arXiv subjects

J. Leenaarts

Publications and source records attributed to J. Leenaarts.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Heating of the solar chromosphere through current dissipation

The solar chromosphere is heated to temperatures higher than predicted by radiative equilibrium. This excess heating is greater in active regions where the magnetic field is stronger. We aim to investigate the magnetic topology associated with an area of enhanced millimeter (mm) brightness temperatures in a solar active region mapped by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) using spectropolarimetric co-observations with the 1-m Swedish Solar Telescope (SST). We used Milne-Eddington inversions, nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) inversions, and a magnetohydrostatic extrapolation to obtain constraints on the three-dimensional stratification of temperature, magnetic field, and radiative energy losses. We compared the observations to a snapshot of a magnetohydrodynamics simulation and investigate the formation of the thermal continuum at 3 mm using contribution functions. We find enhanced heating rates in the upper chromosphere of up to $\sim 5\rm\,kW\,m^{-2}$, where small-scale emerging loops interact with the overlying magnetic canopy leading to current sheets as shown by the magnetic field extrapolation. Our estimates are about a factor of two higher than canonical values, but they are limited by the ALMA spatial resolution ($\sim 1.2^{\prime\prime}$). Band 3 brightness temperatures reach about $\sim10^{4}\,$K in the region, and the transverse magnetic field strength inferred from the non-LTE inversions is on the order of $\sim 500\,$G in the chromosphere. We are able to quantitatively reproduce many of the observed features, including the integrated radiative losses in our numerical simulation. We conclude that the heating is caused by dissipation in current sheets. However, the simulation shows a complex stratification in the flux emergence region where distinct layers may contribute significantly to the emission in the mm continuum.

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arXiv2021

The formation and heating of chromospheric fibrils in a radiation-MHD simulation

Aims: We examine the movements of mass elements within dense fibrils using passive tracer particles (corks) in order to understand fibril creation and destruction processes. Methods: Simulated fibrils were selected at times when they were visible in an H$α$ image proxy. The corks were selected within fibril H$α$ formation regions. From this set, a cork was selected, and the field line passing through it was constructed. Other fibrilar corks close to this fieldline were also selected. Pathlines were constructed, revealing the locations of the mass elements forward and backward in time. The forces acting on these mass elements were analysed. Results: The main process of fibrilar loading in the simulation is different to the mass loading scenario in which waves steepen into shocks and push material upwards along the fieldlines from near their footpoints. Twisted low lying fieldlines were destabilised and then they untwisted, lifting the material trapped above their apexes via the Lorentz force. Subsequently, the majority of the mass drained down the fieldlines towards one or both footpoints under gravity. Material with large horizontal velocities could also elevated in rising fieldlines, creating somewhat parabolic motions, but material was not generally moving upward along a stationary magnetic fieldline during loading. Conclusions: The processes observed in the simulation are plausible additional scenarios. Criteria for observing such events are described. It is desirable that our simulations can also form more densely-packed fibrils from material fed from the base of field footpoints. Experimental parameters required to achieve this are discussed.

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arXiv2021

Active region chromospheric magnetic fields

Context. A proper estimate of the chromospheric magnetic fields is believed to improve modelling of both active region and coronal mass ejection evolution. Aims. We investigate the similarity between the chromospheric magnetic field inferred from observations and the field obtained from a magnetohydrostatic (MHS) extrapolation. Methods. Based Fe i 6173 Å and Ca ii 8542 Å observations of NOAA active region 12723, we employed the spatially-regularised weak-field approximation (WFA) to derive the vector magnetic field in the chromosphere from Ca ii, as well as non-LTE inversions of Fe i and Ca ii to infer a model atmosphere for selected regions. Milne-Eddington inversions of Fe i serve as photospheric boundary for the MHS model that delivers the three-dimensional field, gas pressure and density. Results. For the line-of-sight component, the MHS chromospheric field generally agrees with the non-LTE inversions and WFA, but tends to be weaker than those when larger in magnitude than 300 G. The observationally inferred transverse component is stronger, especially in magnetically weaker regions, yet the qualitative distribution with height is similar to the MHS results. For either field component the MHS chromospheric field lacks the fine structure derived from the inversions. Furthermore, the MHS model does not recover the magnetic imprint from a set of high fibrils connecting the main polarities. Conclusions. The MHS extrapolation and WFA provide a qualitatively similar chromospheric field, where the azimuth of the former is better aligned with Ca ii 8542 Å fibrils than that of the WFA, especially outside strong-field concentrations. The amount of structure as well as the transverse field strengths are underestimated by the MHS extrapolation. This underscores the importance of considering a chromospheric magnetic field constraint in data-driven modelling of active regions.

