The Imaging Vector Magnetograph at Haleakalā – II. Reconstruction of Stokes Spectra

The Imaging Vector Magnetograph (`IVM') at Mees Solar Observatory, Haleakal, Maui, Hawai`i, is designed to measure the magnetic field vector over an entire solar active region on the Sun. The first step in that process is to correct the raw data for all known systematic effects introduced by the instrument and Earth's atmosphere. We define a functional model of the atmosphere/instrument system and measure the corrections for the degradation introduced by each component of the model. We demonstrate the feasibility of this method and assess the accuracy of the IVM spectra with a direct comparison of the resulting Stokes spectra to a well-described spectropolarimeter.     

The spectrum of comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught) in 4140–5240 Å wavelength region

The spectroscopic observations of comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught) were carried out with the 2 m Zeiss-RCC Telescope of Pik Terskol Observatory operated by the International Center for Astronomical and Medico-Ecological Research (Ukraine, Russia). The Multi Mode Cassegrain spectrometer was used to obtain spectra of moderate spectral resolving power with a wavelength coverage from 4140 to 5240 Å. The spectrum is characterized by the extremely low continuum level and strong molecular features. 192 emission lines of C₂, CN, CH, NH₂, CO⁺, and CH⁺ have been identified by the comparison of the observed and theoretical spectra of the molecules. The ratios of the gas production rates of Q(C₂)/Q(CN)=1.32, Q(CH)/Q(CN)=0.49, and Q(NH₂)/Q(CN)=0.81 were derived using a Haser model.     

Transition-Region Blinkers – II. Active-Region Properties

The distribution and general properties of events identified in an active region that have the same characteristics as quiet-Sun blinkers are discussed and named `active-region blinkers'. The events are identified using an automated scheme `BLinker Identification Program' (BLIP) which was designed for and tested on quiet-Sun blinkers. Like quiet-Sun blinkers, the active-region events are most easily identified in the 629 Å emission line from Ov although evidence for them is also found in other extreme UV lines emitted from Hei, Oiii and Oiv. Unlike quiet-Sun blinkers, however, they may also have coronal signatures in the lines Mgix and Mgx. Their properties are very similar to those of quiet-Sun blinkers with mean lifetimes of 16–19 min, mean areas of 2.4–4.3×10⁷ km² and mean intensity enhancements factors of 1.8–3.3. Their global frequency of 7–28 s^–1 is about 42%–700% higher than that for quiet-Sun blinkers. The blinkers discussed here are found above both active-region (plage) magnetic fields, as well as above the umbra and penumbra of a sunspot.     

The new intermediate polar RX J1238 − 38: a system below the period gap?

We present optical observations of the recently discovered ROSAT source RX J1238 − 38, which is a new member of the intermediate polar class of asynchronous magnetic cataclysmic variables (CVs). Optical photometry reveals two coherent periodicities at 1860 and 2147 s respectively, with similar amplitudes of ∼ 8 per cent. Infrared ( J -band) intensity variations are detected only at the 1860-s period, at an amplitude of ∼ 15 per cent. The initial hypothesis, that these two periods were the spin and synodic (i.e., beat) period respectively, appears not to be supported by the spectroscopic data. The emission lines vary on the longer photometric period, and radial velocity variations are detected at this period and at a longer period of ∼ 5300 s, which we identify as the spin and orbital periods respectively. The most likely explanation for the 1860-s period is that it is the first harmonic of the ω − Ω sideband, leading to an improved determination of the orbital period as 5077 s (= 84 min). If this interpretation is correct, RX J1238 − 38 joins EX Hya as the only other intermediate polar below the 2–3 h period gap, and with an orbital period close to the minimum for CVs with non-degenerate secondaries. The spin-modulated emission-line radial velocities and widths appear to be anticorrelated, with maximum width occurring at maximum blueshift. Such an anticorrelation is expected for aspect changes of accretion curtains. Polarimetric observations of RX J1238 − 38 were inconclusive, although we can put a limit of 0.4 per cent on any variability on the circular polarization, and certainly there is no indication of variations at the photometric or spectroscopic periods.     

