Structure of the expanding atmosphere of P Cygni

With the aid of the spectra taken in the years 1959–1968, a physical analysis of the atmosphere of P Cygni has been carried out and the motions of the atmosphere have been studied. The variations of radial velocities, the velocity progressions of Balmer and Hei lines, the high rate of mass loss (2×10^–5 M yr^–1), the features of the observed line profiles, especially that of H-K lines of Caii andD ₁-D ₂ lines of Nai confirm the conclusion of Van Blerkom (1978), concerning the assumption of an accelerating atmosphere for P Cygni. The electron density variation with the radius seems to ben _e r ^–5/2, with an average value of 7×10¹¹cm^–3 at the lower boundary of the atmosphere.In order to explain the two absorption components of observed lines, an atmospheric model based on the assumption of three envelopes, two of which accelerate gradually with two different velocity laws (up to 11.2r _c ), and the third of which accelerates rapidly with a standard velocity law (beyond 11.2r _c ) has been developed. From this model and the observed profiles, the geometrical thicknesses of the line-forming regions of H, H, H, and H are derived.The observations were obtained at Haute Provence Observatory (CNRS).     

The coronal and interplanetary magnetic fields at the time of the solar eclipse of 7 March, 1970

The magnetic field in the outer corona and in interplanetary space has been calculated from the photospheric magnetic fields measured around the time of the 7 March, 1970 eclipse. The field-line maps are compared with eclipse photographs showing coronal structures out to about 12 r . The projected field lines as well as the observed streamers appear straight. This is caused by the rapid expansion of the outer corona and is not an indication of corotation. The calculations show that the angular velocity of the coronal plasma decreases rapidly with distance.The relation between magnetic fields and density enhancements is discussed. The field strength in the photosphere seems to determine the amount of mechanical heating of the lower corona. The density structure higher up in the corona will, however, depend decisively on the topology of the field, particularly on whether we are on open or closed field lines, and not simply on field strength.The calculations show a sector structure of the interplanetary field, which agrees well with spacecraft observations. Also the magnitudes of the observed and calculated interplanetary field agree after the Mt. Wilson magnetograph data have been corrected to account for the temperature and saturation effects in the spectral line Fei 5250 Å.On leave from the Astronomical Observatory, Lund, Sweden.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Physical properties of solar chromospheric plages

We compute a new grid of plage models to determine the difference in temperature versus mass column density structure T(m) between plage regions and the quiet solar chromosphere, and to test whether the solar chromosphere is geometrically thinner in plages. We compare partial redistribution calculations of Mg ii h and k and Ca ii K to NRL Skylab observations of Mg ii h and k in six active regions and Ca ii K intensities obtained from spectroheliograms taken at approximately the same time as the Mg ii observations. We find that the plage observations are better matched by models with linear (in log m) temperature distributions and larger values of m ₀ (the mass column density at the 8000 K layer in the chromosphere), than by models with larger low chromosphere temperature gradients but values of m ₀ similar to the quiet Sun. Our derived temperature structures are in agreement with the grid originally proposed by Shine and Linsky, but our analysis is in contrast to the study by Kelch which implies that stellar chromospheric geometrical thickness is not affected by chromospheric activity. We conclude that either the stellar Mg ii observations upon which the Kelch study was based are of poorer quality than had been assumed, or that the spatial averaging of inhomogeneous structures, which is inherent in the stellar data, does not lead to a best fit one-component model similar in detail to that of a stellar or a solar plage.Visiting Astronomer at Kitt Peak National Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.Staff member, Quantum Physics Division, National Bureau of Standards.     

