arXiv subjects

D. Fontaine

Publications and source records attributed to D. Fontaine.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

White paper on the relevance of the European Solar Telescope (EST) for the French heliophysics

The project of the European Solar Telescope aims to provide a state-of-the art infrastructure to study the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the heliosphere. This 4.2m aperture telescope will be equipped with multi conjugate adaptive optics, light-polarisation analyser, imaging spectrograph and integral field unit spectrographs. It will provide unprecedented observations of the solar photosphere and chromosphere and of the dynamical events and features that pertains to the low solar atmosphere. The EST project is presently in a phase of crystallisation, aiming at the creation of an European Research Infrastructure Consortium. While the French community has continuously been associated with the development of the EST project, some specific scientific aspects are more particularly relevant for the French astrophysics and heliophysics communities. The present review highlights the scientific research axes of high interest from the French community that shall strongly benefit from EST. The later will not only advance numerous topics of solar physics, as well as solar adaptive optics developments, but will also provide unrivaled datasets of high interest in the framework of space weather. This review also aims to highlight the space weather use that can be done with future EST observations, that will be particularly relevant for French heliophysicists.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

The Solar Orbiter Science Activity Plan: translating solar and heliospheric physics questions into action

Solar Orbiter is the first space mission observing the solar plasma both in situ and remotely, from a close distance, in and out of the ecliptic. The ultimate goal is to understand how the Sun produces and controls the heliosphere, filling the Solar System and driving the planetary environments. With six remote-sensing and four in-situ instrument suites, the coordination and planning of the operations are essential to address the following four top-level science questions: (1) What drives the solar wind and where does the coronal magnetic field originate? (2) How do solar transients drive heliospheric variability? (3) How do solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere? (4) How does the solar dynamo work and drive connections between the Sun and the heliosphere? Maximising the mission's science return requires considering the characteristics of each orbit, including the relative position of the spacecraft to Earth (affecting downlink rates), trajectory events (such as gravitational assist manoeuvres), and the phase of the solar activity cycle. Furthermore, since each orbit's science telemetry will be downloaded over the course of the following orbit, science operations must be planned at mission level, rather than at the level of individual orbits. It is important to explore the way in which those science questions are translated into an actual plan of observations that fits into the mission, thus ensuring that no opportunities are missed. First, the overarching goals are broken down into specific, answerable questions along with the required observations and the so-called Science Activity Plan (SAP) is developed to achieve this. The SAP groups objectives that require similar observations into Solar Orbiter Observing Plans (SOOPs), resulting in a strategic, top-level view of the optimal opportunities for science observations during the mission lifetime.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2018

Statistical Analysis of Solar Events Associated with Storm Sudden Commencements over One Year of Solar Maximum during Cycle 23: Propagation from the Sun to the Earth and Effects

Taking the 32 storm sudden commencements (SSCs) listed by ISGI during 2002 as a starting point, we performed a multi-criterion analysis based on observations (propagation time, velocity comparisons, sense of the magnetic field rotation, radio waves) to associate them with solar sources. We identified their effects in the interplanetary medium, and looked at the response of the terrestrial ionized and neutral environment. We find that 28 SSCs can be related to 44 coronal mass ejections (CMEs), 15 with a unique CME and 13 with a series of multiple CMEs, among which 19 involved halo CMEs; 12 of the 19 fastest CMEs with speeds greater than 1000 km/s are halo CMEs. The probability for an SSC to occur is 75% if the CME is a halo CME. The complex interactions between two CMEs and the modification of their trajectories have been examined using joint white-light and multiple-wavelength radio observations. The solar-wind structures at L1 after the shocks leading the 32 SSCs are 12 magnetic clouds (MCs), 6 interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) without an MC structure, 4 miscellaneous structures, which cannot unambiguously be classified as ICMEs, 5 corotating or stream interaction regions (CIRs/SIRs), and 4 isolated shock events; note than one CIR caused two SSCs. The 11 MCs listed in 3 or more MC catalogs covering the year 2002 are associated with SSCs. For the 3 most intense geomagnetic storms related to MCs, we note 2 sudden increases of the Dst, at the arrival of the sheath and the arrival of the MC itself. The most geoeffective events are MCs, since 92% of them trigger moderate or intense storms, followed by ICMEs (33%). At best, CIRs/SIRs only cause weak storms. We show that these geoeffective events (ICMEs or MCs) trigger or reinforce terrestrial radiowave activity in the magnetosphere, an enhanced convection in the ionosphere, and a stronger response in the thermosphere.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2016

Solar illumination control of ionospheric outflow above polar cap arcs

We measure the flux density, composition, and energy of outflowing ions above the polar cap, accelerated by quasi-static electric fields parallel to the magnetic field and associated with polar cap arcs, using Cluster. Mapping the spacecraft position to its ionospheric foot point, we analyze the dependence of these parameters on the solar zenith angle (SZA). We find a clear transition at SZA between We find a clear transition at SZA between $\sim$94$^{\circ}$ and $\sim$107$^{\circ}$, with the O$^{+}$ flux higher above the sunlit ionosphere. This dependence on the illumination of the local ionosphere indicates that significant O$^{+}$ upflow occurs locally above the polar ionosphere. The same is found for H$^{+}$, but to a lesser extent. This effect can result in a seasonal variation of the total ion upflow from the polar ionosphere. Furthermore, we show that low-magnitude field-aligned potential drops are preferentially observed above the sunlit ionosphere, suggesting a feedback effect of ionospheric conductivity.

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2011

Intrinsic origin of the two-dimensional electron gas at polar oxide interfaces

The predictions of the polar catastrophe scenario to explain the occurrence of a metallic interface in heterostructures of the solid solution(LaAlO$_3$)$_{x}$(SrTiO$_3$)$_{1-x}$ (LASTO:x) grown on (001) SrTiO$_3$ were investigated as a function of film thickness and $x$. The films are insulating for the thinnest layers, but above a critical thickness, $t_c$, the interface exhibits a constant finite conductivity which depends in a predictable manner on $x$. It is shown that $t_c$ scales with the strength of the built-in electric field of the polar material, and is immediately understandable in terms of an electronic reconstruction at the nonpolar-polar interface. These results thus conclusively identify the polar-catastrophe model as the intrinsic origin of the doping at this polar oxide interface.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