excess of 100 km/s leads to the very rapid apparent motions, and often wholesale appearance, of spicules at chromospheric and transition region temperatures. In our simulation, the observed fast apparent motions in such jets are actually a signature of a heating front, and much higher than the mass flows, which are of order 30-70 km/s. Our results can explain the behavior of transition region "network jets" and the very high apparent speeds reported for some chromospheric spicules.

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arXiv2017

Two-dimensional Radiative Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Partial Ionization in the Chromosphere. II. Dynamics and Energetics of the Low Solar Atmosphere

We investigate the effects of interactions between ions and neutrals on the chromosphere and overlying corona using 2.5D radiative MHD simulations with the Bifrost code. We have extended the code capabilities implementing ion-neutral interaction effects using the Generalized Ohm's Law, i.e., we include the Hall term and the ambipolar diffusion (Pedersen dissipation) in the induction equation. Our models span from the upper convection zone to the corona, with the photosphere, chromosphere and transition region partially ionized. Our simulations reveal that the interactions between ionized particles and neutral particles have important consequences for the magneto-thermodynamics of these modeled layers: 1) ambipolar diffusion increases the temperature in the chromosphere; 2) sporadically the horizontal magnetic field in the photosphere is diffused into the chromosphere due to the large ambipolar diffusion; 3) ambipolar diffusion concentrates electrical currents leading to more violent jets and reconnection processes, resulting in 3a) the formation of longer and faster spicules, 3b) heating of plasma during the spicule evolution, and 3c) decoupling of the plasma and magnetic field in spicules. Our results indicate that ambipolar diffusion is a critical ingredient for understanding the magneto-thermo-dynamic properties in the chromosphere and transition region. The numerical simulations have been made publicly available, similar to previous Bifrost simulations. This will allow the community to study realistic numerical simulations with a wider range of magnetic field configurations and physics modules than previously possible.

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arXiv2016

What Is the Source of Quiet Sun Transition Region Emission?

Dating back to the first observations of the on-disk corona, there has been a qualitative link between the photosphere's magnetic network and enhanced transition-temperature plasma emission. These observations led to the development of a general model that describes emission structures through the partitioning of the atmospheric volume with different magnetic loop geometries that exhibit different energetic equilibria. Does the internetwork produce transition-temperature emission? What fraction of network flux connects to the corona? How does quiet sun emission compare with low-activity Sun-like stars? In this work, we revisit the canonical model of the quiet sun, with high-resolution observations from IRIS and HMI in hand, to address those questions. We use over 900 deep exposures of Si IV 1393A from IRIS along with nearly simultaneous HMI magnetograms to quantify the correlation between transition-temperature emission structures and magnetic field concentrations through a number of novel statistics. Our observational results are coupled with analysis of the Bifrost MHD model and a large-scale potential field model. Our results paint a complex portrait of the quiet sun. We measure an emission signature in the distant internetwork that cannot be attributed to network contribution. We find that the dimmest regions of emission are not linked to the local vertical magnetic field. Using the MHD simulation, we categorize the emission contribution from cool mid-altitude loops and high-altitude coronal loops and discuss the potential emission contribution of spicules. Our results provide new constraints on the coupled solar atmosphere so that we can build on our understanding of how dynamic thermal and magnetic structures generate the observed phenomena in the transition region.

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arXiv2016

High spatial resolution FeXII observations of solar active region

We use UV spectral observations of active regions with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) to investigate the properties of the coronal FeXII 1349.4A emission at unprecedented high spatial resolution (~0.33"). We find that by using appropriate observational strategies (i.e., long exposures, lossless compression), FeXII emission can be studied with IRIS at high spatial and spectral resolution, at least for high density plasma (e.g., post-flare loops, and active region moss). We find that upper transition region (moss) FeXII emission shows very small average Doppler redshifts (v_Dop ~3 km/s), as well as modest non-thermal velocities (with an average ~24 km/s, and the peak of the distribution at ~15 km/s). The observed distribution of Doppler shifts appears to be compatible with advanced 3D radiative MHD simulations in which impulsive heating is concentrated at the transition region footpoints of a hot corona. While the non-thermal broadening of FeXII 1349.4A peaks at similar values as lower resolution simultaneous Hinode/EIS measurements of FeXII 195A, IRIS observations show a previously undetected tail of increased non-thermal broadening that might be suggestive of the presence of subarcsecond heating events. We find that IRIS and EIS non-thermal line broadening measurements are affected by instrumental effects that can only be removed through careful analysis. Our results also reveal an unexplained discrepancy between observed 195.1/1349.4A FeXII intensity ratios and those predicted by the CHIANTI atomic database.

