arXiv subjects

Viggo Hansteen

Publications and source records attributed to Viggo Hansteen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

The Multi-slit Approach to Coronal Spectroscopy with the Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE)

The Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) is a proposed mission aimed at understanding the physical mechanisms driving the heating of the solar corona and the eruptions that are at the foundation of space weather. MUSE contains two instruments, a multi-slit EUV spectrograph and a context imager. It will simultaneously obtain EUV spectra (along 37 slits) and context images with the highest resolution in space (0.33-0.4 arcsec) and time (1-4 s) ever achieved for the transition region and corona. The MUSE science investigation will exploit major advances in numerical modeling, and observe at the spatial and temporal scales on which competing models make testable and distinguishable predictions, thereby leading to a breakthrough in our understanding of coronal heating and the drivers of space weather. By obtaining spectra in 4 bright EUV lines (Fe IX 171A, Fe XV 284A, Fe XIX-XXI 108A) covering a wide range of transition region and coronal temperatures along 37 slits simultaneously, MUSE will be able to "freeze" the evolution of the dynamic coronal plasma. We describe MUSE's multi-slit approach and show that the optimization of the design minimizes the impact of spectral lines from neighboring slits, generally allowing line parameters to be accurately determined. We also describe a Spectral Disambiguation Code to resolve multi-slit ambiguity in locations where secondary lines are bright. We use simulations of the corona and eruptions to perform validation tests and show that the multi-slit disambiguation approach allows accurate determination of MUSE observables in locations where significant multi-slit contamination occurs.

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arXiv2019

Multi-component Decomposition of Astronomical Spectra by Compressed Sensing

The signal measured by an astronomical spectrometer may be due to radiation from a multi-component mixture of plasmas with a range of physical properties (e.g. temperature, Doppler velocity). Confusion between multiple components may be exacerbated if the spectrometer sensor is illuminated by overlapping spectra dispersed from different slits, with each slit being exposed to radiation from a different portion of an extended astrophysical object. We use a compressed sensing method to robustly retrieve the different components. This method can be adopted for a variety of spectrometer configurations, including single-slit, multi-slit (e.g., the proposed MUlti-slit Solar Explorer mission; MUSE) and slot spectrometers (which produce overlappograms).

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arXiv2017

Forward modeling of emission in SDO/AIA passbands from dynamic 3D simulations

It is typically assumed that emission in the passbands of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is dominated by single or several strong lines from ions that under equilibrium conditions are formed in a narrow range of temperatures. However, most SDO/AIA channels also contain contributions from lines of ions that have formation temperatures that are significantly different from the "dominant" ion(s). We investigate the importance of these lines by forward modeling the emission in the SDO/AIA channels with 3D radiative MHD simulations of a model that spans the upper layer of the convection zone to the low corona. The model is highly dynamic. In addition, we pump a steadily increasing magnetic flux into the corona, in order to increase the coronal temperature through the dissipation of magnetic stresses. As a consequence, the model covers different ranges of coronal temperatures as time progresses. The model covers coronal temperatures that are representative of plasma conditions in coronal holes and quiet sun. The 131, 171, and 304 Å AIA passbands are found to be least influenced by the so-called "non-dominant" ions, and the emission observed in these channels comes mostly from plasma at temperatures near the formation temperature of the dominant ion(s). On the other hand, the other channels are strongly influenced by the non-dominant ions, and therefore significant emission in these channels comes from plasma at temperatures that are different from the "canonical" values. We have also studied the influence of non-dominant ions on the AIA passbands when different element abundances are assumed (photospheric and coronal), and when the effects of the electron density on the contribution function are taken into account.

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arXiv2017

On the Misalignment between Chromospheric Features and the Magnetic Field on the Sun

Observations of the upper chromosphere shows an enormous amount of intricate fine structure. Much of this comes in the form of linear features which are most often assumed to be well aligned with the direction of the magnetic field in the low plasma beta regime thought to dominate the upper chromosphere. We use advanced radiative MHD simulations including the effects of ion-neutral interactions (using the generalized Ohm's law) in the partially ionized chromosphere to show that the magnetic field is often not well aligned with chromospheric features. This occurs where the ambipolar diffusion is large, i.e., ions and neutral populations decouple as the ion-neutral collision frequency drops allowing the field to slip through the neutral population, currents perpendicular to the field are strong, and thermodynamic timescales are longer than or similar to the those of ambipolar diffusion. We find this often happens in dynamic spicule or fibril-like features at the top of the chromosphere. This has important consequences for field extrapolation methods which increasingly use such upper chromospheric features to help constrain the chromospheric magnetic field: our results invalidate the underlying assumption that these features are aligned with the field. In addition, our results cast doubt on results from 1D hydrodynamic models, which assume that plasma remains on the same field lines. Finally, our simulations show that ambipolar diffusion significantly alters the amount of free energy available in the coronal part of our simulated volume, which is likely to have consequences for studies of flare initiation.

