arXiv subjects

P. Boumier

Publications and source records attributed to P. Boumier.

At least 19 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.

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arXiv2021

Modeling of two CoRoT solar analogues constrained by seismic and spectroscopic analysis

Solar analogues are important stars to study for understanding the properties of the Sun. Evolutionary modeling, combined with seismic and spectroscopic analysis, becomes a powerful method to characterize stellar intrinsic parameters, such as mass, radius, metallicity and age.However, these characteristics, relevant for other aspects of astrophysics or exoplanetary system physics for example, are difficult to obtain with a high precision and/or accuracy. The goal of this study is to characterize the two solar analogues HD42618 and HD43587, observed by CoRoT. In particular, we aim to infer precise mass, radius, and age, using evolutionary modeling constrained by spectroscopic, photometric, and seismic analysis. These stars show evidences of being older than the Sun but with a relatively large lithium abundance. We present the seismic analysis of HD42618, and the modeling of the two solar analogs HD42618 andHD43587 using the CESTAM stellar evolution code. Models were computed to reproduce the spectroscopic (effective temperature and metallicity) and seismic (mode frequencies) data,and the luminosity of the stars, based on Gaia parallaxes. We infer very similar values of mass and radius for both stars compared to the literature, within the uncertainties, and reproduce correctly the seismic constraints. For HD42618, the modeling shows it is slightly less massive and older than the Sun. For HD43587, it confirms it is more massive and older than the Sun,in agreement with previous results. The use of chemical clocks improves the reliability of our age estimates.

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arXiv2019

The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager on Solar Orbiter

This paper describes the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager on the Solar Orbiter mission (SO/PHI), the first magnetograph and helioseismology instrument to observe the Sun from outside the Sun-Earth line. It is the key instrument meant to address the top-level science question: How does the solar dynamo work and drive connections between the Sun and the heliosphere? SO/PHI will also play an important role in answering the other top-level science questions of Solar Orbiter, as well as hosting the potential of a rich return in further science. SO/PHI measures the Zeeman effect and the Doppler shift in the FeI 617.3nm spectral line. To this end, the instrument carries out narrow-band imaging spectro-polarimetry using a tunable LiNbO_3 Fabry-Perot etalon, while the polarisation modulation is done with liquid crystal variable retarders (LCVRs). The line and the nearby continuum are sampled at six wavelength points and the data are recorded by a 2kx2k CMOS detector. To save valuable telemetry, the raw data are reduced on board, including being inverted under the assumption of a Milne-Eddington atmosphere, although simpler reduction methods are also available on board. SO/PHI is composed of two telescopes; one, the Full Disc Telescope (FDT), covers the full solar disc at all phases of the orbit, while the other, the High Resolution Telescope (HRT), can resolve structures as small as 200km on the Sun at closest perihelion. The high heat load generated through proximity to the Sun is greatly reduced by the multilayer-coated entrance windows to the two telescopes that allow less than 4% of the total sunlight to enter the instrument, most of it in a narrow wavelength band around the chosen spectral line.

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arXiv2018

Searching for g modes: Part I. A new calibration of the GOLF instrument

The recent claims of g-mode detection have restarted the search for these potentially extremely important modes. These claims can be reassessed in view of the different data sets available from the SoHO instruments and ground-based instruments. We produce a new calibration of the GOLF data with a more consistent p-mode amplitude and a more consistent time shift correction compared to the time series used in the past. The calibration of 22 years of GOLF data is done with a simpler approach that uses only the predictive radial velocity of the SoHO spacecraft as a reference. Using p modes, we measure and correct the time shift between ground- and space-based instruments and the GOLF instrument. The p-mode velocity calibration is now consistent to within a few percent with other instruments. The remaining time shifts are within $\pm$ 5 s for 99.8% of the time series. Accepted by A&A on June 29, 2018

