arXiv subjects

R. Schlichenmaier

Publications and source records attributed to R. Schlichenmaier.

43 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Photospheric magnetic field and chromospheric emission

We present a statistical analysis of network and internetwork properties in the photosphere and the chromosphere. For the first time we simultaneously observed (a) the four Stokes parameters of the photospheric iron line pair at 630.2 nm and (b) the intensity profile of the Ca II H line at 396.8 nm. The vector magnetic field was inferred from the inversion of the iron lines. We aim at an understanding of the coupling between photospheric magnetic field and chromospheric emission.

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arXiv2006

The multi-component field topology of sunspot penumbrae - A diagnostic tool for spectropolarimetric measurements

Context: Sunspot penumbrae harbor highly structured magnetic fields and flows. The moving flux tube model offers an explanation for several observed phenomena, e.g. the Evershed effect and bright penumbral grains. Aims: A wealth of information can be extracted from spectropolarimetric observations. In order to deduce the structure of the magnetic field in sunspot penumbrae, detailed forward modeling is necessary. On the one hand, it gives insight into the sensitivity of various spectral lines to different physical scenarios. On the other hand, it is a very useful tool to guide inversion techniques. In this work, we present a generalized 3D geometrical model that embeds an arbitrarily shaped flux tube in a stratified magnetized atmosphere. Methods: The new semi-analytical geometric model serves as a frontend for a polarized radiative transfer code. The advantage of this model is that it preserves the discontinuities of the physical parameters across the flux tube boundaries. This is important for the detailed shape of the emerging Stokes Profiles and the resulting net circular polarization (NCP). Results: (a) The inclination of downflows in the outer penumbra must be shallower than approximately 15 degrees. (b) Observing the limb-side NCP of sunspots in the Fe I 1564.8 nm line offers a promising way to identify a reduced magnetic field strength in flow channels. (c) The choice of the background atmosphere can significantly influence the shape of the Stokes profiles, but does not change the global characteristics of the resulting NCP curves for the tested atmospheric models.

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arXiv2006

The flow field in the sunspot canopy

We investigate the flow field in the sunspot canopy using simultaneous Stokes vector spectropolarimetry of three sunspots ($θ$ = 27, 50, 75 deg) and their surroundings in visible (630.15 and 630.25 nm) and near infrared (1564.8 and 1565.2 nm) neutral iron lines.} {To calibrate the Doppler shifts, we compare an absolute velocity calibration using the telluric $O_2$-line at 630.20 nm and a relative velocity calibration using the Doppler shift of Stokes V profiles in the umbra under the assumption that the umbra is at rest. Both methods yield the same result within the calibration uncertainties (~150 m/s). We study the radial dependence of Stokes V profiles in the directions of disk center and limb side. Maps of Stokes V profile shifts, polarity, amplitude asymmetry, field strength and magnetic field azimuth provide strong evidence for the presence of a magnetic canopy and for the existence of a radial outflow in the canopy. Our findings indicate that the Evershed flow does not cease abruptly at the white-light spot boundary, but that at least a part of the penumbral Evershed flow continues into the magnetic canopy.

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arXiv2006

Two-dimensional spectroscopy of a sunspot. III Thermal and kinematic structure of the penumbra at 0.5"

We investigate the thermal and kinematic configuration of a sunspot penumbra using very high spectral and spatial resolution intensity profiles of the non-magnetic Fe I 557.6 nm line. The dataset was acquired with the 2D solar spectrometer TESOS. The profiles are inverted using a one-component model atmosphere with gradients of the physical quantities. From this inversion we obtain the stratification with depth of temperature, line-of-sight velocity, and microturbulence across the penumbra. Our results suggest that the physical mechanism(s) responsible for the penumbral filaments operate preferentially in the lower photosphere. We confirm the existence of a thermal asymmetry between the center and limb-side penumbra, the former being hotter by 100-150 K on average. We also investigate the nature of the bright ring that appears in the inner penumbra when sunspots are observed in the wing of spectral lines. The line-of-sight velocities retrieved from the inversion are used to determine the flow speed and flow angle at different heights in the photosphere. Both the flow speed and flow angle increase with optical depth and radial distance. Downflows are detected in the mid and outer penumbra, but only in deep layers (log tau_{500} < -1.4). We demonstrate that the velocity stratifications retrieved from the inversion are consistent with the idea of penumbral flux tubes channeling the Evershed flow. Finally, we show that larger Evershed flows are associated with brighter continuum intensities in the inner center-side penumbra. Dark structures, however, are also associated with significant Evershed flows. This leads us to suggest that the bright and dark filaments seen at 0.5" resolution are not individual flow channels, but a collection of them.