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arXiv2016

Chromospheric and Coronal Wave Generation in a Magnetic Flux Sheath

Using radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the solar atmospheric layers from the upper convection zone to the lower corona, we investigate the self-consistent excitation of slow magneto-acoustic body waves (slow modes) in a magnetic flux concentration. We find that the convective downdrafts in the close surroundings of a two-dimensional flux slab "pump" the plasma inside it in the downward direction. This action produces a downflow inside the flux slab, which encompasses ever higher layers, causing an upwardly propagating rarefaction wave. The slow mode, excited by the adiabatic compression of the downflow near the optical surface, travels along the magnetic field in the upward direction at the tube speed. It develops into a shock wave at chromospheric heights, where it dissipates, lifts the transition region, and produces an offspring in the form of a compressive wave that propagates further into the corona. In the wake of downflows and propagating shock waves, the atmosphere inside the flux slab in the chromosphere and higher tends to oscillate with a period of $ν\approx 4$~mHz. We conclude that this process of "magnetic pumping" is a most plausible mechanism for the direct generation of longitudinal chromospheric and coronal compressive waves within magnetic flux concentrations, and it may provide an important heat source in the chromosphere. It may also be responsible for certain types of dynamic fibrils.

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arXiv2016

High spatial resolution FeXII observations of solar active region

We use UV spectral observations of active regions with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) to investigate the properties of the coronal FeXII 1349.4A emission at unprecedented high spatial resolution (~0.33"). We find that by using appropriate observational strategies (i.e., long exposures, lossless compression), FeXII emission can be studied with IRIS at high spatial and spectral resolution, at least for high density plasma (e.g., post-flare loops, and active region moss). We find that upper transition region (moss) FeXII emission shows very small average Doppler redshifts (v_Dop ~3 km/s), as well as modest non-thermal velocities (with an average ~24 km/s, and the peak of the distribution at ~15 km/s). The observed distribution of Doppler shifts appears to be compatible with advanced 3D radiative MHD simulations in which impulsive heating is concentrated at the transition region footpoints of a hot corona. While the non-thermal broadening of FeXII 1349.4A peaks at similar values as lower resolution simultaneous Hinode/EIS measurements of FeXII 195A, IRIS observations show a previously undetected tail of increased non-thermal broadening that might be suggestive of the presence of subarcsecond heating events. We find that IRIS and EIS non-thermal line broadening measurements are affected by instrumental effects that can only be removed through careful analysis. Our results also reveal an unexplained discrepancy between observed 195.1/1349.4A FeXII intensity ratios and those predicted by the CHIANTI atomic database.

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arXiv2016

Emergence of granular-sized magnetic bubbles through the solar atmosphere. III. The path to the transition region

We study the ascent of granular-sized magnetic bubbles from the solar photosphere through the chromosphere into the transition region and above, for the first time. Such events occurred in a flux emerging region in NOAA 11850 on September 25, 2013. During that time, the first co-observing campaign between the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope and the IRIS spacecraft was carried out. Simultaneous observations of the chromospheric H$α$ 656.28 nm and \ion{Ca}{2} 854.2 nm lines, plus the photospheric \ion{Fe}{1} 630.25 nm line, were made with the CRISP spectropolarimeter at the SST reaching a spatial resolution of 0."14. At the same time, IRIS was performing a four-step dense raster of the said emerging flux region, taking slit-jaw images at 133 (C~{\sc ii}, transition region), 140 (\ion{Si}{4}, transition region), 279.6 (\ion{Mg}{2} k, core, upper chromosphere), and 283.2 nm (\ion{Mg}{2} k, wing, photosphere). Spectroscopy of several lines was performed by the IRIS spectrograph in the far and near ultraviolet, of which we have used the \ion{Si}{4} 140.3 and the \ion{Mg}{2} k 279.6 nm lines. Coronal images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly of the Solar Dynamics Observatory were used to investigate the possible coronal signatures of the flux emergence events. The photospheric and chromospheric properties of small-scale emerging magnetic bubbles have been described in detail in Ortiz et al. (2014). Here we are able to follow such structures up to the transition region. We describe the properties, including temporal delays, of the observed flux emergence in all layers. We believe this may be an important mechanism of transporting energy and magnetic flux from subsurface layers to the transition region and corona.