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arXiv2017

Asymptotic g modes: Evidence for a rapid rotation of the solar core

We present the identification of very low frequency g modes in the asymptotic regime and two important parameters that have long been waited for: the core rotation rate, and the asymptotic equidistant period spacing of these g modes. The GOLF instrument on board the SOHO space observatory has provided two decades of full-disk helioseismic data. In the present study, we search for possible collective frequency modulations that are produced by periodic changes in the deep solar structure. Such modulations provide access to only very low frequency g modes, thus allowing statistical methods to take advantage of their asymptotic properties. For oscillatory periods in the range between 9 and nearly 48 hours, almost 100 g modes of spherical harmonic degree 1 and more than 100 g modes of degree 2 are predicted. They are not observed individually, but when combined, they unambiguouslyprovide their asymptotic period equidistance and rotational splittings, in excellent agreement with the requirements of the asymptotic approximations. Previously, p-mode helioseismology allowed the g-mode period equidistance parameter $P_0$ to be bracketed inside a narrow range, between approximately 34 and 35 minutes. Here, $P_0$ is measured to be 34 min 01 s, with a 1 s uncertainty. The previously unknown g-mode splittings have now been measured from a non-synodic reference with very high accuracy, and they imply a mean weighted rotation of 1277 $\pm$ 10 nHz (9-day period) of their kernels, resulting in a rapid rotation frequency of 1644 $\pm$ 23 nHz (period of one week) of the solar core itself, which is a factor 3.8 $\pm$ 0.1 faster than the rotation of the radiative envelope. The g modes are known to be the keys to a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of the solar core. Their detection with these precise parameters will certainly stimulate a new era of research in this field.

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arXiv2016

A Distant Mirror: Solar Oscillations Observed on Neptune by the Kepler K2 Mission

Starting in December 2014, Kepler K2 observed Neptune continuously for 49 days at a 1-minute cadence. The goals consisted of studying its atmospheric dynamics (Simon et al. 2016), detecting its global acoustic oscillations (Rowe et al., submitted), and those of the Sun, which we report on here. We present the first indirect detection of solar oscillations in intensity measurements. Beyond the remarkable technical performance, it indicates how Kepler would see a star like the Sun. The result from the global asteroseismic approach, which consists of measuring the oscillation frequency at maximum amplitude "nu_max" and the mean frequency separation between mode overtones "Delta nu", is surprising as the nu_max measured from Neptune photometry is larger than the accepted value. Compared to the usual reference nu_max_sun = 3100 muHz, the asteroseismic scaling relations therefore make the solar mass and radius appear larger by 13.8 +/- 5.8 % and 4.3 +/- 1.9 % respectively. The higher nu_max is caused by a combination of the value of nu_max_sun, being larger at the time of observations than the usual reference from SOHO/VIRGO/SPM data (3160 +/- 10 muHz), and the noise level of the K2 time series, being ten times larger than VIRGO's. The peak-bagging method provides more consistent results: despite a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), we model ten overtones for degrees l=0,1,2. We compare the K2 data with simultaneous SOHO/VIRGO/SPM photometry and BiSON velocity measurements. The individual frequencies, widths, and amplitudes mostly match those from VIRGO and BiSON within 1 sigma, except for the few peaks with lowest SNR.

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arXiv2014

Seismic analysis of HD43587Aa, a solar-like oscillator in a multiple system

Context. The object HD 43587Aa is a G0V star observed during the 145-day LRa03 run of the COnvection, ROtation and planetary Transits space mission (CoRoT), for which complementary High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) spectra with S/N>300 were also obtained. Its visual magnitude is 5.71, and its effective temperature is close to 5950 K. It has a known companion in a highly eccentric orbit and is also coupled with two more distant companions. Aims. We undertake a preliminary investigation of the internal structure of HD 43587Aa. Methods. We carried out a seismic analysis of the star, using maximum likelihood estimators and Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. Results. We established the first table of the eigenmode frequencies, widths, and heights for HD 43587Aa. The star appears to have a mass and a radius slightly larger than the Sun, and is slightly older (5.6 Gyr). Two scenarios are suggested for the geometry of the star: either its inclination angle is very low, or the rotation velocity of the star is very low. Conclusions. A more detailed study of the rotation and of the magnetic and chromospheric activity for this star is needed, and will be the subject of a further study. New high resolution spectrometric observations should be performed for at least several months in duration.