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arXiv2021

An observationally-constrained model of strong magnetic reconnection in the solar chromosphere. Atmospheric stratification and estimates of heating rates

The evolution of the photospheric magnetic field plays a key role in the energy transport into the chromosphere and the corona. In active regions, newly emerging magnetic flux interacts with the pre-existent magnetic field, which can lead to reconnection events that convert magnetic energy to thermal energy. We aim to study the heating caused by a strong reconnection event that was triggered by magnetic flux cancellation. We use imaging-spectropolarimetric data in the Fe I 6301A, Fe I 6302A, Ca II 8542A and Ca II K obtained with the CRISP and CHROMIS instruments at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. This data was inverted using multi-atom, multi-line non-LTE inversions using the STiC code. The inversion yielded a three-dimensional model of the reconnection event and surrounding atmosphere, including temperature, velocity, microturbulence, magnetic file configuration, and the radiative loss rate. The model atmosphere shows the emergence of magnetic loops with a size of several arcsecs into a pre-existing predominantly unipolar field. Where the reconnection region is expected to be, we see an increase in the chromospheric temperature of roughly 2000 K as well as bidirectional flows of the order of 10 km s$^{-1}$ emanating from the region. We see bright blobs of roughly 0.2 arcsec diameter in the Ca II K moving at a plane-of-the-sky velocity of order 100 km s$^{-1}$ and a blueshift of 100 km s$^{-1}$, which we interpret as plasmoids ejected from the same region. This evidence is consistent with theoretical models of reconnection and we thus conclude that reconnection is taking place. The chromospheric radiative losses at the reconnection site in our inferred model are as high as 160 kW m$^{-2}$, providing a quantitative constraint on theoretical models that aim to simulate reconnection caused by flux emergence in the chromosphere.

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arXiv2020

Line formation of He I D3 and He I 10830 Å in a small-scale reconnection event

Aims. We aim to explain line formation of He I D3 and He I 10830 Å in small-scale reconnection events. Methods. We make use of a simulated Ellerman bomb (EB), present in a Bifrost-generated radiative Magnetohydrodynamics (rMHD) snapshot. The resulting He I D3 and He I 10830 Å line intensities are synthesized in 3D using the non-LTE Multi3D code. We compare the synthetic helium spectra with observed SST/TRIPPEL raster scans of EBs in He I 10830 Å and He I D3. Results. Emission in He I D3 and He I 10830 Å is formed in a thin shell around the EB at a height of $\sim 0.8$ Mm while the He I D3 absorption is formed above the EB at $\sim 4$ Mm. The height at which the emission is formed corresponds to the lower boundary of the EB, where the temperature increases rapidly from $6\cdot 10^3$ K to $10^6$ K. The opacity in He I D3 and He I 10830 Å is generated via photoionization-recombination driven by EUV radiation that is locally generated in the EB at temperatures in the range of $2\cdot 10^4 - 2\cdot 10^6$ K and electron densities between $10^{11}$ and $10^{13}$ cm$^{-3}$. The synthetic emission signals are a result of coupling to local conditions in a thin shell around the EB, with temperatures between $7\cdot 10^3$ and $10^4$ K and electron densities ranging from $\sim 10^{12}$ to $10^{13}$ cm$^{-3}$. Hence, both strong non-LTE as well as thermal processes play a role in the formation of He I D3 and He I 10830 Å in the synthetic EB/UV burst that we studied. Conclusions. In conclusion, the synthetic He I D3 and He I 10830 Å emission signatures are an indicator of temperatures of at least $2\cdot 10^4$ K and in this case as high as $\sim 10^6$ K.