Vertical gradients of the magnetic fields in active regions

In this paper, we describe the results of an investigation of magnetic field structures in two active regions. The photospheric magnetic fields were measured simultaneously in all three components with the Crimean vector magnetograph in the Fe i 5250 line. In our analysis, we compare the observed magnetic field with the potential field. The potential field vector was calculated according to the potential-field theory, and the H _z component was taken as a boundary condition. From these data vertical gradients are calculated from the condition div H = 0. Averaged gradients of both fields increase with the H _z field intensity and within the error limits they do not differ from one another for field strengths up to 1200 G. For larger H _z the potential field gradients become higher than those of the observed field. In large spots, observed field gradients are about two times less than those of the potential field. It is shown that this difference is connected with the observed field twisting.     

λ 5303 Fe XIV density models of the inner solar corona

The Sacramento Peak Observatory's 40 cm coronagraph was used with an emission line photometer to observe the distribution of 5303 Fe XIV brightness as a function of position angle, height above the limb, and time. These data were used to construct models of the volume emissivity as a function of solar latitude and longitude. These models in turn yield estimates of the distribution of electron density in the lower solar corona as a function of latitude and longitude for several specific periods in 1973 and 1975. Three observational results are obtained. An upper limit for the inferred electron density in coronal hole regions is set at log N _e = 7.4 for an altitude of 1.15R . Density models from late 1973 demonstrate an evolutionary trend toward a rather regular four-lobed appearance of coronal material; models from 1975 suggest that this characterization persisted for at least 27 solar rotations. A decrease in the total integrated 5303 intensity of a factor of 2.9 is inferred to have taken place between 1973 and 1975.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Coronal temperatures and temperature gradients from OSO-7 spectroheliograms

Temperatures and temperature gradients for the outer corona are obtained from brightness gradients of EUV lines that were measured with the spectroheliograph on OSO-7. Brightness gradients show considerable deviations from isothermal model calculations that include collisional excitation and photoexcitation. A negative temperature gradient that gives both positive and negative ion abundance gradients appears to be able to account for the discrepancy. For 284 of Fe xv, perhaps the strongest line from the outer corona, measurements during 1972 appear to be consistent with (i) a temperature near 2.3×10⁶K near the equator at = 1.3±0.1 solar radii from the solar center; (ii) (/T) dT/d values near -0.7 that extend from as low as = 1.2 to about = 1.8. Temperatures from strong lines of Fe xiv and Fe xvi indicate that variations of about ±0.2×10⁶K exist along lines of sight where emission is appreciable. There appears to be some agreement between these results and temperature measurements from ion abundances in the solar wind and Doppler width of 5303.     

Spectral analysis and the two-dimensional distribution of physical parameters in a quiescent prominence

The profiles of H and Ca ii K lines of a arch quiescent prominence on April 1, 1971 have been analyzed and the two-dimensional distributions of electron temperature T _e , micro-turbulence velocity v _t and the column number density of hydrogen along the line-of-sight N _H have been obtained. T _e , _t , and N _H are found to be 7500 K, 6 km s^–1 and 2.2 ^× 10¹⁸ cm^–2 on an average, respectively. The electron temperature at the central part of the prominence and along the two arcades are greater than that at the edges, while the distribution of the micro-turbulence velocity in these regions is opposite. There is no systematic variation in T _e and v _t , from the center to the periphery as described by Hirayama (1971). The column number density in the central region is lower than that at the two edges.The contour lines of T _e , _t , and N _H are predominantly vertical rather than horizontal. This implies that the height-variation of physical parameters in filamentary structure is small. The arrangement of this structure in the prominence is likely to be arched and is probably in the direction of magnetic field lines.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Civ plasma flow near active region filaments

Selected Civ V ₀ lines (lines separating adjacent regions of strong blue shift and strong red shift) located near the solar limb and oriented parallel to the radius vector from disk center are shown to be closely aligned with H dark filaments in active regions. The filaments, in turn, are known to lie in the vicinity of magnetic neutral lines. The radial orientation of the V ₀ lines minimizes uncertainties in image registration and their location near the limb ensures that the observed fluid motion has major components paralleling V ₀. It follows that the filaments are located at sites of velocity shear, and, by inference, of magnetic shear. For a case in which a given V ₀ line is observed near both east and west limbs, the gradient of Doppler velocity across the V ₀ line reverses sign from one limb to the other as is expected for horizontal steady flow. Thus, the velocity vectors remain fixed with respect to the filament.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

