Diagnostics of Ellerman bombs with high-resolution spectral data

Ellerman bombs(EBs) are tiny brightenings often observed near sunspots.The most impressive characteristic of EB spectra is the two emission bumps in both wings of the Hα and Ca II 8542 ?A lines. High-resolution spectral data of three small EBs were obtained on 2013 June 6 with the largest solar telescope, the 1.6 m New Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. The characteristics of these EBs are analyzed. The sizes of the EBs are in the range of 0.3′′- 0.8′′ and their durations are only 3–5 min. Our semi-empirical atmospheric models indicate that the heating occurs around the temperature minimum region with a temperature increase of 2700–3000 K, which is surprisingly higher than previously thought. The radiative and kinetic energies are estimated to be as high as 5 × 1025- 3.0 × 1026 erg despite the small size of these EBs. Observations of the magnetic field show that the EBs just appeared in a parasitic region with mixed polarities and were accompanied by mass motions.Nonlinear force-free field extrapolation reveals that the three EBs are connected with a series of magnetic field lines associated with bald patches, which strongly implies that these EBs should be produced by magnetic reconnection in the solar lower atmosphere. According to the lightcurves and the estimated magnetic reconnection rate,we propose that there is a three phase process in EBs: pre-heating, flaring and cooling phases.     

Synthetic analysis of a two-ribbon microflare

High-resolution Stokes spectral data of Hα,Ca II 8542 ,and Fe I 6302.5  lines for a two-ribbon microflare (TRMF) were simultaneously obtained by the THEMIS telescope on 2002 September 5.We derive the intensity,velocity,and longitudinal magnetic field maps.The hard X-ray emission observed by RHESSI provides evidence of nonthermal particle acceleration in the TRMF.Using Hα and Ca II 8542  line profiles and a non-LTE calculation,we obtain semi-empirical atmospheric models for the two brightest kernels of th...     

Infrared Properties of a Large Ring Around the LBV G79.29+0.46

G79.29+0.46 seems to be an unique object. Discovered as a nearly perfect ring in the radio continuum all subsequent observations are consistent with the interpretation that it is a large ring nebula (4′) around an heavily reddened LBV. Our ISOPHOT and LWS observations on board of ISO show that an infrared ring coincides with the radio ring. Line emission does not contaminate the continuum images. The resulting dust temperature of > 70 K) is unusually high. The LWS spectra of the 52 and 88 μm [OIII], 63 μm [OI], 122 μm [NII] and 158 μm [CII] lines are discussed. No cool neutral gas is found near the ring. A quantitative interpretation has to await modelling of the rather complicated background. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The comparison of H_2CO(1_(10)–1_(11)),C~(18)O(1–0) and the continuum towards molecular clouds

We present large scale observations of C18O(1–0) towards four massive star forming regions: MON R2,S156,DR17/L906 and M17/M18. The transitions of H2CO(110–111),C18O(1–0) and the 6 cm continuum are compared in these four regions. Our analysis of the observations and the results of the Non–LTE model shows that the brightness temperature of the formaldehyde absorption line is strongest in a background continuum temperature range of about 3 – 8 K. The excitation of the H2 CO absorption line is affected by strong background continuum emission. From a comparison of H2 CO and C18 O maps,we found that the extent of H2 CO absorption is broader than that of C18 O emission in the four regions. Except for the DR17 region,the maximum in H2 CO absorption is located at the same position as the C18 O peak. A good correlation between intensities and widths of H2 CO absorption and C18 O emission lines indicates that the H2 CO absorption line can trace the dense,warm regions of a molecular cloud. We find that N(H2CO) is well correlated with N(C18O) in the four regions and that the average ratio of column densities is N(H2CO)/N(C18O) ～ 0.03.     

Relation between Starlight and Nebular Emission Lines of Star-Forming Galaxies

We present an exercise that intends to establish a relationship between the strength of nebular emission lines and optical stellar features in the spectrum of a galaxy. After accurately subtracting the stellar continuum and the underlying stellar absorption, we made reliable measurements of the emission lines of all the galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 2 (SDSS DR2). More than 4000 star-forming galaxies with high S/N ratio of both the stellar spectrum and the emission lines are selected. These galaxy spectra are fitted with the 10 PCs of Yip et al., after all the emission line regions have been filtered out. We find that the flux of hydrogen Balmer emission lines, Hα and Hβ can be well recovered from the PCs, while the metal lines are not well reproduced. The fluxes of Hα and Hβ measured from the PC-reconstructed spectra and from the observed spectra agree well with an rms scatter of only - 0.1 dex. This result suggests that, with moderate spectral resolution and S/N ratio, the optical stellar spectrum of a galaxy can serve as an indicator of star formation rate.     