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arXiv2020

Non-LTE inversions of a confined X2.2 flare: I. Vector magnetic field in the photosphere and chromosphere

Obtaining the magnetic field vector accurately in the solar atmosphere is essential for studying changes in field topology during flares and to reliably model space weather. We tackle this problem by applying various inversion methods to a confined X2.2 flare in NOAA AR 12673 on September 6, 2017, comparing the photospheric and chromospheric magnetic field vector with those from two numerical models of this event. We obtain the photospheric field from Milne-Eddington (ME) and (non-)local thermal equilibrium (non-LTE) inversions of Hinode SOT/SP Fe I 6301.5Å and 6302.5Å. The chromospheric field is obtained from a spatially-regularised weak field approximation (WFA) and non-LTE inversions of Ca II 8542Å observed with CRISP at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. The LTE- and non-LTE-inferred photospheric field components are strongly correlated throughout the atmosphere, with stronger field and higher temperatures in the non-LTE inversions. For the chromospheric field, the non-LTE inversions correlate well with the spatially-regularised WFA. We find strong-field patches of over 4.5 kG in the photosphere, co-located with similar concentrations exceeding 3 kG in the chromosphere. The obtained field strengths are up to 2-3 times higher than in the numerical models, with more concentrated and structured photosphere-to-chromosphere shear close to the polarity inversion line. The LTE and non-LTE Fe I inversions yield essentially the same photospheric field, while ME inversions fail to reproduce the field vector orientation where Fe I is in emission. Our inversions confirm the locations of flux rope footpoints that are predicted by numerical models. However, pre-processing and lower spatial resolution lead to weaker and smoother field in the models than what the data indicate. This emphasises the need for higher spatial resolution in the models to better constrain pre-eruptive flux ropes.

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arXiv2020

ALMA observations of transient heating in a solar active region

We aim to investigate the temperature enhancements and formation heights of impulsive heating phenomena in solar active-regions such as Ellerman bombs (EBs), ultraviolet bursts (UVBs), and flaring active-region fibrils (FAFs) using interferometric observations in the millimeter (mm) continuum provided by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We examined 3 mm signatures of heating events identified in Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observations of an active region and compared the results with synthetic spectra from a 3D radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulation. We estimated the contribution from the corona to the mm brightness using differential emission measure analysis. We report the null detection of EBs in the 3 mm continuum at $\sim1.2$" spatial resolution, which is evidence that they are sub-canopy events that do not significantly contribute to heating the upper chromosphere. In contrast, we find the active region to be populated with multiple compact, bright, flickering mm bursts -- reminiscent of UVBs. The high brightness temperatures of up to $\sim14200$ K in some events have a significant contribution (up to $\sim$7%) from the corona. We also detect FAF-like events in the 3 mm continuum that show rapid motions of $>10000\,$K plasma launched with high plane-of-sky velocities ($37-340\rm\,km\,s^{-1}$) from bright kernels. The mm FAFs are the brightest class of warm canopy fibrils that connect magnetic regions of opposite polarities. The simulation confirms that ALMA should be able to detect the mm counterparts of UVBs and small flares and thus provide a complementary diagnostic for localized heating in the solar chromosphere.

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arXiv2020

Observational constraints on the origin of the elements II. 3D non-LTE formation of Ba ii lines in the solar atmosphere

Context. The pursuit of more realistic spectroscopic modelling and consistent abundances has led us to begin a new series of papers designed to improve current solar and stellar abundances of various atomic species. To achieve this, we have began updating the three-dimensional (3D) non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) radiative transfer code, Multi3D, and the equivalent one-dimensional (1D) non-LTE radiative transfer code, MULTI. Aims. We examine our improvements to these codes by redetermining the solar barium abundance. Barium was chosen for this test as it is an important diagnostic element of the s-process in the context of galactic chemical evolution. New Ba II + H collisional data for excitation and charge exchange reactions computed from first principles had recently become available and were included in the model atom. The atom also includes the effects of isotopic line shifts and hyperfine splitting. Method. A grid of 1D LTE barium lines were constructed with MULTI and fit to the four Ba II lines available to us in the optical region of the solar spectrum. Abundance corrections were then determined in 1D non-LTE, 3D LTE, and 3D non-LTE. A new 3D non-LTE solar barium abundance was computed from these corrections. Results. We present for the first time the full 3D non-LTE barium abundance of $A({\rm Ba})=2.27\pm0.02\pm0.01$, which was derived from four individual fully consistent barium lines. Errors here represent the systematic and random errors, respectively.