The loop prominence of 11 August 1972: A coronal continuum event

Observations of a loop prominence formed after the flare of 11 August 1972 are discussed. Estimates of electron density are obtained from (a) the line ratio of the Ca xv forbidden lines and (b) a Thompson scattering model. Both methods give an approximate value of n _e = 10¹¹ cm^-3. This density was high enough to render the loop structures visible as continuum features, corresponding to the Ca xv structures as seen in the plane of the sky. By a double exposure technique, it was found that the loop structures seen in H and Fe xiv differ significantly.     

On coronal Fe abundances and temperatures from XUV emission lines

Data obtained by the OSO-7 spectroheliograph on strong XUV lines of five, different Fe ions from the outer equatorial corona are presented. Interpretation of the data with a spherically symmetric model atmosphere gives average ion abundances for lines of sight at 0.3R from the limb. Fe xvi is usually more abundant than Fe xv, xiv, xii and ix, but there are times when Fe xii is more abundant than the other ions. The deviation of measured relative abundances of Fe xii, xiv, and xvi from predictions of ionization equilibrium at one temperature seems to indicate that there are appreciable temperature variations along lines of sight. Element abundances are very uncertain since they appear to depend so heavily on likely but unknown density irregularities along lines of sight.     

Observed coronal temperatures at 1.37R ⊙ in the region of a helmet structure

During the total solar eclipse, 1965 May 30, a 25 cm aperturef/8.0 telescope and Fabry-Perot interferometer were operated aboard the USAF-AEC aircraft. High resolution spectra of the Fexiv emission line, 530.3 nm, were obtained. Deconvolved intensity vs wavelength profiles of the second order fringe overlay a helmet structure on the NM limb at out to 1.37R . The profiles yield coronal temperatures, absolute intensities and Doppler velocities in regions of apparently open magnetic field structure and within the closed field lines of the helmet. Together with white light intensities the observations are interpreted to provide temperatures and turbulent velocities in and around this coronal structure. Comparison is made with a model by Billings and Roberts. We suggest a model with radial flow (solar wind) velocities of 60 km s^–1 satisfies the observations in the open field line region.Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and portions of the analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo.     

Extreme ultraviolet spectra of solar active regions and their analysis

Extreme ultraviolet spectra of several active regions are presented and analyzed. Spectral intensities of 3 active regions observed with the NRL Skylab XUV spectroheliograph (170–630 Å) are derived. From this data density sensitive line ratios of Mg viii, Si x, S xii, Fe ix, Fe x, Fe xi, Fe xii, Fe xiii, Fe xiv, and Fe xv are examined and typically yield, to within a factor of 2, electron pressures of 1 dyne cm^–2 (n _e T = 6 × 10¹⁵ cm^–3 K). The differential emission measure of the brightest 35 × 35 portion of an active region is obtained between 1.4 × 10⁴ K and 5 × 10⁶ K from HCO OSO-VI XUV (280–1370 Å) spectra published by Dupree et al. (1973). Stigmatic EUV spectra (1170–1710 Å) obtained by the NRL High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) are also presented. Doppler velocities as a function of position along the slit are derived in an active region plage and sunspot. The velocities are based on an absolute wavelength scale derived from neutral chromospheric lines and are accurate to ±2 km s^–1. Downflows at 10⁵ K are found throughout the plage with typical velocities of 10 km s^–1. In the sunspot, downflows are typically 5 to 20 km s^–1 over the umbra and zero over the penumbra. In addition localized 90 and 150 km s^–1 downflows are found in the umbra in the same 1 × 1 resolution elements which contain the lower velocity downflows. Spectral intensities and velocities in a typical plage 1 resolution element are derived. The velocities are greatest ( 10 km s^–1) at 10⁵ K with lower velocities at higher and lower temperatures. The differential emission measure between 1.3 × 10⁴ K and 2 × 10⁶ K is derived and is found to be comparable to that derived from the OSO-VI data. An electron pressure of 1.4 dynes cm^–2 (n _e T = 1.0 × 10¹⁶ cm^–3 K) is determined from pressure sensitive line ratios of Si iii, O iv, and N iv. From the data presented it is shown that convection plays a major role in determining the structure and dynamics of the active region transition zone and corona.     

