arXiv subjects

J. Koza

Publications and source records attributed to J. Koza.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Synthesizing Sun-as-a-star flare spectra from high-resolution solar observations

Spatially resolved observations of the Sun and the astronomical sample size of stellar bodies are the respective key strengths of solar and stellar observations. However, the large difference in object brightness between the Sun and other stars has led to distinctly different instrumentation and methodologies between the two fields. We produce and analyze synthetic full-disk spectra derived from 19 small area field-of-view optical observations of solar flares acquired by the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) between 2011 and 2024. These are used to investigate what can and cannot be inferred about physical processes on the Sun from Sun-as-a-star observations. The recently released Numerical Empirical Sun-as-a-Star Integrator (NESSI) code provides synthetic full-disk integrated spectral line emission based on smaller field-of-view input, accounting for center-to-limb variations and differential rotation. We use this code to generate pseudo-Sun-as-a-star spectra from the SST observations. ...

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arXiv2024

The diversity of spectral shapes of hydrogen Lyman lines and Mg II lines in a quiescent prominence

Broad sets of spectroscopic observations comprising multiple lines represent an excellent opportunity for diagnostics of the properties of the prominence plasma and the dynamics of their fine structures. However, they also bring significant challenges when they are compared with synthetic spectra provided by radiative transfer modeling. In this work, we provide a statistical spectroscopic analysis of a unique dataset of coordinated prominence observations in the Lyman lines (Ly_alpha to Ly_delta) and the Mg II k and h lines. The observed data were obtained by the Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation (SUMER) spectrograph on board of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SoHO) satellite and the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) on 22 October 2013. We focus on the following profile characteristics: the shape of the observed line profiles based on the number of distinct peaks, the integrated line intensity, the center-to-peak ratio describing the depth of the reversal of two-peaked profiles, and the asymmetry of these peaks. We show that the presence of noise has a negligible effect on the integrated intensity of all observed lines, but it significantly affects the classification of spectral profiles using the number of distinct peaks, the reversal depth, and also the peak asymmetry. We also demonstrate that by taking the influence of noise into account, we can assess which profile characteristics in which spectral lines are suitable for diagnostics of different properties of the observed prominence.

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arXiv2022

Dark off-limb gap: manifestation of temperature minimum and dynamic nature of the chromosphere

We study off-limb emission of the lower solar atmosphere using high-resolution imaging spectroscopy in the H$\beta$ and Ca II 8542 \r{A} lines obtained with the CHROMospheric Imaging Spectrometer (CHROMIS) and the CRisp Imaging SpectroPolarimeter (CRISP) on the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. The H$\beta$ line wing images show the dark intensity gap between the photospheric limb and chromosphere which is absent in the Ca II images. We calculate synthetic spectra of the off-limb emissions with the RH code in the one-dimension spherical geometry and find good agreement with the observations. The analysis of synthetic line profiles shows that the gap in the H$\beta$ line wing images maps the temperature minimum region between the photosphere and chromosphere due to the well known opacity and emissivity gap of Balmer lines in this layer. However, observed gap is detected farther from the line core in the outer line wing positions than in the synthetic profiles. We found that an increased microturbulence in the model chromosphere is needed to reproduce the dark gap in the outer line wing, suggesting that observed H$\beta$ gap is the manifestation of the temperature minimum and the dynamic nature of the solar chromosphere. The temperature minimum produces a small enhancement in synthetic Ca II line-wing intensities. Observed off-limb Ca II line-wing emissions show similar enhancement below temperature minimum layer near the edge of the photospheric limb.

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arXiv2022

A Coronal Mass Ejection followed by a prominence eruption and a plasma blob as observed by Solar Orbiter

On February 12, 2021 two subsequent eruptions occurred above the West limb, as seen along the Sun-Earth line. The first event was a typical slow Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), followed $\sim 7$ hours later by a smaller and collimated prominence eruption, originating Southward with respect to the CME, followed by a plasma blob. These events were observed not only by SOHO and STEREO-A missions, but also by the suite of remote sensing instruments on-board Solar Orbiter (SolO). This work shows how data acquired by the Full Sun Imager (FSI), Metis coronagraph, and Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI) from the SolO perspective can be combined to study the eruptions and the different source regions. Moreover, we show how Metis data can be analyzed to provide new information about solar eruptions. Different 3D reconstruction methods were applied to the data acquired by different spacecraft including remote sensing instruments on-board SolO. Images acquired by both Metis channels in the Visible Light (VL) and H I Lyman$-\alpha$ line (UV) were combined to derive physical information on the expanding plasma. The polarization ratio technique was also applied for the first time to the Metis images acquired in the VL channel. The two eruptions were followed in 3D from their source region to their expansion in the intermediate corona. Thanks to the combination of VL and UV Metis data, the formation of a post-CME Current Sheet (CS) was followed for the first time in the intermediate corona. The plasma temperature gradient across a post-CME blob propagating along the CS was also measured for the first time. Application of the polarization ratio technique to Metis data shows that, thanks to the combination of four different polarization measurements, the errors are reduced by $\sim 5-7$\%, thus better constraining the 3D distribution of plasma.