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arXiv2016

Modeling Repeatedly Flaring $δ$ Sunspots

Active regions (AR) appearing on the surface of the Sun are classified into $α$, $β$, $γ$, and $δ$ by the rules of the Mount Wilson Observatory, California on the basis of their topological complexity. Amongst these, the $δ$-sunspots are known to be super-active and produce the most X-ray flares. Here, we present results from a simulation of the Sun by mimicking the upper layers and the corona, but starting at a more primitive stage than any earlier treatment. We find that this initial state consisting of only a thin sub-photospheric magnetic sheet breaks into multiple flux-tubes which evolve into a colliding-merging system of spots of opposite polarity upon surface emergence, similar to those often seen on the Sun. The simulation goes on to produce many exotic $δ$-sunspot associated phenomena: repeated flaring in the range of typical solar flare energy release and ejective helical flux ropes with embedded cool-dense plasma filaments resembling solar coronal mass ejections.

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arXiv2015

Numerical Simulations of Coronal Heating through Footpoint Braiding

Advanced 3D radiative MHD simulations now reproduce many properties of the outer solar atmosphere. When including a domain from the convection zone into the corona, a hot chromosphere and corona are self-consistently maintained. Here we study two realistic models, with different simulated area, magnetic field strength and topology, and numerical resolution. These are compared in order to characterize the heating in the 3D-MHD simulations which self-consistently maintains the structure of the atmosphere. We analyze the heating at both large and small scales and find that heating is episodic and highly structured in space, but occurs along loop shaped structures, and moves along with the magnetic field. On large scales we find that the heating per particle is maximal near the transition region and that widely distributed opposite-polarity field in the photosphere leads to a greater heating scale height in the corona. On smaller scales, heating is concentrated in current sheets, the thicknesses of which are set by the numerical resolution. Some current sheets fragment in time, this process occurring more readily in the higher-resolution model leading to spatially highly intermittent heating. The large scale heating structures are found to fade in less than about five minutes, while the smaller, local, heating shows time scales of the order of 2 minutes in one model and 1 minutes in the other, higher-resolution, model.

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arXiv2015

The Formation of IRIS diagnostics. IV. The Mg II triplet lines as a new diagnostic for lower chromospheric heating

A triplet of subordinate lines of Mg II exists in the region around the h&k lines. In solar spectra these lines are seen mostly in absorption, but in some cases can become emission lines. The aim of this work is to study the formation of this triplet, and investigate any diagnostic value they can bring. Using 3D radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations of quiet Sun and flaring flux emergence, we synthesize spectra and investigate how spectral features respond to the underlying atmosphere. We find that emission in the lines is rare and is typically caused by a steep temperature increase in the lower chromosphere (above 1500 K, with electron densities above 10$^{18}$ m$^{-3}$). In both simulations the lines are sensitive to temperature increases taking place at column masses >= 5e-4 g cm$^{-2}$. Additional information can also be inferred from the peak-to-wing ratio and shape of the line profiles. Using observations from NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph we find both absorption and emission line profiles with similar shapes to the synthetic spectra, which suggests that these lines represent a useful diagnostic that complements the MgII h&k lines.

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arXiv2015

Emergence of granular-sized magnetic bubbles through the solar atmosphere. II. Non-LTE chromospheric diagnostics and inversions

Magnetic flux emergence into the outer layers of the Sun is a fundamental mechanism for releasing energy into the chromosphere and the corona. In this paper, we study the emergence of granular-sized flux concentrations and the structuring of the corresponding physical parameters and atmospheric diagnostics in the upper photo- sphere and in the chromosphere. We make use of a realistic 3D MHD simulation of the outer layers of the Sun to study the formation of the Ca II 8542 line. We also derive semi-empirical 3D models from non-LTE inversions of our observations. These models contain depth-dependent information of the temperature and line-of-sight stratification. Our analysis explains the peculiar Ca II 8542 profiles observed in the flux-emerging region. In addition, we derive detailed temperature and velocity maps describing the ascent of magnetic bubbles from the photosphere to the chromosphere. The inversions suggest that, in active regions, granular-sized bubbles emerge up to the lower chromosphere where the existing large-scale field hinders their ascent. We report hints of heating when the field reaches the chromosphere.