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arXiv2013

PICARD SODISM, a space telescope to study the Sun from the middle ultraviolet to the near infrared

The Solar Diameter Imager and Surface Mapper (SODISM) on board the PICARD space mission provides wide-field images of the photosphere and chromosphere of the Sun in five narrow pass bands (centered at 215.0, 393.37, 535.7, 607.1, and 782.2 nm). PICARD is a space mission, which was successfully launched on 15 June 2010 into a Sun synchronous dawn-dusk orbit. It represents a European asset aiming at collecting solar observations that can serve to estimate some of the inputs to Earth climate models. The scientific payload consists of the SODISM imager and of two radiometers, SOVAP (SOlar VAriability PICARD) and PREMOS (PREcision MOnitor Sensor), which carry out measurements that allow estimating the Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) and the Solar Spectral Irradiance (SSI) from the middle ultraviolet to the red. The SODISM telescope monitors solar activity continuously. It thus produces images that can also feed SSI reconstruction models. Further, the objectives of SODISM encompass the probing of the interior of the Sun via helioseismic analysis of observations in intensity (on the solar disc and at the limb), and via astrometric investigations at the limb. The latter addresses especially the spectral dependence of the radial limb shape, and the temporal evolution of the solar diameter and asphericity. After a brief review of its original science objectives, this paper presents the detailed design of the SODISM instrument, its expected performance, and the scheme of its flight operations. Some observations with SODISM are presented and discussed.

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arXiv2013

Helioseismology with PICARD

PICARD is a CNES micro-satellite launched in June 2010 (Thuillier at al. 2006). Its main goal is to measure the solar shape, total and spectral irradiance during the ascending phase of the activity cycle. The SODISM telescope onboard PICARD also allows us to conduct a program for helioseismology in intensity at 535.7 nm (Corbard et al. 2008). One-minute cadence low-resolution full images are available for a so-called medium-$l$ program, and high-resolution images of the limb recorded every 2 minutes are used to study mode amplification near the limb in the perspective of g-mode search. First analyses and results from these two programs are presented here.

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arXiv2013

Abundance study of the two solar-analogue CoRoT targets HD 42618 and HD 43587 from HARPS spectroscopy

We present a detailed abundance study based on spectroscopic data obtained with HARPS of two solar-analogue main targets for the asteroseismology programme of the CoRoT satellite: HD 42618 and HD 43587. The atmospheric parameters and chemical composition are accurately determined through a fully differential analysis with respect to the Sun observed with the same instrumental set-up. Several sources of systematic errors largely cancel out with this approach, which allows us to narrow down the 1-sigma error bars to typically 20 K in effective temperature, 0.04 dex in surface gravity, and less than 0.05 dex in the elemental abundances. Although HD 42618 fulfils many requirements for being classified as a solar twin, its slight deficiency in metals and its possibly younger age indicate that, strictly speaking, it does not belong to this class of objects. On the other hand, HD 43587 is slightly more massive and evolved. In addition, marked differences are found in the amount of lithium present in the photospheres of these two stars, which might reveal different mixing properties in their interiors. These results will put tight constraints on the forthcoming theoretical modelling of their solar-like oscillations and contribute to increase our knowledge of the fundamental parameters and internal structure of stars similar to our Sun.

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arXiv2010

Mode width fitting with a simple bayesian approach. Application to CoRoT targets HD 181420 and HD 49933

We investigate the asteroseismology of two solar-like targets as observed with the CoRoT satellite, with particular attention paid to the mode fitting. HD 181420 and HD 49933 are typical CoRoT solar-like targets (156 and 60-day runs). The low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of about 3-10 prevents us from unambiguously identifying the individual oscillation modes. In particular, convergence problems appear at the edges of the oscillation spectrum. HD 181420 and HD 49933 are typical CoRoT solar-like targets (156 and 60-day runs). The low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of about 3-10 prevents us from unambiguously identifying the individual oscillation modes. In particular, convergence problems appear at the edges of the oscillation spectrum. We apply a Bayesian approach to the analysis of these data. We compare the global fitting of the power spectra of this time series, obtained by the classical maximum likelihood (MLE) and the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimators. We examine the impact of the choice of the priors upon the fitted parameters. We also propose to reduce the number of free parameters in the fitting, by replacing the individual estimate of mode height associated with each overtone by a continuous function of frequency (Gaussian profile). The MAP appears as a powerful tool to constrain the global fits, but it must be used carefully and only with reliable priors. The mode width of the stars increases with the frequency over all the oscillation spectrum.