Performance of the Tibet hybrid experiment (YAC-II + Tibet-III + MD) to measure the energy spectra of the light primary cosmic rays at energies 50–10,000 TeV

A new hybrid detector system has been constructed by the Tibet ASγ collaboration at Tibet, China, since 2014 to measure the chemical composition of cosmic rays around the knee in the wide energy range. They consist of an air-shower-core detector-grid (YAC-II) to detect high energy electromagnetic component, the Tibet air-shower array (Tibet-III) and a large underground water-Cherenkov muon-detector array (MD). We have carried out a detailed air-shower Monte Carlo (MC) simulation to study the performance of the hybrid detectors by using CORSIKA (version 6.204), which includes QGSJET01c and SIBYLL2.1 hadronic interaction models. Assumed primary cosmic ray models are based on helium poor, helium rich and Gaisser’s fit compositions around the knee. All detector responses are calculated using Geant4 (version 9.5) according to the real detector configurations and the MC events are reconstructed by the same procedure as the experimental data analysis. The energy determination is made by lateral density fitting (LDF) method using modified NKG function and the separation of the light components (proton, helium) is made by means of the artificial neural network (ANN) method and the random forest (RF) method. The systematic errors of the spectra of proton and helium caused by each steps of the analysis procedure are investigated including the dependence of the MC data on the hadronic interaction models and the primary composition models, and the algorithms for the primary mass identification. The systematic errors of the flux to be obtained by the new experiment are summarized as less than 30% in total. Our results show that the new hybrid experiment is powerful enough to study the chemical composition of the cosmic rays, in particular, to obtain the light-component spectra of the primary cosmic rays in 50–10,000 TeV energy range overlapping to the direct observation data at low energy side and ground-based indirect observations at high energy side. It is possible in this energy range to find the break points of the power indices of proton and helium (the knee of individual component spectrum) which are basically important parameter for the study of the cosmic-ray origin.     

Temporal properties of He I 1083 nm dark points

The intensity of a sample of large, high-contrast and isolated dark points has been observed with full-disk images in the light of Hei 1083 nm from the Chromospheric Helium line Intensity Photometer (CHIP) on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Temporal variations in the intensity encompassing a broad range of time scales have been recorded. Long-term changes in the intensity, although highly variable, are characterized by e-folding times on the order of 5 h. Superposed on these variations are frequent intensity variations, which occur over time scales ranging from the typical observing cadence of 3 min, to tens of minutes. Microflares-involving intensity changes of at least 50% over periods of minutes are observed frequently. Rapid cadence ( min) observations reveal differences between rise and decay times and shorter-term variations in the intensity profiles of these microflares.     

Contamination of the 5394 Å spectral region by telluric lines

The spectral region in the vicinity of 5394 Å contains three prominent photospheric spectral lines, which can be used as a solar plasma diagnostic tool. The occurrence of telluric lines in this region is a potential source of systematic and random errors in these solar spectral lines. The goal of our investigation was to determine the telluric line contamination of this interesting spectral region. Several series of high-resolution solar spectra within an interval of about 4 Å around the 5394 Å wavelength were observed at different zenith distances of the Sun. Comparison of these spectra has permitted identification of telluric lines in this spectral interval. The observations were carried out with the horizontal solar spectrograph of the Heliophysical Observatory in Debrecen. Telluric feature blending was identified in the blue and red wings of the Fe I 5393.2 Å line, and in the local continuum of the Mn I 5394.7 Å line. The blue wing of the Fe I 5395.2 Å line is contaminated by a weak telluric feature too. The red continuum of this line has a more prominent telluric contamination. A dozen of water vapor telluric lines that determined the observed telluric features were identified in this spectral interval. The profiles of three telluric lines that have a significant influence on both the profiles of solar spectral lines and the level of local continuum were derived, and the variation of their parameters (equivalent width and central depth) with air mass were analyzed.     

Theoretical investigation of interstellar C–C–O and C–O–C bonding backbone molecules

There are numerous complex organic molecules containing carbon and oxygen atoms which show either C–C–O or C–O–C bonding backbone. This paper examines altogether 51 C–C–O and C–O–C bonding backbone molecules from ten different isomeric groups (C₂H₂O, C₃H₂O, C₂H₄O, C₂H₄O₂, C₃H₄O, C₂H₆O, C₂H₆O₂, C₃H₆O, C₃H₆O₂, C₃H₈O) to summarize the present astronomical status of these molecules. Accurate calculations of enthalpy of formation of these molecules show that the isomers with C–C–O backbone are more stable than the C–O–C backbone. Interestingly, a detailed analysis of relevant astromolecules indicates that most of the observed astromolecules have the C–C–O backbone. As a matter of fact, of all the molecules examined in this study, 80% of the astronomically observed species have the C–C–O backbone while only 20% have the C–O–C backbone. In general, interstellar abundance of a molecule is controlled by some factors such as kinetics, formation and destruction pathways,thermodynamics etc. A proper consideration of these factors could explain the observed abundances of these molecules. All these possible key factors are discussed in this paper.     