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arXiv2014

Evidence of Non-Thermal Particles in Coronal Loops Heated Impulsively by Nanoflares

The physical processes causing energy exchange between the Sun's hot corona and its cool lower atmosphere remain poorly understood. The chromosphere and transition region (TR) form an interface region between the surface and the corona that is highly sensitive to the coronal heating mechanism. High resolution observations with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reveal rapid variability (about 20 to 60 seconds) of intensity and velocity on small spatial scales at the footpoints of hot dynamic coronal loops. The observations are consistent with numerical simulations of heating by beams of non-thermal electrons, which are generated in small impulsive heating events called "coronal nanoflares". The accelerated electrons deposit a sizable fraction of their energy in the chromosphere and TR. Our analysis provides tight constraints on the properties of such electron beams and new diagnostics for their presence in the nonflaring corona.

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arXiv2013

Emergence of granular-sized magnetic bubbles through the solar atmosphere: I. Spectropolarimetric observations and simulations

We study a granular-sized magnetic flux emergence event that occurred in NOAA 11024 in July 2009. The observations were made with the CRISP spectropolarimeter at the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope achieving a spatial resolution of 0.14". Simultaneous full Stokes observations of the two photospheric Fe I lines at 630.2 nm and the chromospheric Ca II 854.2 nm line allow us to describe in detail the emergence process across the solar atmosphere. We report here on 3D semi-spherical bubble events, where instead of simple magnetic footpoints, we observe complex semi-circular feet straddling a few granules. The most characteristic signature in these events is the observation of a dark bubble in filtergrams taken in the wings of the Ca II 854.2 nm line. We can infer how the bubble rises through the solar atmosphere as we see it progressing from the wings to the core of Ca II 854.2 nm. In the photosphere, the magnetic bubble shows mean upward Doppler velocities of 2 km/s. In about 3.5 minutes it travels some 1100 km to reach the mid chromosphere, implying an average ascent speed of 5.2 km/s. To aid the interpretation of the observations, we carry out 3D numerical simulations of the evolution of a horizontal, untwisted magnetic flux sheet injected in the convection zone, using the Bifrost code. The computational domain spans from the upper convection zone to the lower corona. In the modeled chromosphere the rising flux sheet produces a large, cool, magnetized bubble. We compare this bubble with the observed ones and find excellent agreement, including similar field strengths and velocity signals in the photosphere and chromosphere, temperature deficits, ascent speeds, expansion velocities, and lifetimes.

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arXiv2013

A Detailed Comparison Between The Observed and Synthesized Properties of a Simulated Type ii Spicule

We performed a 3D radiative MHD simulation of the solar atmosphere. This simulation shows a jet-like feature that shows similarities to the type II spicules observed for the first time with Hinode. Rapid Blueshifted Events (RBEs) on the solar disk are associated with these spicules. Observational results suggest they may contribute significantly in supplying the corona with hot plasma. We perform a detailed comparison of the properties of the simulated jet with those of type II spicules (observed with Hinode) and RBEs (with ground-based instruments). We analyze variety of synthetic emission and absorption lines from the simulations including chromospheric Ca II and Ha to TR and coronal temperatures (10E4 to several 10E6K). We compare their synthetic intensities, line profiles, Doppler shifts, line widths and asymmetries with observations from Hinode/SOT and EIS, SOHO/SUMER, SST and SDO/AIA. Many properties of the synthetic observables resemble the observations, and we describe in detail the physical processes that lead to these observables. Detailed analysis of the synthetic observables provides insight into how observations should be analyzed to derive information about physical variables in such a dynamic event. For example, we find that LOS superposition in the optically thin atmosphere requires the combination of Doppler shifts and spectral line asymmetry to determine the velocity in the jet. Other properties differ from the observations, especially in the chromospheric lines. The mass density of the part of the spicule with a chromospheric temperature is too low to produce significant opacity in chromospheric lines. These and other discrepancies are described in detail, and we discuss which mechanisms and physical processes may need to be included in the MHD simulations to mimic the thermodynamic processes of the chromosphere and corona, in particular to reproduce type II spicules.

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arXiv2013

Observing coronal nanoflares in active region moss

The High-resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C) has provided Fe XII 193A images of the upper transition region moss at an unprecedented spatial (~0.3-0.4 arcsec) and temporal (5.5s) resolution. The Hi-C observations show in some moss regions variability on timescales down to ~15s, significantly shorter than the minute scale variability typically found in previous observations of moss, therefore challenging the conclusion of moss being heated in a mostly steady manner. These rapid variability moss regions are located at the footpoints of bright hot coronal loops observed by SDO/AIA in the 94A channel, and by Hinode/XRT. The configuration of these loops is highly dynamic, and suggestive of slipping reconnection. We interpret these events as signatures of heating events associated with reconnection occurring in the overlying hot coronal loops, i.e., coronal nanoflares. We estimate the order of magnitude of the energy in these events to be of at least a few $10^{23}rg, also supporting the nanoflare scenario. These Hi-C observations suggest that future observations at comparable high spatial and temporal resolution, with more extensive temperature coverage are required to determine the exact characteristics of the heating mechanism(s).