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arXiv2019

The multi-thermal chromosphere: inversions of ALMA and IRIS data

Numerical simulations of the solar chromosphere predict a diverse thermal structure with both hot and cool regions. Observations of plage regions in particular feature broader and brighter chromospheric lines, which suggest that they are formed in hotter and denser conditions than in the quiet-Sun, but also implies a non-thermal component whose source is unclear. We revisit the problem of the stratification of temperature and microturbulence in plage now adding millimeter continuum observations provided by ALMA to inversions of near-ultraviolet IRIS spectra as a powerful new diagnostic to disentangle the two parameters. We fit cool chromospheric holes and track the fast evolution of compact mm brightenings in the plage region. We use the STiC non-LTE inversion code to simultaneously fit real ultraviolet and millimeter spectra in order to infer the thermodynamic parameters of the plasma. We confirm the anticipated constraining potential of ALMA in non-LTE inversions of the solar chromosphere. We find significant differences between the inversion results of IRIS data alone compared to the results of a combination with the mm data: the IRIS+ALMA inversions have increased contrast and temperature range, and tend to favor lower values of microturbulence in the chromosphere of plage. The average brightness temperature of the plage region at 1.25 mm is 8500 K, but the ALMA maps also show much cooler ($\sim3000$ K) and hotter ($\sim11\,000$ K) evolving features partially seen in other diagnostics. To explain the former, the inversions require the existence of localized, low temperature regions in the chromosphere where molecules such as CO could form. The hot features could sustain such high temperatures due to non-equilibrium hydrogen ionization effects in a shocked chromosphere - a scenario that is supported by low-frequency shock wave patterns found in the MgII lines probed by IRIS.

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arXiv2019

STiC -- A multi-atom non-LTE PRD inversion code for full-Stokes solar observations

The inference of the underlying state of the plasma in the solar chromosphere remains extremely challenging because of the nonlocal character of the observed radiation and plasma conditions in this layer. Inversion methods allow us to derive a model atmosphere that can reproduce the observed spectra by undertaking several physical assumptions. The most advanced approaches involve a depth-stratified model atmosphere described by temperature, line-of-sight velocity, turbulent velocity, the three components of the magnetic field vector, and gas and electron pressure. The parameters of the radiative transfer equation are computed from a solid ground of physical principles. To apply these techniques to spectral lines that sample the chromosphere, NLTE effects must be included in the calculations. We developed a new inversion code STiC to study spectral lines that sample the upper chromosphere. The code is based the RH synthetis code, which we modified to make the inversions faster and more stable. For the first time, STiC facilitates the processing of lines from multiple atoms in non-LTE, also including partial redistribution effects. Furthermore, we include a regularization strategy that allows for model atmospheres with a complex stratification, without introducing artifacts in the reconstructed physical parameters, which are usually manifested in the form of oscillatory behavior. This approach takes steps toward a node-less inversion, in which the value of the physical parameters at each grid point can be considered a free parameter. In this paper we discuss the implementation of the aforementioned techniques, the description of the model atmosphere, and the optimizations that we applied to the code. We carry out some numerical experiments to show the performance of the code and the regularization techniques that we implemented. We made STiC publicly available to the community.

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arXiv2018

Disentangling flows in the solar transition region

The measured average velocities in solar and stellar spectral lines formed at transition region temperatures have been difficult to interpret. However, realistic three-dimensional radiation magnetohydrodynamics (3D rMHD) models of the solar atmosphere are able to reproduce the observed dominant line shifts and may thus hold the key to resolve these issues. Our new 3D rMHD simulations aim to shed light on how mass flows between the chromosphere and corona and on how the coronal mass is maintained. Passive tracer particles, so-called corks, allow the tracking of parcels of plasma over time and thus the study of changes in plasma temperature and velocity not only locally, but also in a co-moving frame. By following the trajectories of the corks, we can investigate mass and energy flows and understand the composition of the observed velocities. Our findings show that most of the transition region mass is cooling. The preponderance of transition region redshifts in the model can be explained by the higher percentage of downflowing mass in the lower and middle transition region. The average upflows in the upper transition region can be explained by a combination of both stronger upflows than downflows and a higher percentage of upflowing mass. The most common combination at lower and middle transition region temperatures are corks that are cooling and traveling downward. For these corks, a strong correlation between the pressure gradient along the magnetic field line and the velocity along the magnetic field line has been observed, indicating a formation mechanism that is related to downward propagating pressure disturbances. Corks at upper transition region temperatures are subject to a rather slow and highly variable but continuous heating process.

