Observations of photospheric faculae at the center of the solar disk

Methods for the determination of the average optical depth of formation of weak Fraunhofer lines are compared, and their relative merits are discussed. Distinction should be made between the region of origin of the emergent radiation, and of the line depression. For weak or fairly weak lines the average optical depth of formation of the line depression is the relevant quantity; it should be determined by using a computational scheme based on the classical weighting functions of line formation; other methods give physically unsignificant or conflicting results.

     

Some remarks on line weakenings in photospheric faculae

A revision of Schmahl's facular model is used for comparisons with the HSRA as average photosphere. On its basis many of the available data, in the visible spectrum, can be explained quantitatively.     

Infrared photometry of a sunspot near the disk center

A time series of broadband images of a sunspot near the disk center was obtained simultaneously in two wavelength bands at 0.56 μm and 1.55 μm at the German VTT on June 17, 1998. We computed intensity difference images of the best frame pairs which reveal information about the facular distribution in the present field of view. Faculae are found around pores, in the quiet granulation and as well around the sunspot penumbra.     

Continuum photometry of solar white-light faculae

We have determined absolute continuum intensities and brightness temperatures of individual facular grains at a spatial resolution limited by the =50 cm aperture of the SVST on La Palma. A facular region at 57° was observed simultaneously in three narrow continuum windows at 450.5, 658.7, and 863.5 nm. We corrected for image degradation by the Earth's atmosphere using the speckle masking method. The brightness temperatures do not exactly follow the Planck law. The differences of T _blue–T _red=220 K and T _ir–T _red=–42 K reflect the wavelength dependence of the continuum formation depth. The (red) temperatures of 250 facular grains show excesses between 250 and 450 K above their undisturbed neighborhood. The wavelength dependence of the relative intensity ratios C= [I ^fac/I ^phot] show a large scatter around mean values of C _blue/C _red=1.075 and C _ir/C _red=0.98. We determined the center-to-limb variation of the 863.5 nm continuum contrast for 0.17>cos>0.39 by measuring 270 grains in reconstructed facular images. The upper envelope of the data points increases linearly to 1.5 at cos=0.17. Application of the mean color dependence yields green contrasts up to C ₅₅₀=1.7, which is far higher than previously observed values. The behaviour for cos>0.17 is estimated from (unreconstructed) frame-selected best images taken over a time interval of 7 hours. Six distinct facular regions clearly discernible during the whole time interval indicate a slight contrast decrease towards the extreme limb. The observed quantities are useful for an adjustment of model calculations and for a discrimination of competing models.     

Center-to-limb variations in the two-dimensional contrast of photospheric faculae

A semi-empirical model of a facular flux tube has been used to determine its center-to-limb appearance. The model is that of Osherovich et al. (1983). This model is in MHSE and includes tension forces. Results are presented in the form of contour maps, cross-sections of the contrast on axis, and integrated contrast as a function of viewing angle. Results are generally consistent with those of Caccin and Severino (1979), but not with observations of Chapman and Klabunde (1982).     

Center to limb variation of the intensity of the photospheric faculae

Center to limb variation of the excess brightness of photospheric facular granules was observed at 530 nm with a balloon-borne telescope of 10 cm aperture. Facular granules are found to be 9.2% and 16.2% brighter than the adjacent quiet region at cos = 0.65 and 0.50 respectively, being the angle between the Sun's normal and the line of sight. This observation, together with our earlier result (Hirayama, 1978), leads to facular models which are 600 K hotter than the photosphere if the diameter of facular granules is assumed to be 600 km, and 1000 K hotter if 150 km is assumed instead. It was also found that the soft X-ray bright points as observed with the Skylab do not correspond spatially to the photospheric facular granules near the polar region.     

Latitude variations of photospheric activity areas with particular reference to solar faculae

Detailed studies of the development of photospheric activity centres for two solar cycles show that Spörer's Law holds in a very similar form to that applying to sunspots for the faculae which inhabit the sunspot zones. Similar differences between the two solar hemispheres can arise, and it seems to be confirmed that the average latitude of faculae tends to be a few degrees poleward of that of sunspots throughout a given cycle. It is shown that the normal averaging process involved in deriving Spörer's Law obscures a detail which is revealed in a breakdown into the variations within successive narrow latitude strips. These show the existence within a cycle of three separate maxima of activity occurring at different epochs and with different preferred latitudes. The main properties of these maxima are discussed.Now at NOAA, Environmental Data Service, NGSTDC, Boulder, Colo. 80302, U.S.A.     

