arXiv subjects

C. E. Fischer

Publications and source records attributed to C. E. Fischer.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Emergence of magnetic flux sheets in the quiet Sun. I. Statistical properties

Small-scale magnetic flux emergence in the quiet Sun is crucial for maintaining solar magnetic activity. On the smallest scales studied so far, namely within individual granules, two mechanisms have been identified: emergence in tiny magnetic loops and emergence in the form of magnetic flux sheets covering the granule. While there are abundant observations of tiny magnetic loops within granules, the evidence for the emergence of granule-covering magnetic sheets is much more limited. This work aims to statistically analyze magnetic flux sheets, quantify their frequency on the solar surface and their potential contribution to the solar magnetic budget in the photosphere, and investigate the plasma dynamics and granular-scale phenomena associated with their emergence. Using spectro-polarimetric datasets from the solar optical telescope aboard the Hinode satellite and the ground-based Swedish Solar telescope, we developed a two-step method to identify magnetic flux sheet emergence events, detecting magnetic flux patches based on the calculation of the transverse and longitudinal magnetic flux density and associating them with their host granules based on velocity field analysis. We identified 42 events of magnetic flux sheet emergence and characterized their magnetic properties and the associated plasma dynamics of their host granules. Our results align with numerical simulations, indicating a similar occurrence rate. We investigated the relationship between magnetic flux emergence and granular phenomena, finding that flux sheets often emerge in association with standard nascent granules, as well as exploding granules, or granules with granular lanes. In particular, we highlight the potential role of recycled magnetic flux from downflow regions in facilitating flux sheet emergence.

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arXiv2024

Connectivity between the solar photosphere and chromosphere in a vortical structure. Observations of multi-phase, small-scale magnetic field amplification

High-resolution solar observations have revealed the existence of small-scale vortices, as seen in chromospheric intensity maps and velocity diagnostics. Frequently, these vortices have been observed near magnetic flux concentrations, indicating a link between swirls and the evolution of the small-scale magnetic fields. Vortices have also been studied with magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations of the solar atmosphere, revealing their complexity, dynamics, and magnetic nature. In particular, it has been proposed that a rotating magnetic field structure driven by a photospheric vortex flow at its footprint produces the chromospheric swirling plasma motion. We present a complete and comprehensive description of the time evolution of a small-scale magnetic flux concentration interacting with the intergranular vortex flow and affected by processes of intensification and weakening of its magnetic field. In addition, we study the chromospheric dynamics associated with the interaction, including the analysis of a chromospheric swirl and an impulsive chromospheric jet.

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arXiv2021

Newly formed downflow lanes in exploding granules in the solar photosphere

Exploding granules have drawn renewed interest because of their interaction with the magnetic field. Especially the newly forming downflow lanes developing in their centre seem to be eligible candidates for the intensification of magnetic fields. We analyse spectroscopic data from two different instruments in order to study the intricate velocity pattern within the newly forming downflow lanes in detail. We aim to examine general properties of a number of exploding granules. To gain a better understanding of the formation process of the developing intergranular lane in exploding granules, we study the temporal evolution and height dependence of the line-of-sight velocities at their formation location. Additionally, we search for evidence that exploding granules act as acoustic sources. We investigated the evolution of several exploding granules using data taken with the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer and the Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment. Velocities for different heights of the solar atmosphere were determined by computing bisectors of the Fe I 6173.0Å and the Fe I 5250.2Å lines. We performed a wavelet analysis to study the intensity and velocity oscillations within and around exploding granules. We also compared our findings with predictions of numerical simulations. We found that exploding granules have significantly longer lifetimes than regular granules. Exploding granules larger than 3.8 arcsec form an independent intergranular lane during their decay phase, while smaller granules usually fade away or disappear into the intergranular area. For all exploding granules that form a new intergranular downflow lane, we find a temporal height-dependent shift with respect to the maximum of the downflow velocity. Our suggestion that this results from a complex atmospheric structure within the newly forming downflow lane is supported by the simulations.