3C 273、3C 279与3C 345光变的比较与分析

Blazar 3C 345的红移以及从射电到X射线波段的能谱等方面与伽玛射线源3C 279很相似,但是EGRET却没有探测到来自3C 345的辐射.从光变幅度(8GHz、22GHz,37GHz和B波段),光学最小光变时标和不同波段间的时间延迟3个方面,比较3C 345与伽玛射线源3C 279和3C 273的异同,寻找3C 345没有伽玛射线的可能原因.分析结果显示:光变幅度,在射电波段,3C 345与3C 279的更相似,在光学波段,3C 279、3C 345和3C 273依次递减并观测到了天量级的光变;还发现3C 345的时延要比3C 279长很多,而与3C 273相近.基于3C 345与3C 273的其他观测特征的相似性,如都观测到了大兰包,红外光度相当,那么3C 345的伽玛辐射能谱可能与3C 273相似,伽玛光度也相当.简单计算表明,若3C 273处于3C 345的红移处时,即使处在爆发态EGRET也探测不到3C 273,这可能正是EGRET从未探测到3C 345的原因.     

A photochemical model for the Venus atmosphere at 47–112 km

The model is intended to respond to the recent findings in the Venus atmosphere from the Venus Express and ground-based submillimeter and infrared observations. It extends down to 47 km for comparison with the kinetic model for the lower atmosphere (Krasnopolsky, V.A. [2007]. Icarus 191, 25–37) and to use its results as the boundary conditions. The model numerical accuracy is significantly improved by reduction of the altitude step from 2 km in the previous models to 0.5 km. Effects of the NUV absorber are approximated using the detailed photometric observations at 365 nm from Venera 14. The H₂O profile is not fixed but calculated in the model. The model involves odd nitrogen and OCS chemistries based on the detected NO and OCS abundances. The number of the reactions is significantly reduced by removing of unimportant processes. Column rates for all reactions are given, and balances of production and loss may be analyzed in detail for each species.The calculated vertical profiles of CO, H₂O, HCl, SO₂, SO, OCS and of the O₂ dayglow at 1.27 μm generally agree with the existing observational data; some differences are briefly discussed. The OH dayglow is ～30 kR, brighter than the OH nightglow by a factor of 4. The H + O₃ process dominates in the nightglow excitation and O + HO₂ in the dayglow, because of the reduction of ozone by photolysis. A key feature of Venus’ photochemistry is the formation of sulfuric acid in a narrow layer near the cloud tops that greatly reduces abundances of SO₂ and H₂O above the clouds. Delivery of SO₂ and H₂O through this bottleneck determines the chemistry and its variations above the clouds. Small variations of eddy diffusion near 60 km result in variations of SO₂, SO, and OCS at and above 70 km within a factor of ～30. Variations of the SO₂/H₂O ratio at the lower boundary have similar but weaker effect: the variations within a factor of ～4 are induced by changes of SO₂/H₂O by ±5%. Therefore the observed variations of the mesospheric composition originate from minor variations of the atmospheric dynamics near the cloud layer and do not require volcanism. NO cycles are responsible for production of a quarter of O₂, SO₂, and Cl₂ in the atmosphere. A net effect of photochemistry in the middle atmosphere is the consumption of CO₂, SO₂, and HCl from and return of CO, H₂SO₄, and SO₂Cl₂ to the lower atmosphere. These processes may be balanced by thermochemistry in the lower atmosphere even without outgassing from the interior, though the latter is not ruled out by our models. Some differences between the model and observations and the previous models are briefly discussed.     

