Spectroscopic Studies of Solar Corona VIII. Temperature and Non-Thermal Variations in Steady Coronal Structures

With a view to investigate variations in parameters of coronal emission lines over a large range of radial distance from the limb, raster scans were made with sufficiently long exposure times on several days during September – October 2003. An analysis of the data shows that (i) in most of the coronal structures, the FWHM of the Fe xiv 5303 Å line decreases up to 300″±50″, (ii) the FWHM of the Fe x 6374 Å line increases up to about 200″ and then remains unchanged up to about 500″, and (iii) the FWHMs of the Fe xi 7892 Å and Fe xiii 10747 Å lines show an intermediate behaviour with height. The analysis of the data also shows that the ratio of FWHM of 6374 Å to that of 5303 Å increases from 0.93 at the limb to 1.18 at 200″ above the limb. From this and the ratio of intensities of the two lines we infer that the plasma in steady coronal structures at a height of about 200″ has a temperature of about 1.5 MK and a non-thermal velocity around 17 km s^?1. The observations also show that non-homogeneous temperatures and non-thermal velocities largely exist in the lower corona up to about 300″±100″ above the limb. Amplitudes of variations in FWHM of different emission lines with height in the coronal loops are similar to those in the diffuse plasma around the coronal loops.     

Variation of Emission Line Width in Mid- and High-Latitude Corona

Spectroscopic studies of the solar corona, using the high spatial and spectral resolution 25-cm coronagraph at the Norikura Solar Observatory for equatorial off-limb observations, indicated that the variation of radiance and line width with height is different for different temperature lines. The line width of the forbidden red emission line [Fe x] 6374 Å was found to increase with height, and that of the green emission line [Fe xiv] 5303 Å decreased with height. This had been interpreted in terms of the interaction between different temperature plasmas but needed to be confirmed. Further observations were made on several days during 2004, in two emission lines simultaneously covering the mid-latitude and polar regions to investigate the existence of the observed variation in other parts of the solar corona. In this study, we have analysed several raster scans that cover mid- and high-latitude regions of the off-limb corona in all four bright emission lines [Fe x] 6374 Å, [Fe xi] 7892 Å, [Fe xiii] 10747 Å, and [Fe xiv] 5303 Å. We find that the FWHM of the red line increases with height and that of the green line decreases with height, similar to the observations in the equatorial regions. The line widths are higher in the polar regions for all of the observed emission lines except the green line. Higher values of FWHM in polar regions may imply higher non-thermal velocities, which could be further linked to a non-thermal source powering the solar-wind acceleration, but the reason for the behaviour of the green emission line remains to be explored.     

The coronal hole at the 7 March 1970 solar eclipse

Coronal interferograms in the lines of Fe xiv 5303 Å, He i 5876 Å and Fe x 6374 Å were obtained during the total solar eclipse of 10 July, 1972 (see Figure 2). He i emission was found in the chromosphere only. The upper limit of the D₃ equivalent width in terms of the coronal continuous background is 0.013 Å in the inner corona (r=1.15 R⊙). The λ6374 negative was taken with low contrast. The half width of 16374 is 1.0–1.08 Å for a limited area of the corona (P=88?104°, r=1.30?1.44 R⊙). A detailed photometry of the 5303 Å line was carried out and the behaviour of the half widths and equivalent widths were studied in different regions of the corona. The half width of λ5303 increases with distance from the Sun's center in almost all the studied regions (1.2 R⊙ ? r ? 1.7 R⊙). This increase corresponds to an increase of the non-thermal velocities with a gradient of 1–2 km s^-1 per 0.1 R⊙. The equivalent widths, expressed in the coronal continuous background intensity remain constant on the average.     