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arXiv2020

Semi-empirical models of spicule from inversion of Ca II 8542 Å line

We study a solar spicule observed off-limb using high-resolution imaging spectroscopy in the Ca II 8542 Å line obtained with the CRisp Imaging SpectroPolarimeter (CRISP) on the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. Using a new version of the non-LTE code NICOLE specifically developed for this problem we invert the spicule single- and double-peak line profiles. This new version considers off-limb geometry and computes atomic populations by solving the 1D radiative transfer assuming a vertical stratification. The inversion proceeds by fitting the observed spectral profiles at 14 different heights with synthetic profiles computed in the model by solving the radiative transfer problem along its length. Motivated by the appearance of double-peak Ca II 8542 Å spicule profiles, which exhibit two distinct emission features well separated in wavelength, we adopt a double-component scenario. We start from the ansatz that the spicule parameters are practically constant along the spicule axis for each component, except for a density drop. Our results support this ansatz by attaining very good fits to the entire set of 14$\times$4 profiles (14 heights and 4 times). We show that the double-component model with uniform temperature of 9560 K, exponential decrease of density with a height scale of $1000-2000$ km, and the counter-oriented line-of-sight velocities of components reproduce the double-peak line profiles at all spicule segments well. Analyses of the numerical response function reveals the necessity of the inversions of spectra at multiple height positions to obtain height-dependent, degeneracy-free reliable model with a limited number of free parameters.

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arXiv2020

Quiet-Sun hydrogen Lyman-alpha line profile derived from SOHO/SUMER solar-disk observations

The solar radiation in the Lyman-alpha spectral line of hydrogen plays a significant role in the illumination of chromospheric and coronal structures, such as prominences, spicules, chromospheric fibrils, cores of coronal mass ejections, and solar wind. Moreover, it is important for the investigation of the heliosphere, Earth's ionosphere, and the atmospheres of planets, moons, and comets. We derive a reference quiet-Sun Lyman-alpha spectral profile that is representative of the Lyman-alpha radiation from the solar disk during a minimum of solar activity. This profile can serve as an incident radiation boundary condition for the radiative transfer modelling of chromospheric and coronal structures. Because the solar radiation in the Lyman lines is not constant over time but varies significantly with the solar cycle, we provide a method for the adaptation of the incident radiation Lyman line profiles (Lyman-alpha and higher lines) to a specific date. Moreover, we analyse how the change in the incident radiation influences the synthetic spectra produced by the radiative transfer modelling. To take into account the Lyman-alpha variation with the solar cycle, we used the LISIRD composite Lyman-alpha$ index. To estimate the influence of the change in the incident radiation in the Lyman lines on the results of radiative transfer models, we used a 2D prominence fine structure model. The analysis of the influence of the change in the incident radiation shows that the synthetic spectra are strongly affected by the modification of the incident radiation boundary condition. The hydrogen H alpha line can also be considerably affected, despite the fact that the H alpha radiation from the solar disk does not vary with the solar cycle.