Magnetic Activity and the Enhanced 5303 Å Emission in Solar Active Regions

Analysis of the intensity maps of Fexiv emission at =5303 Å obtained from the observations of ground-based coronagraphs during the sunspot minimum period 1985 and 1986 shows the persistent presence of localized strong emissions. Typical emission intensities associated with the active regions were found to be about 5 to 20 times stronger than the unperturbed corona. Using Stanford magnetograms we identified strong magnetic field gradients in those active regions, with a minimum threshold gradient of 3 × 10^–5 G km^–1, associated with such strong emissions. From our sample we infer that the flux emergence within or in the vicinity of a persistent active region seems to play an important role in the activity associated with the enhancement in 5303 Å emission.     

5303 Å Coronal Irradiance and Its Relation to the Photospheric Magnetic Activity

The association of Lomnický tít data of coronal green line irradiance (CI) to photospheric magnetic activity is studied for the years 1975–1994 using the Carrington rotation averaged photospheric magnetic flux data. It is found that the CI correlates well with photospheric magnetic flux of active regions and the total disk-integrated magnetic flux on longer time scales (11-year solar cycle) and fails (about 50% of the time) to show a strong dependence on shorter time scales. A comparison of the association of CI and of the 10.7 cm radio flux with the photospheric magnetic flux data indicated that the CI might basically represent the background coronal irradiance.     

3C 345和3C 273的光变分析

用结构函数法,对两个经典的blazar 3C 273和3C 345的22 GHz、37 GHz和光学波段的数据进行了周期分析.结果显示,3C 273的周期性比较明显,22 GHz经分析存在7.0年和14.7年的周期,37 GHz存在7.2年和14.5年的周期,同时它的光学波段可能存在0.7年和8.7年的周期.3C 345的37 GHz存在比较明显的8.8年的周期,22 GHz和光学波段分别存在不太明显的9.3年和10.2年的周期.     

致密陡谱源3C43、3C48和3C454的VLBI研究

利用美国甚长基线阵对3个致密陡谱源3C43、3C48和3C454进行中心频率1.6GHz的观测,获得总流量图和各个子源的结构等信息.对比已有的数据,分析源3C43和3C454的流量变化和各个子源的位置移动,发现3C43的总流量、各子源流量、各子源的相对位置在14年内比较稳定;3C454的总流量和各子源流量也比较稳定,但两个子源相对核心的偏离速度分别是光速的21.6和17.7倍,存在明显的视超光速现象.同时通过对L波段4个频率的总流量结果进行谱指数拟合,获得源3C43和3C454的谱指数分别是0.63和0.86,符合致密陡谱源谱指数α≥0.5的定义,也与已有的结果吻合较好.     

Comparison of Fermi-LAT and CTA in the region between 10–100 GeV

The past decade has seen a dramatic improvement in the quality of data available at both high (HE: 100 MeV to 100 GeV) and very high (VHE: 100 GeV to 100 TeV) gamma-ray energies. With three years of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and deep pointed observations with arrays of Cherenkov telescope, continuous spectral coverage from 100 MeV to ∼10 TeV exists for the first time for the brightest gamma-ray sources. The Fermi-LAT is likely to continue for several years, resulting in significant improvements in high energy sensitivity. On the same timescale, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be constructed providing unprecedented VHE capabilities. The optimisation of CTA must take into account competition and complementarity with Fermi, in particularly in the overlapping energy range 10–100 GeV. Here we compare the performance of Fermi-LAT and the current baseline CTA design for steady and transient, point-like and extended sources.     

High resolution investigation of the 7 μm region of the ethane spectrum

Building upon previous studies, we re-investigated the ethane spectrum between 1330 and 1610 cm^?1 by combining unapodized spectra obtained at room temperature with a Bruker Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) in Brussels and at 131 K with a Bruker FTS in Pasadena. The maximum optical path differences (MOPD) of the two datasets were 450 and 323.7 cm, corresponding to spectral resolutions of 0.0020 and 0.0028 cm^?1, respectively. Of the 15,000 lines observed, over 4592 transitions were assigned to the ν₆ (at 1379 cm^?1), ν₈ (at 1472 cm^?1), ν₄+ν₁₂ (at 1481 cm^?1) and 2ν₄+ν₉ (at 1388 cm^?1) bands, and another 1044 transitions were located for the ν₄+ν₈?ν₄ hot band (at 1472 cm^?1). Our new analysis included an improved implementation of the Hamiltonian calculation needed to interpret the complex spectral structures caused by numerous interactions affecting these four modes of vibration. From these results, we created the first line-by-line database containing the molecular parameters for over 20,000 ¹²C₂H₆ transitions at 7 μm.     

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.