Spectroscopic Studies of Solar Corona VII. Formation of a Coronal Loop by Evaporation

We obtained time-sequence spectroscopic observations in (Fe x) 6374 Å and (Fe xiv) 5303 Å lines successively with the 25-cm coronagraph, and narrow-band and Doppler images in 5303 Å line by the 2-D 10-cm Doppler coronagraph NOGIS at the Norikura Solar Observatory, of a coronal region for about 7 h on 9 19–20, 2001. The raster scans were obtained with a quasi-periodicity of about 14 min and NOGIS obtained the images with an interval of about 1 min. The coronal region observed showed the formation of a coronal loop by a high-speed surge in the 6374 Å line rising from one of the footpoints of the loop. Off the limb spectroscopic observations in the 6374 Å line showed large velocities along the line of sight and vertical to the solar limb at the time of formation of the loop. The 5303 Å line observations showed negligible line-of-sight velocities and low vertical velocities when compared to those in the 6374 Å line. A hump in the intensity plots in 5303 Å with height appears to move up with respect to the solar limb with an average velocity of 4km s^–1. The FWHM of the 6374 Å showed a much smaller value of about 0.7 Å near the foot point as compared to a value of 1.2 Å at larger heights at the beginning of observations. Later as the loop developed, the FWHM of 6374 Å line showed a gradual decrease along the loop up to 70 from the limb, reached a minimum value of about 0.5 Å and then increased with height during the formation of the loop; this trend lasted for about 2 h. About 3 h after the beginning of the formation of the loop, the FWHM of 6374 Å emission line showed normal values and normal rate of increase with height with some fluctuations. The FWHM of the 5303 Å line did not show such variations along the loop and showed normal decrease in FWHM with height found earlier (Singh et al., 2003a). These observations suggest that a relatively cooler plasma at a temperature of about 0.7 MK or less (corresponding to minimum value of FWHM of 0.5 Å) was ejected from the transition region with a large velocity of about 48km s^–1, heated up in the corona by some process and formed a coronal loop with a height of about 200 above the limb that had lifetime greater than 4 h. It appears that the plasma moved from one of the footpoints and the loop was formed by evaporation of chromospheric plasma. No large-scale brightening and H flare were observed in this region during the observational period of 7 h.On leave from Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore 560034, India.     

Spectroscopic Studies of the Solar Corona – V. Physical Properties of Coronal Structures

Spectra around the 6374 Å [Fex] and 7892 Å [Fexi] emission lines were obtained simultaneously with the 25-cm coronagraph at Norikura Observatory covering an area of 200 ×500 of the solar corona. The line width, peak intensity and line-of-sight velocity for both the lines were computed using Gaussian fits to the observed line profiles at each location (4 ×4 ) of the observed coronal region. The line-width measurements show that in steady coronal structures the FWHM of the 6374 Å emission line increases with height above the limb with an average value of 1.02 mÅ arc sec^–1. The FWHM of the 7892 Å line also increases with height but at a smaller average value of 0.55 mÅ arc sec^–1. These observations agree well with our earlier results obtained from observations of the red, green, and infrared emission lines that variation of the FWHM of the coronal emission lines with height in steady coronal structures depends on plasma temperatures they represent. The FWHM gradient is negative for high-temperature emission lines, positive for relatively low-temperature lines and smaller for emission lines in the intermediate temperature range. Such a behaviour in the variation of the FWHM of coronal emission lines with height above the limb suggests that it may not always be possible to interpret an increase in the FWHM of emission line with height as an increase in the nonthermal velocity, and hence rules out the existence of waves in steady coronal structures.     

Observation of the flare of 12 June 1982 by Norikura coronagraph and Hinotori

Flare activity was observed near the limb with two coronagraphs at the Norikura Solar Observatory and the Soft X-ray Crystal Spectrometer (SOX) aboard HINOTORI. A prominence activation occurred and then Hα brightenings were seen on the disk near the prominence. The prominence became very bright and its electron density increased to 10^12.8 cm^?3 in 1/2 hour. Loop prominence systems appeared above the Hα brightenings about half an hour after the onset of the flare, and were observed in the coronal lines CaXV 5694Å, FeXIV 5303Å, and FeX 6374Å. Shifted and asymmetric profiles of the emission line of 5303Å were sometimes observed, and turbulent phenomena occurred even in the thermal phase. The energy release site of the flare at the onset would be lower than 20 000 km above the solar limb.     