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arXiv2020

Interaction of magnetic fields with a vortex tube at solar subgranular scale

Using high-resolution spectropolarimetric data recorded with the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope, we have identified several instances of granular lanes traveling into granules. These are believed to be the observational signature of underlying tubes of vortical flow with their axis oriented parallel to the solar surface. Associated with these horizontal vortex tubes, we detect in some cases a significant signal in linear polarization, located at the trailing dark edge of the granular lane. The linear polarization appears at a later stage of the granular lane development, and is flanked by patches of circular polarization. Stokes inversions show that the elongated patch of linear polarization signal arises from the horizontal magnetic field aligned with the granular lane. We analyze snapshots of a magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulation and find cases in which the horizontal vortex tube of the granular lane redistributes and transports the magnetic field to the solar surface causing a polarimetric signature similar to what is observed. We thus witness a mechanism capable of transporting magnetic flux to the solar surface within granules. This mechanism is probably an important component of the small-scale dynamo supposedly acting at the solar surface and generating the quiet-Sun magnetic field.

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arXiv2020

Evolution of Stokes V area asymmetry related to a quiet Sun cancelation observed with GRIS/IFU

A quiet Sun magnetic flux cancelation event at the disk centre was recorded using the Integral Field Unit (IFU) mounted on the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph (GRIS). GRIS sampled the event in the photospheric Si I 10827 Å spectral line. The cancelation is preceded by a significant rise in line core intensity and excitation temperature, which is inferred from Stokes inversions under local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The opposite polarity features seem to undergo reconnection above the photosphere. We also found that the border pixels neighboring the polarity inversion line of one of the polarities exhibit a systematic variation of area asymmetry. Area asymmetry peaks right after the line core intensity enhancement and gradually declines thereafter. Analyzing Stokes profiles recorded from either side of the polarity inversion line could therefore potentially provide additional information on the reconnection process related to magnetic flux cancelation. Further analysis without assuming LTE will be required to fully characterize this event.

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arXiv2019

Observations of solar small-scale magnetic flux-sheet emergence

Aims. Moreno-Insertis et al. (2018) recently discovered two types of flux emergence in their numerical simulations: magnetic loops and magnetic sheet emergence. Whereas magnetic loop emergence has been documented well in the last years, by utilising high-resolution full Stokes data from ground-based telescopes as well as satellites, magnetic sheet emergence is still an understudied process. We report here on the first clear observational evidence of a magnetic sheet emergence and characterise its development. Methods. Full Stokes spectra from the Hinode spectropolarimeter were inverted with the SIR code to obtain solar atmospheric parameters such as temperature, line-of-sight velocities and full magnetic field vector information. Results. We analyse a magnetic flux emergence event observed in the quiet-sun internetwork. After a large scale appearance of linear polarisation, a magnetic sheet with horizontal magnetic flux density of up to 194 Mx/cm$^{2}$ hovers in the low photosphere spanning a region of 2 to 3 arcsec. The magnetic field azimuth obtained through Stokes inversions clearly shows an organised structure of transversal magnetic flux density emerging. The granule below the magnetic flux-sheet tears the structure apart leaving the emerged flux to form several magnetic loops at the edges of the granule. Conclusions. A large amount of flux with strong horizontal magnetic fields surfaces through the interplay of buried magnetic flux and convective motions. The magnetic flux emerges within 10 minutes and we find a longitudinal magnetic flux at the foot points of the order of $\sim$$10^{18}$ Mx. This is one to two orders of magnitude larger than what has been reported for small-scale magnetic loops. The convective flows feed the newly emerged flux into the pre-existing magnetic population on a granular scale.