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arXiv2017

Comparison of Solar Fine Structure Observed Simultaneously in Ly-α and Mg II h

The Chromospheric Lyman Alpha Spectropolarimeter (CLASP) observed the Sun in H I Lyman-α during a suborbital rocket flight on September 3, 2015. The Interface Region Imaging Telescope (IRIS) coordinated with the CLASP observations and recorded nearly simultaneous and co-spatial observations in the Mg II h&k lines. The Mg II h and Ly-α lines are important transitions, energetically and diagnostically, in the chromosphere. The canonical solar atmosphere model predicts that these lines form in close proximity to each other and so we expect that the line profiles will exhibit similar variability. In this analysis, we present these coordinated observations and discuss how the two profiles compare over a region of quiet sun at viewing angles that approach the limb. In addition to the observations, we synthesize both line profiles using a 3D radiation-MHD simulation. In the observations, we find that the peak width and the peak intensities are well correlated between the lines. For the simulation, we do not find the same relationship. We have attempted to mitigate the instrumental differences between IRIS and CLASP and to reproduce the instrumental factors in the synthetic profiles. The model indicates that formation heights of the lines differ in a somewhat regular fashion related to magnetic geometry. This variation explains to some degree the lack of correlation, observed and synthesized, between Mg II and Ly-α. Our analysis will aid in the definition of future observatories that aim to link dynamics in the chromosphere and transition region.

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arXiv2017

A First Comparison of Millimeter Continuum and Mg II Ultraviolet Line Emission from the Solar Chromosphere

We present joint observations of the Sun by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). The observations were made of a solar active region on 2015 December 18 as part of the ALMA science verification effort. A map of the Sun's continuum emission of size $2.4' \times 2.3'$ was obtained by ALMA at a wavelength of 1.25 mm (239 GHz) using mosaicing techniques. A contemporaneous map of size $1.9'\times 2.9'$ was obtained in the Mg II h doublet line at 2803.5Å by IRIS. Both mm/submm$-λ$ continuum emission and ultraviolet (UV) line emission are believed to originate from the solar chromosphere and both have the potential to serve as powerful and complementary diagnostics of physical conditions in this poorly understood layer of the solar atmosphere. While a clear correlation between mm-$λ$ brightness temperature $T_B$ and the Mg II h line radiation temperature $T_{rad}$ is observed the slope is $<1$, perhaps as a result of the fact that these diagnostics are sensitive to different parts of the chromosphere and/or the Mg II h line source function includes a scattering component. There is a significant offset between the mean $T_B$(1.25 mm) and mean $T_{rad}$(Mg II), the former being $\approx 35\%$ greater than the latter. Partitioning the maps into "sunspot", "quiet regions", and "plage regions" we find that the slope of the scatter plots between the IRIS Mg II h line $T_{rad}$ and the ALMA brightness temperature $T_B$ is 0.4 (sunspot), 0.56 (quiet regions), and 0.66 (plage regions). We suggest that this change may be caused by the regional dependence of the formation heights of the IRIS and ALMA diagnostics, and/or the increased degree of coupling between the UV source function and the local gas temperature in the hotter, denser gas in plage regions.

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arXiv2017

Solar off-limb emission of the OI 7772 Å line

The aim of this paper is to understand the formation of the OI line at 7772 Å in the solar chromosphere. We used SST/CRISP observations to observe OI 7772 Å in several places around the solar limb. We compared the observations with synthetic spectra calculated with the RH code in the one-dimension spherical geometry mode. New accurate hydrogen collisional rates were included for the RH calculations. The observations reveal a dark gap in the lower chromosphere, which is caused by variations in the line opacity as shown by our models. The lower level of the 7772 Å transition is populated by a downward cascade from the continuum. We study the effect of Lyman-$β$ pumping and hydrogen collisions between the triplet and quintet system in OI. Both have a small but non-negligible influence on the line intensity.