The coronal condensation observed at the 1973 eclipse

The flash spectrograms obtained at the June 30, 1973 eclipse contain the monochromatic images of a coronal condensation in three coronal lines of Fexiv 5303, Fex 6374 and Fexi 7892 and Hα line. The assumption of the axially-symmetric distribution of the emissivity in the coronal lines allows us to find the density and temperature structure of the coronal condensation. While the electron density in the central axis of the condensation is about ten times as high as that of the normal corona at each height, the temperature is not so high (T?2.3×10⁶K). This seems to be a representative nature of a coronal active region in the post maximum phase of activity. It is found that there exists a cool and dense core (T = 10⁶K, N _e =6 × 10⁹ cm^-3 at 17000 km) at the lower part of the coronal condensation, which is in a close geometrical coincidence with the small active prominence protruding from the underlying plage region.     

On the polarization of the solar coronal emission lines

The results of the spectrophotometrical measurements of the polarization in the coronal lines Fe xiv 5303 Å and Fe × 6374 Å are given. Polarization spectrograms were obtained by two spectrographs (prism and echelle types) during the solar eclipse in Mexico on 7 March, 1970 near the region of the second contact at the heights 0.06 to 0.12 R above the limb. The polarization in the green line is about 30% (for averaged height 1.08 R ). The polarization in the red line is close to the errors of the measurement and does not exceed 6%. A brief discussion of the results is also given.     

On the coronal lines λ5303 Å and λ6374 Å

We present theoretical calculations of the observed coronal emission line profiles of Fexiv (5303 Å) and Fex (6374 Å) ions, which are observed at the time of total solar eclipse. Baumbach's relation (Allen, 1973) of electron density has been employed to compute the full width at half maximum FWHM. We have employed several other electron density distributions and found that the calculated differences in the FWHM are within 0.5% of one another. We have used the ion densities N _i/N_E given by Jordan (1969). To explain the observed FWHM, we have assumed that the corona is expanding spherically symmetrically with a velocity of one or two mean thermal units and no turbulence is included. With these highly simplified assumptions, we have reproduced qualitatively the profiles and FWHM's of the above lines. However, to explain quantities of FWHM's, we should take into account the inhomogeneities in the structure of the corona. It is thus shown, that turbulence is not necessary to explain the observed FWHM.     

Spectroscopic Coronal Observations During the Total Solar Eclipse of 11 July 2010

The flash spectra of the solar chromosphere and corona were measured with a slitless spectrograph before, after, and during the totality of the solar eclipse of 11 July 2010, at Easter Island, Chile. This eclipse took place at the beginning of Solar Cycle 24, after an extended minimum of solar activity. The spectra taken during the eclipse show a different intensity ratio of the red and green coronal lines compared with those taken during the total solar eclipse of 1 August 2008, which took place toward the end of Solar Cycle 23. The characteristic coronal emission line of forbidden Fe xiv (5303 Å) was observed on the east and west solar limbs in four areas relatively symmetrically located with respect to the solar rotation axis. Subtraction of the continuum flash-spectrum background led to the identification of several extremely weak emission lines, including forbidden Ca xv (5694 Å), which is normally detected only in regions of very high excitation, e.g., during flares or above large sunspots. The height of the chromosphere was measured spectrophotometrically, using spectral lines from light elements and compared with the equivalent height of the lower chromosphere measured using spectral lines from heavy elements.     

Latitudinal variability of large-scale coronal temperature and its association with the density and the global magnetic field

In this paper we utilize the latitude distribution of the coronal temperature during the period 1984–1992 that was derived in a paper by Guhathakurta et al, 1993, utilizing ground-based intensity observations of the green (5303 Fe XIV) and red (6374 Fe X) coronal forbidden lines from the National Solar Observatory at Sacramento Peak, and estabish its association with the global magnetic field and the density distributions in the corona. A determination of plasma temperature,T, was estimated from the intensity ratio Fe X/Fe XIV (whereT is inversely proportional to the ratio), since both emission lines come from ionized states of Fe, and the ratio is only weakly dependent on density. We observe that there is a large-scale organization of the inferred coronal temperature distribution that is associated with the large-scale, weak magnetic field structures and bright coronal features; this organization tends to persist through most of the magnetic activity cycle. These high-temperature structures exhibit time-space characteristics which are similar to those of the polar crown filaments. This distribution differs in spatial and temporal characterization from the traditional picture of sunspot and active region evolution over the range of the sunspot cycle, which are manifestations of the small-scale, strong magnetic field regions.affiliated to USRA     