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arXiv2018

Photospheric Magnetic Fields of the Trailing Sunspots in Active Region NOAA 12396

The solar magnetic field is responsible for all aspects of solar activity. Sunspots are the main manifestation of the ensuing solar activity. Combining high-resolution and synoptic observations has the ambition to provide a comprehensive description of the sunspot growth and decay processes. Active region NOAA 12396 emerged on 2015 August 3 and was observed three days later with the 1.5-meter GREGOR solar telescope on 2015 August 6. High-resolution spectropolarimetric data from the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph (GRIS) are obtained in the photospheric Si I $λ$ 1082.7 nm and Ca I $λ$1083.9 nm lines, together with the chromospheric He I $λ$1083.0 nm triplet. These near-infrared spectropolarimetric observations were complemented by synoptic line-of-sight magnetograms and continuum images of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) and EUV images of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).

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arXiv2017

JPEG2000 Image Compression on Solar EUV Images

For future solar missions as well as ground-based telescopes, efficient ways to return and process data have become increasingly important. Solar Orbiter, e.g., which is the next ESA/NASA mission to explore the Sun and the heliosphere, is a deep-space mission, which implies a limited telemetry rate that makes efficient onboard data compression a necessity to achieve the mission science goals. Missions like the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and future ground-based telescopes such as the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, on the other hand, face the challenge of making petabyte-sized solar data archives accessible to the solar community. New image compression standards address these challenges by implementing efficient and flexible compression algorithms that can be tailored to user requirements. We analyse solar images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument onboard SDO to study the effect of lossy JPEG2000 (from the Joint Photographic Experts Group 2000) image compression at different bit rates. To assess the quality of compressed images, we use the mean structural similarity (MSSIM) index as well as the widely used peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) as metrics and compare the two in the context of solar EUV images. In addition, we perform tests to validate the scientific use of the lossily compressed images by analysing examples of an on-disk and off-limb coronal-loop oscillation time-series observed by AIA/SDO.

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arXiv2017

Flows along arch filaments observed in the GRIS 'very fast spectroscopic mode'

A new generation of solar instruments provides improved spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution, thus facilitating a better understanding of dynamic processes on the Sun. High-resolution observations often reveal multiple-component spectral line profiles, e.g., in the near-infrared He I 10830 Å triplet, which provides information about the chromospheric velocity and magnetic fine structure. We observed an emerging flux region, including two small pores and an arch filament system, on 2015 April 17 with the 'very fast spectroscopic mode' of the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph (GRIS) situated at the 1.5-meter GREGOR solar telescope at Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. We discuss this method of obtaining fast (one per minute) spectral scans of the solar surface and its potential to follow dynamic processes on the Sun. We demonstrate the performance of the 'very fast spectroscopic mode' by tracking chromospheric high-velocity features in the arch filament system.

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arXiv2016

Fitting peculiar spectral profiles in He I 10830 Å absorption features

The new generation of solar instruments provides better spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution for a better understanding of the physical processes that take place on the Sun. Multiple-component profiles are more commonly observed with these instruments. Particularly, the He I 10830 Å triplet presents such peculiar spectral profiles, which give information on the velocity and magnetic fine structure of the upper chromosphere. The purpose of this investigation is to describe a technique to efficiently fit the two blended components of the He I 10830 Å triplet, which are commonly observed when two atmospheric components are located within the same resolution element. The observations used in this study were taken on 2015 April 17 with the very fast spectroscopic mode of the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph (GRIS) attached to the 1.5-meter GREGOR solar telescope, located at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. We apply a double-Lorentzian fitting technique using Levenberg-Marquardt least-squares minimization. This technique is very simple and much faster than inversion codes. Line-of-sight Doppler velocities can be inferred for a whole map of pixels within just a few minutes. Our results show sub- and supersonic downflow velocities of up to 32 km/s for the fast component in the vicinity of footpoints of filamentary structures. The slow component presents velocities close to rest.