A model of photospheric faculae deduced from white light high resolution pictures

High resolution pictures (about 0.3) of photospheric faculae near the solar limb have been obtained with the Pic du Midi 50 cm refractor; their granular structure then clearly appears. The microphotometric study of these facular granules shows that the ratio of their intensity to the photospheric intensity, I ^f/I ^ph (cos) reaches a maximum near cos = 0.3 and then decreases towards the limb. The values of this ratio have been corrected with a most likely spread function. Then a temperature model of a facular granule is obtained: with respect to the neighbouring photosphere, this granule appears as a photospheric hot cloud which does not extend high in the solar atmosphere (thickness 100 km above ₅₀₀₀ = 1). The temperature excess is 750K at maximum. This hot region is located over a layer which is cooler than the normal photosphere at the same level. Another hot region might extend above the photospheric hot cloud, possibly up to the chromosphere. This photospheric facula model which is confined to the lower photosphere seems to indicate that this phenomenon is different from the photospheric network which is visible up to the lower chromosphere.     

On the physical conditions in the photospheric network: An improved model of solar faculae

Semi-empirical models of solar faculae, cospatial with strong photospheric magnetic fields, have been constructed from continuum observations. The center-to-limb contrast of the various models was computed taking into account their geometrical shape. The adopted model whose horizontal size was taken to be 750 km, indicates that, in field regions, the temperature begins to rise outwards at z -125 km (above ₅₀₀₀ = 1) and that the extrapolated temperature at z -400 km is about 1500 K above that of the undisturbed atmosphere; the electron density is higher by a factor of about 30.     

Voyager disk resolved photometry of the Saturnian satellites

Photometric analysis of Voyager images of the medium-sized icy satellites of Saturn shows that their surfaces exhibit a wide range of scattering properties. At low phase angles, Rhea and Dione closely follow lunar behavior with almost no limb darkening. Mimas, Tethys, and especially Enceladus shiw significant limb darkening at low phase angles, which suggests multiple scattering is important for their surfaces. A simple photometric function of the form I/F = f(α)Aμ₀/(μ + μ₀) + (1 ? A)μ₀ has been fit to the observations. For normal reflectances <0.6, we find lunar-like scattering properties (A = 1). No satellite's surface can be described by Lambert's Law (A = 0). Dione exhibits the widest albedo variations (about 50%). A longitudinal dark stripe which represents a 15% decrease in albedo is situated near the center of the trailing side of Tethys. A correlation is found between the albedo and color of the satellites: the darker objects are redder. Similarly, darker areas of each satellite are redder. Spectral reflectances of Mimas and Enceladus can be derived for the first time. After the proper calibrations to the Voyager color images are made, it is found that both satellites have remarkably flat spectra into the ultraviolet.     

Vilnius photometry of the red horizontal branch stars in the Galactic thick disk

The photometric observations and three-dimensional classification in the Vilnius system have been carried out for 13 of the red horizontal branch (RHB) stars in the Galactic thick disk identified by Rose (1985). The photometric spectral types, metallicities [Fe/H], effective temperatures, surface gravities and absolute magnitudes are determined. The age of about 10–12 Gyr is evaluated for this group of stars from comparison with model isochrones, indicating that the age of the thick disk is intermediate between the disk globular and the oldest open clusters.     

Two-dimensional spatial spectrum of the photospheric brightness field near to the solar disc center

From high-quality direct frames taken by the Soviet Stratospheric Solar Observatory, using coherent optical methods, the two-dimensional spatial spectrum of the photospheric brightness field was obtained (Figure 1). This spectrum is isotropic and continuous. Spectral densities P(k) and A(k) = 2k P(k), where k is the radial wavenumber, were estimated for the solar disc centre, and their statistical uncertainty calculated. P(k) has a maximum near k = 10^–3 km^–1 and then it tends to fall after that to zero frequency. The k dependence of A(k) cannot be satisfactorily approximated by a power law. For the highest frequencies studied, the spectrum falls as k ^–9. The measured statistical uncertainty of the spectra of individual domains for k 125 × 10^–4 km^–1 is in agreement with that calculated for a gaussian homogeneous field. But for a higher k the uncertainty may essentially exceed that of a gaussian homogeneous field. The true rms value for 4650 is equal to about 29%.     

The influence of faculae on sunspot heat blocking

We study the influence of faculae on sunspot heat blockage using a thermal model based on eddy heat diffusion through the convection zone. The facula is represented as a localized area of excess emission surrounding the sunspot, which is represented as a thermal plug. Our computations using a range of reasonable combinations of spot and facular depths show no significant influence of the facula on the long storage times of heat blocked by sunspots. However, the local cooling of surface layers produced by excess facular emission in this model propagates globally within the convection zone in a similar way to the heating produced by a spot. The net effect of spots and faculae on L over time scales longer than an active region lifetime should thus be determined by the global sum of sunspot flux deficits and facular excesses.     