Evidence for moving features in the corona from emission line profiles observed during eclipses

Using the line profiles of [Fe x] 6374 å and [Fe XIV] 5303 å emission lines observed during five total solar eclipses, we address the problem whether the solar corona is static or contains moving features. Many of the profiles of both emission lines have complicated shapes, which we interpret as an evidence for the existence of many, small, moving features in the corona. The line-of-sight velocities observed by other investigators (e.g. Desai, Chandrasekhar & Angreji 1982) also support this view. On the other hand, about 15 recent interferometric and multislit investigations of coronal emission lines have not shown evidence of moving elements. We suggest that this is due to insufficient spatial resolution.     

The solar coronal green line as an index of cosmic ray modulation

In recent years several papers have indicated that the solar coronal green line emission (λ=5303Å) is the ‘best’ indicator of cosmic ray modulation. This paper questions this result for the following reasons: (a) the problems of green line measurement obscure the true meaning of the resulting observations; (b) there is a lack of any direct physical mechanism relating green line intensity and modulation; (c) a negative result came from a careful attempt to relate the cosmic ray diurnal variation and green line emission.     

Periodic oscillations found in coronal velocity fields

By making line profile analyses of the Fe xiv 5303 coronal line, temporal variations of three fundamental quantities, the line intensity, the FWHM, and the Doppler velocity, have been investigated for an active region. The power spectrum shows that the line-of-sight Doppler velocity fluctuated periodically at two locations with a period of nearly 300 seconds, while no periodic oscillations were found in line intensity. As to the FWHM, some evidence of periodic fluctuations are recognized but in a less distinct manner.The Sacramento Peak Observatory is operated by the Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. by contact with the National Science Foundation.     

On the coronal lines in the chromosphere at the 1970 eclipse

Spectrographic observations of the flash spectrum were made by the Kwasan Observatory at the total solar eclipse on 7 March, 1970. The integrated intensities of Fexiv 5303, Fex 6374, and the continuum were measured on the spectrograms as a function of height above the Sun's limb. It was found that a large amount of emission in the coronal lines originates in the interspicular regions of the chromosphere. Analysis of the data yielded that the interspicular regions consist of coronal material of T _e = 1.6 × 10⁶–1.2 × 10⁶ and log N _e = 8.5–9.5, and that a decrease in T _e and an increase in N _e occur with decreasing height.     

Line profile analysis of a coronal formation observed near a quiescent prominence: Intensities,temperatures and velocity fields

A technique developed for analysing line profiles with both speed and high accuracy was used to study the physical conditions of a coronal formation near a quiescent prominence. Detailed analyses of five coronal lines (Fe xiv λ 5303, Fe x λ 6374, Ni xv λ 6702, Fe xv λ 7059, and Fe xi λ 7892) provided total intensities, Doppler width temperatures, ionization temperatures, and velocities. Dissimilar spatial fluctuations in intensity are obvious for ions grouped according to (low vs high) ionization potentials. The intensity of the green line shows a local minimum around the observed quiescent prominence; a corresponding but much more diffuse pattern is visible in the red line intensity. Large differences are observed in temperatures derived by different means. In particular, , while , and . The differences between and are taken as direct evidence of temperature inhomogeneity. One can thus put little significance in T _e (xi/x). T _D(λ5303) and T _e (xv/xiv) fluctuate nearly in parallel at each slit height, with a weak local minimum evident around the prominence. The discrepancy between these two can be removed if a non-thermal turbulent motion of 6–16 km s⁻¹ is assumed. Variations with height of both T _D(λ5303) and T _e (xv/xiv) suggest that the coronal temperature maximum is located no more than 15000 km above the top of spicules. A negative gradient of about 6 deg km⁻¹ is found in the height variation of T _D(λ5303). The height variation of the green line wavelength shows that the majority of coronal material in this region is flowing from west to east on the Sun, with the highest velocity of 12 km s⁻¹ found at the lowest heights. This motion is in the same sense as that of the nearby coronal rain, as determined both from the spectra and wavelength-shifted Hα filtergrams. Superposed on the above flow is a systematic velocity field of up to ±5 km s⁻¹. This field similarly reaches maximum amplitudes at lowest heights showing a local maximum around the prominence. On leave from Institute of Earth Science and Astrophysics, Shiga University, Ohtsu 520, Japan, as 1973–75 National Academy of Science/National Research Council Senior Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Sacramento Peak Observatory.     