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arXiv2010

The Influence of Solar Flares on the Lower Solar Atmosphere: Evidence from the Na D Absorption Line Measured by GOLF/SOHO

Solar flares presumably have an impact on the deepest layers of the solar atmosphere and yet the observational evidence for such an impact is scarce. Using ten years of measurements of the Na D$_{1}$ and Na D$_2$ Fraunhofer lines, measured by GOLF onboard SOHO, we show that this photospheric line is indeed affected by flares. The effect of individual flares is hidden by solar oscillations, but a statistical analysis based on conditional averaging reveals a clear signature. Although GOLF can only probe one single wavelength at a time, we show that both wings of the Na line can nevertheless be compared. The varying line asymmetry can be interpreted as an upward plasma motion from the lower solar atmosphere during the peak of the flare, followed by a downward motion.

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arXiv2010

Seismic and spectroscopic characterization of the solar-like pulsating CoRoT target HD 49385

The star HD 49385 is the first G-type solar-like pulsator observed in the seismology field of the space telescope CoRoT. The satellite collected 137 days of high-precision photometric data on this star, confirming that it presents solar-like oscillations. HD 49385 was also observed in spectroscopy with the NARVAL spectrograph in January 2009. Our goal is to characterize HD 49385 using both spectroscopic and seismic data. The fundamental stellar parameters of HD 49385 are derived with the semi-automatic software VWA, and the projected rotational velocity is estimated by fitting synthetic profiles to isolated lines in the observed spectrum. A maximum likelihood estimation is used to determine the parameters of the observed p modes. We perform a global fit, in which modes are fitted simultaneously over nine radial orders, with degrees ranging from l=0 to l=3 (36 individual modes). Precise estimates of the atmospheric parameters (Teff, [M/H], log g) and of the vsini of HD 49385 are obtained. The seismic analysis of the star leads to a clear identification of the modes for degrees l=0,1,2. Around the maximum of the signal (nu=1013 microHz), some peaks are found significant and compatible with the expected characteristics of l=3 modes. Our fit yields robust estimates of the frequencies, linewidths and amplitudes of the modes. We find amplitudes of about 5.6 +/- 0.8 ppm for radial modes at the maximum of the signal. The lifetimes of the modes range from one day (at high frequency) to a bit more than two days (at low frequency). Significant peaks are found outside the identified ridges and are fitted. They are attributed to mixed modes.

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arXiv2010

The asteroseismic potential of Kepler: first results for solar-type stars

We present preliminary asteroseismic results from Kepler on three G-type stars. The observations, made at one-minute cadence during the first 33.5d of science operations, reveal high signal-to-noise solar-like oscillation spectra in all three stars: About 20 modes of oscillation may be clearly distinguished in each star. We discuss the appearance of the oscillation spectra, use the frequencies and frequency separations to provide first results on the radii, masses and ages of the stars, and comment in the light of these results on prospects for inference on other solar-type stars that Kepler will observe.

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arXiv2009

The quest for the solar g modes

Solar gravity modes (or g modes) -- oscillations of the solar interior for which buoyancy acts as the restoring force -- have the potential to provide unprecedented inference on the structure and dynamics of the solar core, inference that is not possible with the well observed acoustic modes (or p modes). The high amplitude of the g-mode eigenfunctions in the core and the evanesence of the modes in the convection zone make the modes particularly sensitive to the physical and dynamical conditions in the core. Owing to the existence of the convection zone, the g modes have very low amplitudes at photospheric levels, which makes the modes extremely hard to detect. In this paper, we review the current state of play regarding attempts to detect g modes. We review the theory of g modes, including theoretical estimation of the g-mode frequencies, amplitudes and damping rates. Then we go on to discuss the techniques that have been used to try to detect g modes. We review results in the literature, and finish by looking to the future, and the potential advances that can be made -- from both data and data-analysis perspectives -- to give unambiguous detections of individual g modes. The review ends by concluding that, at the time of writing, there is indeed a consensus amongst the authors that there is currently no undisputed detection of solar g modes.