Velocity fields associated with the magnetic component of solar faculae

The StokesV asymmetries observed in solar faculae can be interpreted by invoking the presence of magnetic and velocity fields variations along the line-of-sight. By means of a perturbative approach, we develop the theoretical dependence on magnetic and velocity fields of the StokesV profile around its zero-crossing point. We find that the empirical curves of growth for theV zero-crossing point and the slope, as well as the curve of growth for the integral (previously derived by Sánchez Almeidaet al., 1989, through the same approach), are reproduced quite well with a single atmosphere which assumes such simultaneous variations.The depth dependence of the fields that give the best fit in our model presents several striking properties which cannot be released without totally compromising the goodness of the fit. Namely, the magnetic field strength increases towards the observer while the downflowing velocity field decreases. Both variations must occur co-spatially, in the same atmospheric layers. This fact seems to contradict theoretical models for the fanning out parts of magnetic concentrations which foresee a sharp separation between a static magnetic layer and a deep zone with velocity fields. We discuss a possible solution of such contradiction in terms of a finite optical thickness of the boundary layer between zones with and without magnetic field in faculae.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.     

Precise computation of acceleration due to uniform ring or disk

We describe a precise numerical method to evaluate the acceleration vector of an inverse-square force law caused by a uniform ring or disk. The method consists of two parts. One is rewriting of the analytic expressions of the vector to reduce the loss of information in its computation. The other is a procedure to compute a special linear combination of the complete elliptic integrals of the first and the second kind appeared in the rewritten expressions.     

Ejections of massive objects from the center of a stellar disk

Considering the possibility that massive objects might be ejected from the central parts of galaxies, we have investigated the effects of such a phenomenon on the parent galaxy. A galaxy is represented by a disk of non-interacting gravitating test particles, initially in circular orbits around a central point mass. A massive point-like objects is ejected by the central mass with a purely radial velocity. It is shown that arms form when the nucleus ejects more than 1/20 of its mass. These arms form bridges when the object contains more than 1/5 of the total mass. When the ejection velocity increases, the arms formed are shorter. The arms persist for more than 10⁹ yr despite the winding up. Comparisons are made with experiments on galaxy encounters and with astronomical theories and observations.

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Résumé Dans l'hypothèse où des objets massifs seraient éjectés des régions centrales des galaxies, nous avons examiné quels seraient les effets d'un tel phénomène sur la galaxie parente. Une galaxie est représentéc par un disque de particules tests qui gravitent initialement sur des cercles autour d'une masse centrale ponctuelle. Un objet ponctuel massif est éjecté par la masse centrale avec une vitesse purement radiale. Il est montré que des bras se forment lorsque le noyau éjecte plus de 1/20 de sa masse. Ces bras constituent des ponts lorsque l'objet contient plus de 1/5 de la masse totale. Lorsque la vitesse d'éjection augmente les bras formés sont plus courts. Les bras persistent plus de 10⁹ and malgré l'enroulement. Des comparaisons sont faites avec l'expérimentation traitant des rencontres entre galaxies et avec des théories et observations astronomiques.

     

The curious case of the greenwich faculae

We analyze the record of facular areas compiled by the Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) from daily white-light observations between 1874 and 1976. Curiously, the relative amplitudes of the three largest sunspot cycles 17, 18, and 19 in this record are reversed when they are ranked by facular area. We show that this negative correlation arises from a general decrease of the ratioA _F/A _S, of facular to sunspot area, with increasingA _S. Within a given cycle,A _F/A _Sdecreases in active regions of largeA _S, butA _F/A _Sis also lower at allA _S, in cycles of higher peak amplitude inA _S. This decrease ofA _F/A _Sin large spot groups is consistent with its decrease in younger, more active solar-mass stars, and it may explain why stars only slightly more magnetically active than the Sun tend to exhibit much greater variability in broad-band photometry. We suggest that the physical explanation is an increased spatial filling factor of magnetic flux, favoring formation of sunspots over faculae. We also explain why the decrease inA _F/A_Sis not seen in the disc-integrated Ca K plage areas, nor in theF10.7 microwave index, both of which exhibit remarkable linearity when plotted against smoothed sunspot area. This explanation suggests how complementary data on faculae and plages from RGO and Mt. Wilson could be used to improve empirical models of total irradiance variation, extending back to 1874.     

The contrast of faculae near the solar limb

We have measured the contrast of solar faculae near the limb on direct digital video images made with the 65 cm vacuum reflector at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. We used six broad band filters with different wavelengths from red to violet. The range of heliocentric angle covered in our measurements is 0.05 < = cos < 0.4 ( = 87°–66°). About 300 images were measured from observations made during the summers of 1983 and 1985. Over 20000 faculae were measured.By averaging the contrasts of faculae and plotting them vs heliocentric angle, we found that contrast increases monotonically towards the limb for the shorter wavelengths; for longer wavelengths, contrast has a tendency to peak around = 0.15, and then decrease towards the extreme limb. The contrast increases as wavelength decreases.