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arXiv2016

Emergence of granular-sized magnetic bubbles through the solar atmosphere. III. The path to the transition region

We study the ascent of granular-sized magnetic bubbles from the solar photosphere through the chromosphere into the transition region and above, for the first time. Such events occurred in a flux emerging region in NOAA 11850 on September 25, 2013. During that time, the first co-observing campaign between the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope and the IRIS spacecraft was carried out. Simultaneous observations of the chromospheric H$α$ 656.28 nm and \ion{Ca}{2} 854.2 nm lines, plus the photospheric \ion{Fe}{1} 630.25 nm line, were made with the CRISP spectropolarimeter at the SST reaching a spatial resolution of 0."14. At the same time, IRIS was performing a four-step dense raster of the said emerging flux region, taking slit-jaw images at 133 (C~{\sc ii}, transition region), 140 (\ion{Si}{4}, transition region), 279.6 (\ion{Mg}{2} k, core, upper chromosphere), and 283.2 nm (\ion{Mg}{2} k, wing, photosphere). Spectroscopy of several lines was performed by the IRIS spectrograph in the far and near ultraviolet, of which we have used the \ion{Si}{4} 140.3 and the \ion{Mg}{2} k 279.6 nm lines. Coronal images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly of the Solar Dynamics Observatory were used to investigate the possible coronal signatures of the flux emergence events. The photospheric and chromospheric properties of small-scale emerging magnetic bubbles have been described in detail in Ortiz et al. (2014). Here we are able to follow such structures up to the transition region. We describe the properties, including temporal delays, of the observed flux emergence in all layers. We believe this may be an important mechanism of transporting energy and magnetic flux from subsurface layers to the transition region and corona.

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arXiv2015

Time Dependent Non-Equilibrium Ionization of Transition Region Lines Observed with IRIS

The properties of non-statistical equilibrium ionization of silicon and oxygen ions are analyzed in this work. We focus on four solar targets (quiet sun, coronal hole, plage, quiescent active region, AR, and flaring AR) as observed with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). IRIS is best suited for this work due to the high cadence (up to 0.5s), high spatial resolution (up to 0.32"), and high signal to noise ratios for O IV and Si IV. We find that the observed intensity ratio between lines of three times ionized silicon and oxygen ions depends on their total intensity and that this correlation varies depending on the region observed (quiet sun, coronal holes, plage or active regions) and on the specific observational objects present (spicules, dynamic loops, jets, micro-flares or umbra). In order to interpret the observations, we compare them with synthetic profiles taken from 2D self-consistent radiative MHD simulations of the solar atmosphere, where the statistical equilibrium or non-equilibrium treatment silicon and oxygen is applied. These synthetic observations show vaguely similar correlations as in the observations, i.e. between the intensity ratios and their intensities, but only in the non-equilibrium case do we find that (some of) the observations can be reproduced. We conclude that these lines are formed out of statistical equilibrium. We use our time-dependent non-equilibrium ionization simulations to describe the physical mechanisms behind these observed properties.

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arXiv2015

The formation of IRIS diagnostics VIII. IRIS observations in the C II 133.5 nm multiplet

The C II 133.5 nm multiplet has been observed by NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) in unprecedented spatial resolution. The aims of this work are to characterize these new observations of the C II lines, place them in context with previous work, and to identify any additional value the C II lines bring when compared with other spectral lines. We make use of wide, long exposure IRIS rasters covering the quiet Sun and an active region. Line properties such as velocity shift and width are extracted from individual spectra and analyzed. The lines have a variety of shapes (mostly single-peak or double-peak), are strongest in active regions and weaker in the quiet Sun. The ratio between the 133.4 nm and 133.5 nm components is always less than 1.8, indicating that their radiation is optically thick in all locations. Maps of the C II line widths are a powerful new diagnostic of chromospheric structures, and their line shifts are a robust velocity diagnostic. Compared with earlier quiet Sun observations, we find similar absolute intensities and mean line widths, but smaller red shifts; this difference can perhaps be attributed to differences in spectral resolution and spatial coverage. The C II intensity maps are somewhat similar to those of transition region lines, but also share some features with chromospheric maps such as those from the Mg II k line, indicating that they are formed between the upper chromosphere and transition region. C II intensity, width, and velocity maps can therefore be used to gather additional information about the upper chromosphere.

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arXiv2015

A publicly available simulation of an enhanced network region of the Sun

Context. The solar chromosphere is the interface between the solar surface and the solar corona. Modelling of this region is difficult because it represents the transition from optically thick to thin radiation escape, from gas-pressure domination to magnetic-pressure domination, from a neutral to an ionised state, from MHD to plasma physics, and from near-equilibrium (LTE) to non-equilibrium conditions. Aims. Our aim is to provide the community with realistic simulations of the magnetic solar outer atmosphere. This will enable detailed comparison of existing and upcoming observations with synthetic observables from the simulations, thereby elucidating the complex interactions of magnetic fields and plasma that are crucial for our understanding of the dynamic outer atmosphere. Methods. We used the radiation magnetohydrodynamics code Bifrost to perform simulations of a computational volume with a magnetic field topology similar to an enhanced network area on the Sun. Results. The full simulation cubes are made available online. The general properties of the simulation are discussed, and limitations are discussed.