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arXiv2020

Observational study of chromospheric heating by acoustic waves

Aims. To investigate the role of acoustic and magneto-acoustic waves in heating the solar chromosphere, observations in strong chromospheric lines are analyzed by comparing the deposited acoustic-energy flux with the total integrated radiative losses. Methods. Quiet-Sun and weak-plage regions were observed in the Ca II 854.2 nm and H-alpha lines with the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph (FISS) at the 1.6-m Goode Solar Telescope (GST) on 2019 October 3 and in the H-alpha and H-beta lines with the echelle spectrograph attached to the Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) on 2018 December 11 and 2019 June 6. The deposited acoustic energy flux at frequencies up to 20 mHz was derived from Doppler velocities observed in line centers and wings. Radiative losses were computed by means of a set of scaled non-LTE 1D hydrostatic semi-empirical models obtained by fitting synthetic to observed line profiles. Results. In the middle chromosphere (h = 1000-1400 km), the radiative losses can be fully balanced by the deposited acoustic energy flux in a quiet-Sun region. In the upper chromosphere (h > 1400 km), the deposited acoustic flux is small compared to the radiative losses in quiet as well as in plage regions. The crucial parameter determining the amount of deposited acoustic flux is the gas density at a given height. Conclusions. The acoustic energy flux is efficiently deposited in the middle chromosphere, where the density of gas is sufficiently high. About 90% of the available acoustic energy flux in the quiet-Sun region is deposited in these layers, and thus it is a major contributor to the radiative losses of the middle chromosphere. In the upper chromosphere, the deposited acoustic flux is too low, so that other heating mechanisms have to act to balance the radiative cooling.

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arXiv2020

Magnetic Flux Emergence in a Coronal Hole

A joint campaign of various space-borne and ground-based observatories, comprising the Japanese Hinode mission (HOP~338, 20\,--\,30~September 2017), the GREGOR solar telescope, and the \textit{Vacuum Tower Telescope} (VTT), investigated numerous targets such as pores, sunspots, and coronal holes. In this study, we focus on the coronal hole region target. On 24~September 2017, a very extended non-polar coronal hole developed patches of flux emergence, which contributed to the decrease of the overall area of the coronal hole. These flux emergence patches erode the coronal hole and transform the area into a more quiet-Sun-like area, whereby bipolar magnetic structures play an important role. Conversely, flux cancellation leads to the reduction of opposite-polarity magnetic fields and to an increase in the area of the coronal hole. Other global coronal hole characteristics, including the evolution of the associated magnetic flux and the aforementioned area evolution in the EUV, are studied using data of the \textit{Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager} (HMI) and \textit{Atmospheric Imaging Assembly} (AIA) onboard the \textit{Solar Dynamics Observatory} (SDO). The interplanetary medium parameters of the solar wind display parameters compatible with the presence of the coronal hole. Furthermore, a particular transient is found in those parameters.

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arXiv2020

Spectral Characteristics and Formation Height of Off-Limb Flare Ribbons

Flare ribbons are bright manifestations of flare energy dissipation in the lower solar atmosphere. For the first time, we report on high-resolution imaging spectroscopy observations of flare ribbons situated off-limb in the H$β$ and Ca II 8542 Å lines and make a detailed comparison with radiative hydrodynamic simulations. Observations of the X8.2-class solar flare SOL2017-09-10T16:06 UT obtained with the Swedish Solar Telescope reveal bright horizontal emission layers in H$β$ line wing images located near the footpoints of the flare loops. The apparent separation between the ribbon observed in the H$β$ wing and the nominal photospheric limb is about 300 - 500 km. The Ca II 8542 Å line wing images show much fainter ribbon emissions located right on the edge of the limb, without clear separation from the limb. RADYN models are used to investigate synthetic spectral line profiles for the flaring atmosphere, and good agreement is found with the observations. The simulations show that, towards the limb, where the line of sight is substantially oblique with respect to the vertical direction, the flaring atmosphere model reproduces the high contrast of the off-limb H$β$ ribbons and their significant elevation above the photosphere. The ribbons in the Ca II 8542 Å line wing images are located deeper in the lower solar atmosphere with a lower contrast. A comparison of the height deposition of electron beam energy and the intensity contribution function shows that the H$β$ line wing intensities can be an useful tracer of flare energy deposition in the lower solar atmosphere

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arXiv2019

Mapping the magnetic field of flare coronal loops

Here we report on the unique observation of flaring coronal loops at the solar limb using high resolution imaging spectropolarimetry from the Swedish 1-meter Solar Telescope. The vantage position, orientation and nature of the chromospheric material that filled the flare loops allowed us to determine their magnetic field with unprecedented accuracy using the weak-field approximation method. Our analysis reveals coronal magnetic field strengths as high as 350 Gauss at heights up to 25 Mm above the solar limb. These measurements are substantially higher than a number of previous estimates and may have considerable implications for our current understanding of the extended solar atmosphere.