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arXiv2012

Unusual Stokes V profiles during flaring activity of a delta sunspot

We analyze a set of full Stokes profile observations of the flaring active region NOAA 10808 recorded with the Vector-Spectromagnetograph (VSM) of the SOLIS facility. We aim to quantify transient and permanent changes in the magnetic field and velocity field. The results are put in context with MDI magnetograms and reconstructed RHESSI X-ray images. We find signs of restructuring of the photospheric magnetic field during the flare close to the polarity inversion line (PIL) at the flaring site. At two locations in the umbra we encounter strong fields (approx. 3 kG), as inferred from the Stokes I profiles which, however, exhibit a low polarization signal. During the flare we observe in addition asymmetric Stokes V profiles at one of these sites. The asymmetric Stokes V profiles appear co-spatial and co-temporal with a strong apparent polarity reversal observed in MDI-magnetograms and a chromospheric hard X-ray source. The two-component atmosphere fits of the asymmetric Stokes profiles result in line-of-sight velocity differences in the range of approx. 12km/s to 14 km/s between the two components in the photosphere. Another possibility is that local atmospheric heating is causing the observed asymmetric Stokes V profile shape. In either case our analysis shows that a very localized patch of approx. 5 arcsec in the photospheric umbra, co-spatial with a flare footpoint, exhibits a sub-resolution fine structure.

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arXiv2010

Observations of solar scattering polarization at high spatial resolution

The weak, turbulent magnetic fields that supposedly permeate most of the solar photosphere are difficult to observe, because the Zeeman effect is virtually blind to them. The Hanle effect, acting on the scattering polarization in suitable lines, can in principle be used as a diagnostic for these fields. However, the prediction that the majority of the weak, turbulent field resides in intergranular lanes also poses significant challenges to scattering polarization observations because high spatial resolution is usually difficult to attain. We aim to measure the difference in scattering polarization between granules and intergranules. We present the respective center-to-limb variations, which may serve as input for future models. We perform full Stokes filter polarimetry at different solar limb positions with the CN band filter of the Hinode-SOT Broadband Filter Imager, which represents the first scattering polarization observations with sufficient spatial resolution to discern the granulation. Hinode-SOT offers unprecedented spatial resolution in combination with high polarimetric sensitivity. The CN band is known to have a significant scattering polarization signal, and is sensitive to the Hanle effect. We extend the instrumental polarization calibration routine to the observing wavelength, and correct for various systematic effects. The scattering polarization for granules (i.e., regions brighter than the median intensity of non-magnetic pixels) is significantly larger than for intergranules. We derive that the intergranules (i.e., the remaining non-magnetic pixels) exhibit (9.8 \pm 3.0)% less scattering polarization for 0.2<u<0.3, although systematic effects cannot be completely excluded. These observations constrain MHD models in combination with (polarized) radiative transfer in terms of CN band line formation, radiation anisotropy, and magnetic fields.

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arXiv2009

Statistics of convective collapse events in the photosphere and chromosphere observed with the Hinode SOT

Aims. Convective collapse, a theoretically predicted process that intensifies existing weak magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere, was first directly observed in a single event by Nagata et al. (2008) using the high resolution Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) of the Hinode satellite. Using the same space telescope, we performed a statistical analysis of convective collapse events. Methods. Our data sets consist of high resolution time series of polarimetric spectral scans of two iron lines formed in the lower photosphere and filter images in Mg I b2 and Ca II H, spectral lines that are formed in the high photosphere and the lower chromosphere, respectively. We were thus able to study the implication of convective collapse events on the high photospheric and the chromospheric layers. The physical parameters from the full Stokes profiles were obtained with the MERLIN Milne-Eddington inversion code. Results. We found that in all cases, the event was accompanied by a continuum bright point and nearly always by a brightening in the Ca II H images. The magnesium dopplergram exhibits a strong downflow in about three quarters of the events that took place within the field of view of the magnesium dopplergram. For each of the 49 events we determined the duration, maximum photospheric downflow, field strength increase and size. We found event durations of about 10 minutes, magnetic element radii of about 0.43 arcsec and 0.35 arcsec, before and after the event, respectively, and field strengths of up to 1.65 kG.

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