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arXiv2017

Non-LTE line formation of Fe in late-type stars IV: Modelling of the solar centre-to-limb variation in 3D

Our ability to model the shapes and strengths of iron lines in the solar spectrum is a critical test of the accuracy of the solar iron abundance, which sets the absolute zero-point of all stellar metallicities. We use an extensive 463-level Fe atom with new photoionisation cross-sections for FeI as well as quantum mechanical calculations of collisional excitation and charge transfer with neutral hydrogen; the latter effectively remove a free parameter that has hampered all previous line formation studies of Fe in non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE). For the first time, we use realistic 3D NLTE calculations of Fe for a quantitative comparison to solar observations. We confront our theoretical line profiles with observations taken at different viewing angles across the solar disk with the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. We find that 3D modelling well reproduces the observed centre-to-limb behaviour of spectral lines overall, but highlight aspects that may require further work, especially cross-sections for inelastic collisions with electrons. Our inferred solar iron abundance is log(eps(Fe))=7.48+-0.04.

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arXiv2015

Non-LTE oxygen line formation in 3D hydrodynamic model stellar atmospheres

The OI 777 nm lines are among the most commonly used diagnostics for the oxygen abundances in the atmospheres of FGK-type stars. However, they form in conditions that are far from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). We explore the departures from LTE of atomic oxygen, and their impact on OI lines, across the Stagger-grid of three-dimensional hydrodynamic model atmospheres. For the OI 777 nm triplet we find significant departures from LTE. These departures are larger in stars with larger effective temperatures, smaller surface gravities, and larger oxygen abundances. We present grids of predicted 3D non-LTE based equivalent widths for the OI616nm, [OI] 630 nm, [OI] 636 nm, and OI 777 nm lines, as well as abundance corrections to 1D LTE based results.

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arXiv2015

The Galactic chemical evolution of oxygen inferred from 3D non-LTE spectral line formation calculations

We revisit the Galactic chemical evolution of oxygen, addressing the systematic errors inherent in classical determinations of the oxygen abundance that arise from the use of one dimensional hydrostatic (1D) model atmospheres and from the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). We perform detailed 3D non-LTE radiative transfer calculations for atomic oxygen lines across a grid of 3D hydrodynamic stag- ger model atmospheres for dwarfs and subgiants. We apply our grid of predicted line strengths of the [OI] 630 nm and OI 777 nm lines using accurate stellar parameters from the literature. We infer a steep decay in [O/Fe] for [Fe/H] $\gtrsim$ -1.0, a plateau [O/Fe] $\approx$ 0.5 down to [Fe/H] $\approx$ -2.5 and an increasing trend for [Fe/H] $\lesssim$ -2.5. Our 3D non-LTE calculations yield overall concordant results from the two oxygen abundance diagnostics.

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arXiv2014

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) small explorer spacecraft provides simultaneous spectra and images of the photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona with 0.33-0.4 arcsec spatial resolution, 2 s temporal resolution and 1 km/s velocity resolution over a field-of-view of up to 175 arcsec x 175 arcsec. IRIS was launched into a Sun-synchronous orbit on 27 June 2013 using a Pegasus-XL rocket and consists of a 19-cm UV telescope that feeds a slit-based dual-bandpass imaging spectrograph. IRIS obtains spectra in passbands from 1332-1358, 1389-1407 and 2783-2834 Angstrom including bright spectral lines formed in the chromosphere (Mg II h 2803 Angstrom and Mg II k 2796 Angstrom) and transition region (C II 1334/1335 Angstrom and Si IV 1394/1403 Angstrom). Slit-jaw images in four different passbands (C II 1330, Si IV 1400, Mg II k 2796 and Mg II wing 2830 Angstrom) can be taken simultaneously with spectral rasters that sample regions up to 130 arcsec x 175 arcsec at a variety of spatial samplings (from 0.33 arcsec and up). IRIS is sensitive to emission from plasma at temperatures between 5000 K and 10 MK and will advance our understanding of the flow of mass and energy through an interface region, formed by the chromosphere and transition region, between the photosphere and corona. This highly structured and dynamic region not only acts as the conduit of all mass and energy feeding into the corona and solar wind, it also requires an order of magnitude more energy to heat than the corona and solar wind combined. The IRIS investigation includes a strong numerical modeling component based on advanced radiative-MHD codes to facilitate interpretation of observations of this complex region. Approximately eight Gbytes of data (after compression) are acquired by IRIS each day and made available for unrestricted use within a few days of the observation.

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