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arXiv2009

The CoRoT target HD175726: an active star with weak solar-like oscillations

Context. The CoRoT short runs give us the opportunity to observe a large variety of late-type stars through their solar-like oscillations. We report observations of the star HD175726 that lasted for 27 days during the first short run of the mission. The time series reveals a high-activity signal and the power spectrum presents an excess due to solar-like oscillations with a low signal-to-noise ratio. Aims. Our aim is to identify the most efficient tools to extract as much information as possible from the power density spectrum. Methods. The most productive method appears to be the autocorrelation of the time series, calculated as the spectrum of the filtered spectrum. This method is efficient, very rapid computationally, and will be useful for the analysis of other targets, observed with CoRoT or with forthcoming missions such as Kepler and Plato. Results. The mean large separation has been measured to be 97.2+-0.5 microHz, slightly below the expected value determined from solar scaling laws.We also show strong evidence for variation of the large separation with frequency. The bolometric mode amplitude is only 1.7+-0.25 ppm for radial modes, which is 1.7 times less than expected. Due to the low signal-to-noise ratio, mode identification is not possible for the available data set of HD175726. Conclusions. This study shows the possibility of extracting a seismic signal despite a signal-to-noise ratio of only 0.37. The observation of such a target shows the efficiency of the CoRoT data, and the potential benefit of longer observing runs.

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arXiv2009

Solar-like oscillations with low amplitude in the CoRoT target HD 181906

Context: The F8 star HD 181906 (effective temperature ~6300K) was observed for 156 days by the CoRoT satellite during the first long run in the centre direction. Analysis of the data reveals a spectrum of solar-like acoustic oscillations. However, the faintness of the target (m_v=7.65) means the signal-to-noise (S/N) in the acoustic modes is quite low, and this low S/N leads to complications in the analysis. Aims: To extract global variables of the star as well as key parameters of the p modes observed in the power spectrum of the lightcurve. Methods: The power spectrum of the lightcurve, a wavelet transform and spot fitting have been used to obtain the average rotation rate of the star and its inclination angle. Then, the autocorrelation of the power spectrum and the power spectrum of the power spectrum were used to properly determine the large separation. Finally, estimations of the mode parameters have been done by maximizing the likelihood of a global fit, where several modes were fit simultaneously. Results: We have been able to infer the mean surface rotation rate of the star (~4 microHz) with indications of the presence of surface differential rotation, the large separation of the p modes (~87 microHz), and therefore also the ridges corresponding to overtones of the acoustic modes.

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arXiv2009

Hydrodynamical simulations of convection-related stellar micro-variability. II. The enigmatic granulation background of the COROT target HD49933

Local-box hydrodynamical model atmospheres provide statistical information about a star's emergent radiation field which allows one to predict the level of its granulation-related micro-variability. Space-based photometry is now sufficiently accurate to test model predictions. We aim to model the photometric granulation background of HD49933 as well as the Sun, and compare the predictions to the measurements obtained by the COROT and SOHO satellite missions. We construct hydrodynamical model atmospheres representing HD49933 and the Sun, and use a previously developed scaling technique to obtain the observable disk-integrated brightness fluctuations. We further performed exploratory magneto-hydrodynamical simulations to gauge the impact of small scale magnetic fields on the synthetic light-curves. We find that the granulation-related brightness fluctuations depend on metallicity. We obtain a satisfactory correspondence between prediction and observation for the Sun, validating our approach. For HD49933, we arrive at a significant over-estimation by a factor of two to three in total power. Locally generated magnetic fields are unlikely to be responsible, otherwise existing fields would need to be rather strong to sufficiently suppress the granulation signal. Presently suggested updates on the fundamental stellar parameters do not improve the correspondence; however, an ad-hoc increase of the HD49933 surface gravity by about 0.2dex would eliminate most of the discrepancy. We diagnose a puzzling discrepancy between the predicted and observed granulation background in HD49933, with only rather ad-hoc ideas for remedies at hand.

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