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arXiv2012

Investigating the reliability of coronal emission measure distribution diagnostics using 3D radiative MHD simulations

Determining the temperature distribution of coronal plasmas can provide stringent constraints on coronal heating. Current observations with the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph onboard Hinode and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory provide diagnostics of the emission measure distribution (EMD) of the coronal plasma. Here we test the reliability of temperature diagnostics using 3D radiative MHD simulations. We produce synthetic observables from the models, and apply the Monte Carlo Markov chain EMD diagnostic. By comparing the derived EMDs with the "true" distributions from the model we assess the limitations of the diagnostics, as a function of the plasma parameters and of the signal-to-noise of the data. We find that EMDs derived from EIS synthetic data reproduce some general characteristics of the true distributions, but usually show differences from the true EMDs that are much larger than the estimated uncertainties suggest, especially when structures with significantly different density overlap along the line-of-sight. When using AIA synthetic data the derived EMDs reproduce the true EMDs much less accurately, especially for broad EMDs. The differences between the two instruments are due to the: (1) smaller number of constraints provided by AIA data, (2) broad temperature response function of the AIA channels which provide looser constraints to the temperature distribution. Our results suggest that EMDs derived from current observatories may often show significant discrepancies from the true EMDs, rendering their interpretation fraught with uncertainty. These inherent limitations to the method should be carefully considered when using these distributions to constrain coronal heating.

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arXiv2012

2D Radiative MHD Simulations of the Importance of Partial Ionization in the Chromosphere

The solar chromosphere is weakly ionized and interactions between ionized particles and neutral particles likely have significant consequences for the thermodynamics of the plasma. We investigate the importance of introducing neutral particles using numerical 2.5D radiative MHD simulations obtained with the Bifrost code. The models span from the upper layers of the convection zone to the low corona, and solve the full MHD equations with non-grey and NLTE radiative transfer, and thermal conduction. The effects of partial ionization are implemented using the generalized Ohm's law. The approximations required in going from three fluids to the generalized Ohm's law are tested in our simulations. The Ohmic diffusion, the Hall term, and ambipolar diffusion show strong variations in the chromosphere. These strong variations of the various magnetic diffusivities are absent or significantly underestimated when, as has been common for these types of studies, using the VAL-C model as a basis for estimates. In addition, we find that differences in estimating the magnitude of ambipolar diffusion arise depending on which method is used to calculate the ion-neutral collision frequency. These differences cause uncertainties in the different magnetic diffusivity terms. In the chromosphere, we find that the ambipolar diffusion is of the same order of magnitude or even larger than the numerical diffusion used to stabilize our code. As a consequence, ambipolar diffusion produces a strong impact on the modeled atmosphere. Perhaps more importantly, it suggests that at least in the chromospheric domain, self-consistent simulations of the solar atmosphere driven by magneto-convection can accurately describe the impact of the dominant form of resistivity (ambipolar diffusion). This suggests that such simulations may be more realistic in their approach to the lower solar atmosphere than previously assumed.

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arXiv2011

On the origin of the Type~{\sc ii} spicules - dynamic 3D MHD simulations

have forced the definition of a new type of spicule, "type II's", that are characterized by rising rapidly, having short lives, and by fading away at the end of their lifetimes. Here, we report on features found in realistic 3D simulations of the outer solar atmosphere that resemble the observed type II spicules. These features evolve naturally from the simulations as a consequence of the magnetohydrodynamical evolution of the model atmosphere. The simulations span from the upper layer of the convection zone to the lower corona and include the emergence of horizontal magnetic flux. The state-of-art Oslo Staggered Code (OSC) is used to solve the full MHD equations with non-grey and non-LTE radiative transfer and thermal conduction along the magnetic field lines. We describe in detail the physics involved in a process which we consider a possible candidate as a driver mechanism to produce type II spicules. The modeled spicule is composed of material rapidly ejected from the chromosphere that rises into the corona while being heated. Its source lies in a region with large field gradients and intense electric currents, which lead to a strong Lorentz force that squeezes the chromospheric material, resulting in a vertical pressure gradient that propels the spicule along the magnetic field, as well as Joule heating, which heats the the jet material, forcing it to fade.

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