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arXiv2015

Numerical Simulations of Coronal Heating through Footpoint Braiding

Advanced 3D radiative MHD simulations now reproduce many properties of the outer solar atmosphere. When including a domain from the convection zone into the corona, a hot chromosphere and corona are self-consistently maintained. Here we study two realistic models, with different simulated area, magnetic field strength and topology, and numerical resolution. These are compared in order to characterize the heating in the 3D-MHD simulations which self-consistently maintains the structure of the atmosphere. We analyze the heating at both large and small scales and find that heating is episodic and highly structured in space, but occurs along loop shaped structures, and moves along with the magnetic field. On large scales we find that the heating per particle is maximal near the transition region and that widely distributed opposite-polarity field in the photosphere leads to a greater heating scale height in the corona. On smaller scales, heating is concentrated in current sheets, the thicknesses of which are set by the numerical resolution. Some current sheets fragment in time, this process occurring more readily in the higher-resolution model leading to spatially highly intermittent heating. The large scale heating structures are found to fade in less than about five minutes, while the smaller, local, heating shows time scales of the order of 2 minutes in one model and 1 minutes in the other, higher-resolution, model.

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arXiv2015

What do iris observations of Mg II k tell us about the solar plage chromosphere?

We analyze observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph of the Mg II k line, the Mg II UV subordinate lines, and the O I 135.6 nm line to better understand the solar plage chromosphere. We also make comparisons with observations from the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope of the Hα line, the Ca II 8542 line, and Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly observations of the coronal 19.3 nm line. To understand the observed Mg II profiles, we compare these observations to the results of numerical experiments. The single-peaked or flat-topped Mg II k profiles found in plage imply a transition region at a high column mass and a hot and dense chromosphere of about 6500 K. This scenario is supported by the observed large-scale correlation between moss brightness and filled-in profiles with very little or absent self-reversal. The large wing width found in plage also implies a hot and dense chromosphere with a steep chromospheric temperature rise. The absence of emission in the Mg II subordinate lines constrain the chromospheric temperature and the height of the temperature rise while the width of the O I 135.6 nm line sets a limit to the non-thermal velocities to around 7 km/s.

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arXiv2015

Observed Variability of the Solar Mg II h Spectral Line

The Mg II h&k doublet are two of the primary spectral lines observed by the Sun-pointing Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). These lines are tracers of the magnetic and thermal environment that spans from the photosphere to the upper chromosphere. We use a double gaussian model to fit the Mg II h profile for a full-Sun mosaic dataset taken 24-Aug-2014. We use the ensemble of high-quality profile fits to conduct a statistical study on the variability of the line profile as it relates the magnetic structure, dynamics, and center-to-limb viewing angle. The average internetwork profile contains a deeply reversed core and is weakly asymmetric at h2. In the internetwork, we find a strong correlation between h3 wavelength and profile asymmetry as well h1 width and h2 width. The average reversal depth of the h3 core is inversely related to the magnetic field. Plage and sunspots exhibit many profiles which do not contain a reversal. These profiles also occur infrequently in the internetwork. We see indications of magnetically aligned structures in plage and network in statistics associated with the line core, but these structures are not clear or extended in the internetwork. The center-to-limb variations are compared with predictions of semi-empirical model atmospheres. We measure a pronounced limb darkening in the line core which is not predicted by the model. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive measurement baseline and preliminary analysis on the observed structure and formation of the Mg II profiles observed by IRIS.

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arXiv2015

The formation of IRIS diagnostics VI. The Diagnostic Potential of the C II Lines at 133.5 nm in the Solar Atmosphere

We use 3D radiation magnetohydrodynamic models to investigate how the thermodynamic quantities in the simulation are encoded in observable quantities, thus exploring the diagnostic potential of the 133.5 nm lines. We find that the line core intensity is correlated with the temperature at the formation height but the correlation is rather weak, especially when the lines are strong. The line core Doppler shift is a good measure of the line-of-sight velocity at the formation height. The line width is both dependent on the width of the absorption profile (thermal and non-thermal width) and an opacity broadening factor of 1.2-4 due to the optically thick line formation with a larger broadening for double peak profiles. The 133.5 nm lines can be formed both higher and lower than the core of the Mg II k line depending on the amount of plasma in the 14-50 kK temperature range. More plasma in this temperature range gives a higher 133.5 nm formation height relative to the Mg II k line core. The synthetic line profiles have been compared with IRIS observations. The derived parameters from the simulated line profiles cover the parameter range seen in observations but on average the synthetic profiles are too narrow. We interpret this discrepancy as a combination of a lack of plasma at chromospheric temperatures in the simulation box and too small non-thermal velocities. The large differences in the distribution of properties between the synthetic profiles and the observed ones show that the 133.5 nm lines are powerful diagnostics of the upper chromosphere and lower transition region.

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