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arXiv2017

Transmission profile of the Dutch Open Telescope H$α$ Lyot filter

Accurate knowledge of the spectral transmission profile of a Lyot filter is important, in particular in comparing observations with simulated data. The paper summarizes available facts about the transmission profile of the DOT H$α$ Lyot filter pointing to a discrepancy between sidelobe-free Gaussian-like profile measured spectroscopically and signatures of possible leakage of parasitic continuum light in DOT H$α$ images. We compute wing-to-center intensity ratios resulting from convolutions of Gaussian and square of the sinc function with the H$α$ atlas profile and compare them with the ratios derived from observations of the quiet Sun chromosphere at disk center. We interpret discrepancies between the anticipated and observed ratios and the sharp limb visible in the DOT H$α$ image as an indication of possible leakage of parasitic continuum light. A method suggested here can be applied also to indirect testing of transmission profiles of other Lyot filters. We suggest two theoretical transmission profiles of the DOT H$α$ Lyot filter which should be considered as the best available approximations. Conclusive answer can only be given by spectroscopic re-measurement of the filter.

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arXiv2017

Spectral Characteristics of the He I D3 Line in a Quiescent Prominence Observed by THEMIS

We analyze the observations of a quiescent prominence acquired by the Telescope Heliographique pour l'Etude du Magnetisme et des Instabilites Solaires (THEMIS) in the He I 5876 A (He I D3) multiplet aiming to measure the spectral characteristics of the He I D3 profiles and to find for them an adequate fitting model. The component characteristics of the He I D3 Stokes I profiles are measured by the fitting system approximating them with a double Gaussian. This model yields an He I D3 component peak intensity ratio of $5.5\pm0.4$, which differs from the value of 8 expected in the optically thin limit. Most of the measured Doppler velocities lie in the interval $\pm5$ km/s, with a standard deviation of $\pm1.7$ km/s around the peak value of 0.4 km/s. The wide distribution of the full-width at half maximum has two maxima at 0.25 A and 0.30 A for the He I D3 blue component and two maxima at 0.22 A and 0.31 A for the red component. The width ratio of the components is $1.04\pm0.18$. We show that the double-Gaussian model systematically underestimates the blue wing intensities. To solve this problem, we invoke a two-temperature multi-Gaussian model, consisting of two double-Gaussians, which provides a better representation of He I D3 that is free of the wing intensity deficit. This model suggests temperatures of 11.5 kK and 91 kK, respectively, for the cool and the hot component of the target prominence. The cool and hot components of a typical He I D3 profile have component peak intensity ratios of 6.6 and 8, implying a prominence geometrical width of 17 Mm and an optical thickness of 0.3 for the cool component, while the optical thickness of the hot component is negligible. These prominence parameters seem to be realistic, suggesting the physical adequacy of the multi-Gaussian model with important implications for interpreting He I D3 spectropolarimetry by current inversion codes.

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arXiv2017

Spectroscopic inversions of the Ca ii 8542 Å line in a C-class solar flare

We study the C8.4 class solar flare SOL2016-05-14T11:34 UT using high-resolution spectral imaging in the Ca ii 8542 Å line obtained with the CRISP imaging spectropolarimeter on the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. Spectroscopic inversions of the Ca ii 8542 Å line using the non-LTE code NICOLE are used to investigate the evolution of the temperature and velocity structure in the flare chromosphere. A comparison of the temperature stratification in flaring and non-flaring areas reveals strong footpoint heating during the flare peak in the lower atmosphere. The temperature of the flaring footpoints between continuum optical depth at 500~nm, $\mathrm{log~τ_{500}~\approx -2.5~and~ -3.5}$ is $\mathrm{\sim5-6.5~kK}$, close to the flare peak, reducing gradually to $\mathrm{\sim5~kK}$. The temperature in the middle and upper chromosphere, between $\mathrm{log~τ_{500} \approx - 3.5~and~- 5.5}$, is estimated to be $\mathrm{\sim6.5 - 20~kK}$, decreasing to pre-flare temperatures, $\mathrm{\sim5 - 10~kK}$, after approximately 15 minutes. However, the temperature stratification of the non-flaring areas is unchanged. The inverted velocity fields show that the flaring chromosphere is dominated by weak downflowing condensations at the Ca ii 8542 Å formation height.