The Elusive Dust Torus of NGC 1068 Unveiled by Adaptive Optics Observations from 2.2 µm TO 4.8 µm

Near-infrared, adaptive optics observations of AGN achieve a spatial resolution comparable to that of the Hubble Space Telescope at visible and ultraviolet wavelengths. Using the ESO adaptive optics system, we have mapped the nuclear region of NGC 1068 in the near-infrared at 2.2, 3.5 and 4.8 μm. These data show the presence of strong near-infrared emission within the central 100 pc around the nucleus. At the K, L and M bands, the dominant emission peak is unresolved at resolutions of 35 pc (K), 15 pc (L) and 23 pc (M). We find that the emission peaks at 2.2, 3.5 and 4.8 μm are offset by 0.3±0.1" south of the HST optical continuum peak. The infrared peaks are coincident with the HST imaging polarimetry center thought to mark the hidden nucleus. We conclude that the infrared emission peaks are also directly related with the hidden nucleus and that they outline the dusty torus around the central engine, as expected from current AGN models. From our first estimate of the fluxes in L and M, we derive a dust temperature of 750 K for the unresolved component. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chromospheric Internetwork Oscillations at Various Locations of the Quiet Sun

We analyze oscillation behaviours in chromospheric internetwork regions using spectral observations of the CⅡ1334 A line obtained with the Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation spectrograph (SUMER) aboard Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Three areas, 26 ×120arcsec2 each, at the various latitudes from the disk center to the north polar coronal hole, were rastered with a cadence of about 40-60 s in the solar minimum year. We obtained the time evolution of two-dimensional (2D) line intensity, continuum and line core shift. The continuum and the line shift show -3 min chromospheric oscillations in the internetwork regions underlying the coronal hole as well as at the disk center. We find that the CⅡ1334A line shift oscillates with an average speed of -1.7 km s-1, independent of the latitude, while its coherent scale decreases with latitude. On the other hand, the oscillation amplitude of the continuum around the 1334 A and the phase delay between the Doppler shift and continuum sli     

Location of energy source for coronal heating on the photosphere

It is reported that ultra-fine dynamic ejections along magnetic loops of an active region originate from intergranular lanes and they are associated with subsequent heating in the corona. As continuing work, we analyze the same set of data but focus on a quiet region and the overlying EUV/UV emission as observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly(AIA) on board Solar Dynamics Observatory(SDO). We find that there appear to be dark patches scattered across the quiet region and the dark patches always stay along intergranular lanes. Over the dark patches, the average UV/EUV emission at 131, 171, 304 and 1600 (middle temperature) is more intense than that of other regions and EUV brightness is negatively correlated with 10830  intensity, though, such a trend does not exist for high temperature lines at 94, 193, 211 and 335 . For the same quiet region, where both Ti O 7057  broad band images and 10830  filtergrams are available, contours for the darkest lane areas on Ti O images and dark patches on 10830  filtergrams frequently differ in space. The results suggest that the dark patches do not simply reflect the areas with the darkest lanes but are associated with a kind of enhanced absorption(EA) at 10830 . A strict definition for EA with narrow band 10830  filtergrams is found to be difficult. In this paper, we define enhanced absorption patches(EAPs) of a quiet region as the areas where emission is less than ~90% of the mean intensity of the region. The value is equivalent to the average intensity along thin dark loops connecting two moss regions of the active region. A more strict definition for EAPs, say 88%, gives even more intense UV/EUV emission over those in the middle temperature range. The results provide further observational evidence that energy for heating the upper solar atmosphere comes from the intergranular lane area where the magnetic field is constantly brought in by convection motion in granules.     

Radiative hydrodynamic simulations of the spectral characteristics of solar white-light flares

As one of the most violent activities in the solar atmosphere,white-light flares(WLFs)are generally known for their enhanced white-light(or continuum)emission,which primarily originates in the solar lower atmosphere.However,we know little about how white-light emission is produced.In this study,we aim to investigate the response of the continua at 3600?and 4250?and also the Hαand Lyαlines during WLFs modeled using radiative hydrodynamic simulations.We take non-thermal electron beams as the energy source for the WLFs in two different initial atmospheres and vary their parameters.Our results show that the model with non-thermal electron beam heating clearly shows enhancements in the continua at 3600?and 4250?as well as in the Hαand Lyαlines.A larger electron beam flux,a smaller spectral index,or an initial penumbral atmosphere leads to a stronger emission increase at 3600?,4250?and in the Hαline.The Lyαline,however,is more obviously enhanced in a quiet-Sun initial atmosphere with a larger electron beam spectral index.It is also notable that the continua at 3600?and 4250?and the Hαline exhibit a dimming at the start of heating and reach their peak emissions after the peak time of the heating function,while the Lyαline does not show such behaviors.These results can serve as a reference for the analysis of future WLF observations.     