Measurements of spectral lines observed with Hinode/EIS as implications for coronal heating

We have measured the line widths and nonthermal velocities in 12 solar regions using high resolution EUV data taken by Hinode/EIS. We find that there exists a positive correlation between the intensity and nonthermal velocity for the Fe XII emission line as well as some other lines. The correlation coefficients decrease from the disk center to the limb. However, the nonthermal velocities of a particular spectral line do not vary much in different regions, so they are considered isotropic. In particular, we find that for a coronal loop structure, the largest widths and nonthermal velocities occur at the footpoints, where outflows appear. Based on these observational results, we discuss several physical processes responsible for coronal heating.     

Temperature of Polar Corona of the Sun According to Kislovodsk Observations During 1957–2002

We continued a study of the long-term variations of temperature in the solar corona at all latitudes (Makarov, Tlatov, and Callebaut, 2002a). The series of the green (Fe xiv 530.3 nm; KI₅₃₀₃) and red (Fe x 637.4 nm; KI₆₃₇₄) coronal intensities for 1957–2002 has been obtained using the coronal observations at the Kislovodsk Solar Station. The mean monthly coronal intensities have been calculated at all latitudes (0–90^˚) and in the high latitude (45–90^˚) zones. It was found that the value of KI₆₃₇₄/KI₅₃₀₃increased about 2.0 times at the high latitudes during the last 45 years. This corresponds to a decrease of the average temperature by 0.1 ×10⁶K of the polar corona. We suppose that a polar decrease of coronal temperature is connected with an increase of the area of polar zones A _PZoccupied by unipolar magnetic fields (Makarov et al., 2002) and, probably, with an increase of the area of polar coronal holes. The maximum ratio KI₆₃₇₄/KI₅₃₀₃is observed during the minimum sunspot activity.     

A coronal condensation observed at the total solar eclipse of June 11, 1983 and a related transient prominence

A coronal condensation was observed simultaneously with Fexiv 5303, Fex 6374, Fe xi 7892, and H filtergraphs. The size and shape of the condensation in 5303 are different from those in other filtergrams. H filtergrams taken around the eclipse time show that a small transient prominence exists in close proximity to the condensation core and behaves like a post-flare loop system, though the appearance is quite different and no flare-report exists. A small-scale energetic phenomenon seems to have occurred at the top of magnetic loops.Contributions from the Kwasan and Hida Observatories, University of Kyoto, No. 285.     

Visible coronal emission associated with a quiescent prominence

Emission-line coronagraph images of a high-latitude, nominally quiescent prominence, recorded at wavelengths of H, 6374 Å (Fex) and 5303 Å (Fe xiv), are analyzed. Over a two-day period, the coronal images, which are found to arise predominantly from coronal emission, evolve such that the emission becomes concentrated at locations corresponding to the outer regions of the prominence. This edge enhancement has similar characteristics to results inferred from EUV prominence observations. It is postulated that this coronal emission associated with the prominence results from MHD wave dissipation. Dissipation lengths for slow-mode, fast-mode and Alfvén waves are estimated for different prominence conditions. Of these, fast-mode waves appear to be the most physically realistic heating source if the prominence magnetic field is along the length of the prominence.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract AST 78-17292 with the National Science Foundation.