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arXiv2013

Search for Alfvén waves in a bright network element observed in Halpha

Alfven waves are considered as potential transporters of energy heating the solar corona. We seek spectroscopic signatures of the Alfven waves in the chromosphere occupied by a bright network element, investigating temporal variations of the spectral width, intensity, Dopplershift, and the asymmetry of the core of the Halpha spectral line observed by the tunable Lyot filter installed on the Dutch Open Telescope. The spectral characteristics are derived through the fitting of five intensity samples, separated from each other by 0.35 A, by a 4th-order polynomial. The bright network element displays the most pronounced variations of the Dopplershift varying from 0 to 4 km/s about the average of 1.5 km/s. This fact implies a persistent redshift of the Halpha core with a redward asymmetry of about 0.5 km/s, suggesting an inverse-C bisector. The variations of the core intensity up to +-10% and the core width up to +-5% about the respective averages are much less pronounced, but still detectable. The core intensity variations lag behind the Dopplershift variations about 2.1 min. The Halpha core width tends to correlate with the Dopplershift and anticorrelate with the asymmetry, suggesting that more redshifted Halpha profiles are wider and the broadening of the Halpha core is accompanied with a change of the core asymmetry from redward to blueward. We also found a striking anticorrelation between the core asymmetry and the Dopplershift, suggesting a change of the core asymmetry from redward to blueward with an increasing redshift of the Halpha core. The data and the applied analysis do not show meaningful tracks of Alfven waves in the selected network element.

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arXiv2009

Magnetic loop emergence within a granule

We investigate the temporal evolution of magnetic flux emerging within a granule in the quiet-Sun internetwork at disk center. We combined IR spectropolarimetry performed in two Fe I lines at 1565 nm with speckle-reconstructed G-band imaging. We determined the magnetic field parameters by a LTE inversion of the full Stokes vector using the SIR code, and followed their evolution in time. To interpret the observations, we created a geometrical model of a rising loop in 3D. The relevant parameters of the loop were matched to the observations where possible. We then synthesized spectra from the 3D model for a comparison to the observations. We found signatures of magnetic flux emergence within a growing granule. In the early phases, a horizontal magnetic field with a distinct linear polarization signal dominated the emerging flux. Later on, two patches of opposite circular polarization signal appeared symmetrically on either side of the linear polarization patch, indicating a small loop-like structure. The mean magnetic flux density of this loop was roughly 450 G, with a total magnetic flux of around 3x10^17 Mx. During the ~12 min episode of loop occurrence, the spatial extent of the loop increased from about 1 to 2 arcsec. The middle part of the appearing feature was blueshifted during its occurrence, supporting the scenario of an emerging loop. The temporal evolution of the observed spectra is reproduced to first order by the spectra derived from the geometrical model. The observed event can be explained as a case of flux emergence in the shape of a small-scale loop.

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arXiv2009

Dynamic Ly alpha jets

The solar chromosphere and transition region are highly structured and complex regimes. A recent breakthrough has been the identification of dynamic fibrils observed in H alpha as caused by field-aligned magnetoacoustic shocks. We seek to find whether such dynamic fibrils are also observed in Ly alpha. We used a brief sequence of four high-resolution Ly alpha images of the solar limb taken by the Very high Angular resolution ULtraviolet Telescope (VAULT), which displays many extending and retracting Ly alpha jets. We measured their top trajectories and fitted parabolas to the 30 best-defined ones. Most jet tops move supersonically. Half of them decelerate, sometimes superballistically, the others accelerate. This bifurcation may arise from incomplete sampling of recurrent jets. The similarities between dynamic Ly alpha jets and H alpha fibrils suggest that the magnetoacoustic shocks causing dynamic H alpha fibrils also affect dynamic Ly alpha jets.

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arXiv2007

The height dependence of temperature - velocity correlation in the solar photosphere

We derive correlation coefficients between temperature and line-of-sight velocity as a function of optical depth throughout the solar photosphere for the non-magnetic photosphere and a small area of enhanced magnetic activity. The maximum anticorrelation of about -0.6 between temperature and line-of-sight velocity in the non-magnetic photosphere occurs at log tau5 = -0.4. The magnetic field is another decorrelating factor along with 5-min oscillations and seeing.

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arXiv2007

Temporal Variations in Fibril Orientation

We measure variations in orientation of fourteen dynamic fibrils as a function of time in a small isolated plage and nearby network using a 10-min time sequence of H-alpha filtergrams obtained by the Dutch Open Telescope. We found motions with average angular velocities of the order of 1 deg/min suggesting systematic turning from one limit position to another, particularly apparent in the case of fibrils with lifetimes of a few minutes. Shorter fibrils tend to turn faster than longer ones, which we interpret as due to vortex flows in the underlying granulation that twist magnetic fields.

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