Key Properties of Solar Chromospheric Line Formation Process

The distribution or wavelength-dependence of the formation regions of frequently used solar lines, Hα，Hβ，CaIIH and CaII8542,in quiet Sun,faint and bright flares is explored in the unpolarized case.We stress four aspects characterising the property of line formation process:1) width of line formation core;2) line formation region;3)influence of the temperature minimum region; and 4) wavelength ranges within which one can obtain pure chromospheric and photospheric filtergrams.It is shown that the above four aspects depend strongly on the atmospheric physical condition and the lines used. The formation regions of all the wavelength points within a line may be continuously distributed over one depth domain or discretely distributed because of no contribution coming from the temperature minimum region, an important domain in the solar atmosphere that determines the distribution pattern of escape photons. On the other hand, the formation region of one wavelength point may cover only one height range or spread over two domains which are separated again by the temperature minimum region. Different lines may form in different regions in the quiet Sun. However, these line formation regions become closer in solar flaring regions. Finally, though the stratification of line-of-sight velocity can alter the position of the line formation core within the line band and result in the asymmetry of the line formation core about the shifted line center, it can only lead to negligible changes in the line formation region or the line formation core width. All these results can be instructive to solar filtering observations.     

Spectral Analysis and Atmospheric Models of Microflares

By use of the high-resolution spectral data obtained with THEMIS on 2002 September 5, the spectra and characteristics of five well-observed microflares have been analyzed. Our results indicate that some of them are located near the longitudinal magnetic polarity inversion lines. All the microflares are accompanied by mass motions. The most obvious characteristic of the Ha microflare spectra is the emission at the center of both Ha and Can 8542 A lines. For the first time both thermal and non-thermal semi-empirical atmospheric models for the conspicuous and faint microflares are computed. In computing the non-thermal models, we assume that the electron beam resulting from magnetic reconnection is produced in the chromosphere, because it requires lower energies for the injected particles. It is found there is obvious heating in the low chromosphere. The temperature enhancement is about 1000-2200 K in the thermal models. If the non-thermal effects are included, then the required temperature increase can be reduced by 100-150 K. These imply that the Ha microflares can probably be produced by magnetic reconnection in the solar lower atmosphere. The radiative and kinetic energies of the Ha microflares are estimated and the total energy is found to be 1027 - 4×1028 erg.     

On the diffuse soft X-ray emission from the nuclear region of M51

We present an analysis of the diffuse soft X-ray emission from the nuclear region of M51 combining both XMM-Newton RGS and Chandra data.Most of the RGS spectrum of M51 can be fitted with a thermal model with a temperature of~0.5 ke V except for the O VII triplet,which is forbidden-line dominated.The Fe L-shell lines peak around the southern cloud,where the O VIII and N VII Lyαlines also peak.In contrast,the peak of the O VII forbidden line is about 10′′offset from that of the other lines,indicating that it is from a spatially distinct component.The spatial distribution of the O VII triplet mapped by the Chandra data shows that most of the O VII triplet flux is located at faint regions near edges,instead of the southern cloud where other lines peak.This distribution of the O VII triplet is inconsistent with the photoionization model.Other mechanisms that could produce the anomalous O VII triplet,including a recombining plasma and charge exchange X-ray emission,are discussed.     

Broad-band spectroscopy of the transient X-ray binary pulsar KS 1947+300 during 2013 giant outburst: Detection of pulsating soft X-ray excess component