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arXiv1998

Magnetic flux tubes evolving in sunspots. A model for the penumbral finestructure and the Evershed effect

Assuming that the interchange convection of magnetic flux elements is the physical cause for the existence of filamentary penumbrae in sunspots, we investigate the behavior of an individual fibril embedded in the deep penumbra. The fibril is approximated by a thin magnetic flux tube which evolves dynamically in the environment given by the global magnetostatic model of a sunspot. Our simulation shows that the flux tube, initially positioned at the penumbra--quiet Sun boundary in the model, will rise through its deep penumbra developing a flow along the tube that points upward beneath the photosphere, and radially outward above the photosphere. Our results suggest that a bright filament may be formed by an extended tail of a penumbral grain. Such filaments are optically thick, hotter than the surroundings, and elevated above a darker background. An upflow in penumbral grains bends horizontally outwards above the photosphere and gradually cools down due to radiative losses leading to a tail that gradually darkens. The plasma flow inside the flux tube then becomes transparent and the tube constitutes a thin elevated flow channel, that can reproduce the observed features of the Evershed effect. We present also a new acceleration mechanism for the Evershed flow. It is demonstrated that a local surplus of gas pressure develops inside the tube as it rises through the specific (superadiabatic and magnetized) penumbral background. The resulting gradient of the gas pressure can drive the flow along the tube.

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arXiv1997

A dynamical model for the penumbral fine structure and the Evershed effect in sunspots

Relying on the assumption that the interchange convection of magnetic flux tubes is the physical cause for the existence of sunspot penumbrae, we propose a model in which the dynamical evolution of a thin magnetic flux tube reproduces the Evershed effect and the penumbral fine structure such as bright and dark filaments and penumbral grains. According to our model, penumbral grains are the manifestation of the footpoints of magnetic flux tubes, along which hot subphotospheric plasma flows upwards with a few km/s. Above the photosphere the hot plasma inside the tube is cooled by radiative losses as it flows horizontally outwards. As long as the flowing plasma is hotter than the surroundings, it constitutes a bright radial filament. The flow confined to a thin elevated channel reaches the temperature equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere and becomes optically thin near the outer edge of the penumbra. Here, the tube has a height of approximately 100 km above the continuum and the flow velocity reaches up to 14 km/s. Such a flow channel can reproduce the observed signatures of the Evershed effect.

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arXiv1995

Evolution of a Magnetic Flux Tube in a Sunspot Penumbra

The motion of an individual magnetic flux tube inside the penumbra of a sunspot is studied numerically. Here, we present preliminary results. The thin flux tube approximation together with a simplified radiative heat exchange with the surroundings is used to study the evolution of a flux tube embedded into a background given by a global magneto-static sunspot model. The investigation is undertaken in order to verify the conjecture that convection in sunspot penumbrae occurs by an interchange of magnetic flux tubes. The code being developed can be used to study dynamic aspects of filamentary structure in the penumbra: the temporal and spatial fluctuations of the temperature and the magnetic field, the motion of bright penumbral grains, or the Evershed effect. Here we present the evolution of a wave formed by the tube whose fragment emerges in the penumbral photosphere and migrates towards the umbra. The properties of this wave show qualitative features of the observed bright penumbral grains with corresponding upward velocity and its correlation with brightness and the inclination of the magnetic field, and also of the Evershed effect.

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