We present the results obtained from detailed timing and spectral studies of the Be/X-ray binary pulsar KS 1947+300 during its 2013 giant outburst. We used data from Suzaku observations of the pulsar at two epochs, i.e. on 2013 October 22(close to the peak of the outburst) and 2013 November 22. Xray pulsations at ~18.81 s were clearly detected in the light curves obtained from both observations. Pulse periods estimated during the outburst showed that the pulsar was spinning up. The pulse profile was found to be single-peaked up to ~10 ke V beyond which a sharp peak followed by a dip-like feature appeared at hard X-rays. The dip-like feature has been observed up to ~70 keV. The 1–110 ke V broad-band spectroscopy of both observations revealed that the best-fit model was comprised of a partially absorbed Negative and Positive power law with EXponential cutoff(NPEX) continuum model along with a blackbody component for the soft X-ray excess and two Gaussian functions at 6.4 and 6.7 ke V for emission lines. Both the lines were identified as emission from neutral and He-like iron atoms. To fit the spectra, we included the previously reported cyclotron absorption line at 12.2 keV. From the spin-up rate, the magnetic field of the pulsar was estimated to be ~1.2×10~(12)G and found to be comparable to that obtained from the detection of the cyclotron absorption feature. Pulse-phase resolved spectroscopy revealed the pulsating nature of the soft X-ray excess component in phase with the continuum flux. This confirms that the accretion column and/or accretion stream are the most probable regions of the soft X-ray excess emission in KS1947+300.The presence of the pulsating soft X-ray excess in phase with continuum emission may be the possible reason for not observing the dip at soft X-rays.     

共生星近红外光谱分类

We present preliminary results of spectral classification observations of symbiotic stars in the nearinfrared region. Representative CCD near-infrared spectra of some K and M standard stars and 3 symbiotic stars are presented. On the specaograms at a dispersion of 33 A/mm the Fel/TiI blend A 8469 and Fel ). 8514 arc more usefu' luminosity discriminants for symbiotic stars than Call triplet (-US498, 8542 and 8662) which is disturbed by emission lines of Call triplet and Paschcn series of HI in some symbiotic stars. For late M symbiotic stars the temperature classification car, be reliably derived from strengths of TiO and VO bands. New spectral types and luminosity classes of six symbiotic stars observed are discussed.     

A Multi-Wavelength Study of the 3B/X1.2 Flare Observed on 2003 October 26

We report results from a multi-wavelength study of the 3B/X1.2 two-ribbon disk flare (S15E44), which was well observed by both ground-based and space-borne instruments. Two pairs of conjugate kernels - K1 and K4, and K2 and K3 - in the Ha images are identified. These kernels are linked by two different systems of EUV loops. Kl and K4 correspond to the two 17 GHz and 34 GHz microwave sources observed by the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH), while K2 and K3 have no corresponding microwave sources. Optical spectroscopic observations suggest that all the four kernels are possible precipitating sites of non-thermal electrons. Thus the energy of electron deposited in K2 and K3 should be less than 100 keV. Two-dimensional distributions of the full widths at half maximum (FWHM) of the Ha profiles and the line-of-sight (LOS) velocities derived from the Ca Ⅱ 8542 (?) profiles indicate that the largest FWHM and LOS velocity tends to be located near the outer edges of Ha kernels, which is consistent with the scenario of current two-ribbon flare models and previous results. When non-thermal electron bombardment is present, the observed Ha and Ca Ⅱ 8542 (?) profiles are similar to previous observational and theoretical results, while the He I 10830 A profiles are different from the theoretical ones. This puts some constraints on future theoretical calculation of the He I 10830 (?) line.     

ISO-SWS Observations of the Time Variability of Oxygen-righ Mira Variables

We present the first observation of variation of the infrared spectrum of circumstellar dust emission around an oxygen-rich Mira variable star, Z Cyg, over an entire light variation cycle, based on the periodic SWS01 observations. The 10 μm and 20 μm ‘silicate features’ become stronger relative to the photospheric emission at maximum that at minimum. In addition, the relative intensity of the 10 μm to the 20 μm features increases at maximum, indicating an increase of the temperature of circumstellar dust grain. A simple model analysis suggests enhanced dust formation near the photosphere around maximum, leading to a scenario that dust nucleation may have occurred near minimum and the dust grains may have subsequently grown till maximum. The strong observed variation suggests that the variability must be taken into account in the interpretation of the infrared spectra of oxygen-rich Mira variables. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chromospheric activity on the late-type star V1355 Ori using Lijiang 1.8-m and 2.4-m telescopes

We obtained new high-resolution spectra using the Lijiang 1.8-m and 2.4-m telescopes to investigate the chromospheric activities of VI355 Ori as indicated in the behaviors of Ca Ⅱ HK,Hδ,Hγ,Hβ,Na Ⅰ D_1,D_2,Hα and Ca Ⅱ infrared triplet(IRT) lines.The observed spectra show obvious emissions above the continuum in Ca II HK lines,absorptions in the Hδ,Hγ,Hβ and Na Ⅰ D_1,D_2 lines,variable behavior(filled-in absorption,partial emission with a core absorption component or emission above the continuum)in the Hα line,and weak self-reversal emissions in the strong filled-in absorptions of the Ca Ⅱ IRT lines.We used a spectral subtraction technique to analyze our data.The results show no excess emission in the Hδ and Hγ lines,very weak excess emissions in the Na Ⅰ D_1,D_2 lines,excess emission in the Hβ line,clear excess emission in the Hα line,and excess emissions in the Ca Ⅱ IRT lines.The value of the ratio of EW_(8542)/EW_(8498) is in the range 0.9 to 1.7,which implies that chromospheric activity might have been caused by plage events.The value of the ratio E_(Hα)/E_(Hβ) is above 3,indicating that the Balmer lines would arise from prominence-like material.We also found time variations in light curves associated with equivalent widths of chromospheric activity lines in the Na Ⅰ D_1,D_2,Ca Ⅱ IRT and Hα lines in particular.These phenomena can be explained by plage events,which are consistent with the behavior of chromospheric activity indicators.     

Circumstellar Silicate Mineralogy

This paper reviews spectra obtained with the SWS on board of ISO of dust shells around O-rich objects. These spectra reveal the presence of many new emission features between 10 and 45 μm. These bands are generally much narrower than the well-known 10 and 20 μm silicates features. The strength of these features relative to the underlying broad continuum varies from source to source (≅ 5-50%). The 10 μm region shows evidence for the presence of Al2O3 grains. At longer wavelength, the spectra are dominated by features due to crystalline olivine and pyroxene. The exact peak position of these features shows that the emitting grains consist of the Mg-rich end-members of these minerals with an Fe-content of < 10%. The underlying continuum is attributed to amorphous silicate grains. These observations of aluminum-rich and magnesium-rich compounds compare well with the thermodynamic condensation sequence of minerals expected for O-rich outflows. The observations also imply that freeze out (ie., kinetics) of this condensation sequence at different temperatures is an important characteristic of dust formation in these objects. It is suggested that the absence of Fe-rich silicates is a natural consequence of the low temperature at which gaseous Fe reacts with Mg-rich silicates in these outflows, resulting in amorphous grains with little characterizing spectral detail. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Molecular Gas and Dust in the Massive Star Forming Region S 233 IR

The massive star forming region S 233 IR is observed in the molecular lines CO J = 2-1, 3-2, NH3 (1,1), (2,2) and the 870#m dust continuum. Four submillimeter continuum sources, labelled SMM 1-4, are revealed in the 870μm dust emission. The main core, SMM1, is found to be associated with a deeply embedded near infrared cluster in the northeast; while the weaker source SMM2 coincides with a more evolved cluster in the southwest. The best fit spectral energy distribution of SMM1 gives an emissivity of β = 1.6, and temperatures of 32 K and 92 K for the cold- and hot-dust components. An SMM1 core mass of 246 M⊙ and a total mass of 445 M⊙ are estimated from the 870μm dust continuum emission.SMM1 is found to have a temperature gradient decreasing from inside out, indicative of the presence of interior heating sources. The total outflow gas mass as traced by the CO J = 3-2 emission is estimated to be 35 M⊙. Low velocity outflows are also found in the NH3 (1,1) emission. The non-thermal dominant NH3 line width as well as the substantial core mass suggest that the SMM1 core is a “turbulent,massive dense core”, in the process of forming a group or a cluster of stars. The much higher star formation efficiency found in the southwest cluster supports the suggestion that this cluster is more evolved than the northeast one. Large near infrared photometric variations found in the source PCS-IR93, a previously found highly polarized nebulosity, indicate an underlying star showing the FU Orionis type of behavior.     

First Results from ISO Spectra of Supernova Remnants Heavily Interacting with the ISM

ISO spectra of the supernova remnant RCW103 are presented. This object is the prototype of a SNR shock heavily interacting with dense ISM (probably a molecular cloud). The spectra are dominated by prominent lines and show very little continuum at λ < 40 μm suggesting that the 12 and 25 μm IRAS emission from these types of remnant could be dominated by lines rather than continuum emission from warm dust heated by the shock as generally believed. The ISO data provide for the first time a simple and reliable estimate of the gas phase abundances of Si and Fe which are found to be close to solar relative to non refractory species such as Ne, S and Ar. This indicates that the shock is very effective in destroying the ISM dust and may therefore explain the absence of warm dust behind the shock. Like the optical Nickel lines, [NiII]6.63 μm yields Ni/Fe abundances a factor ≥ 10 above solar which we conclude results from a large underestimation of the computed Ni+ collision strengths. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.