Multiple loop activations and continuous energy release in the solar flare of June 15, 1973

The spatial and temporal evolution of the high temperature plasma in the flare of 1973 June 15 has been studied using the flare images photographed by the NRL XUV spectroheliograph on Skylab.The overall event involves the successive activations of a number of different loops and arches bridging the magnetic neutral line. The spatial shifts and brightenings observed in the Fe xxiii–xxiv lines are interpreted as the activation of new structures. These continued for four or five minutes after the end of the microwave burst phase, implying additional energy-release unrelated to the nonthermal phase of the flare. A shear component observed in the coronal magnetic field may be a factor in the storage and release of the flare energy.The observed Fe xxiii–xxiv intensities define a post-burst heating phase during which the temperature remained approximately constant at 13 × 10⁶ K while the Fe xxiv intensity and 0–3 Å flux rose to peak values. This phase coincided with the activation of the densest structure (N _e = 2 × 10¹¹ cm^–3). Heating of higher loops continued into the decay phase, even as the overall temperature and flux declined with the fading of the lower Fe xxiv arches.The observed morphology of individual flaring arches is consistent with the idea of energy release at altitude in the arch (coincident with a bright, energetic core in the Fe xxiv image) and energy flow downward into the ribbons. The Doppler velocity of the Fe xxi 1354 Å line is less than 5 km s^–1, indicating that the hot plasma region is stationary.The relation of this flare to the larger class of flares associated with filament eruptions and emerging magnetic flux is discussed.     

The impulsive and gradual phases of a solar limb flare as observed from the solar maximum mission satellite

Simultaneous observations of a solar limb flare in the X-ray and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum are presented. Temporal and spectral X-ray observations were obtained for the 25–300 keV range while temporal, spectral, and spatial X-ray observations were obtained for the 30–0.3 keV range. The ultraviolet observations were images with a 10 spatial resolution in the lines of O v (T _e 2.5 × 10⁵ K) and Fe xxi (T _e 1.1 × 10⁷ K). The hard X-ray and O v data indicate that the impulsive phase began in the photosphere or chromosphere and continued for several minutes as material was ejected into the corona. Impulsive excitation was observed up to 30 000 km above the solar surface at specific points in the flare loop. The Fe xxi observations indicate a preheating before the impulsive phase and showed the formation of hot post-flare loops. This later formation was confirmed by soft X-ray observations. These observations provide limitations for current flare models and will provide the data needed for initial conditions in modeling the concurrent coronal transient.     

The supergranule velocity field

A study of supergranule motions confirms horizontal velocities with peak values of typically 0.36 km s^–1 as observed in Fe i 8688 Å. These show no significant variation with height over the range of formation of C i 9111, Fe i 8688, and Mg i 8806, but there is a substantial reduction to about one-half of this at the level of Ca ii 8542.Near disk center, supergranule vertical velocities in Fe i 8688 have rms values ±0.01 km ^–1, after allowance for the residual effects of the line-of-sight component of the horizontal supergranule motions, the five-minute oscillations, granule motions, and detector drift. There is a marginally-significant association of magnetic elements, and hence of cell boundaries, with downward motions; but this requires further testing.Measurements of downward velocities 0.1 km^–1 in regions of strong magnetic field when using unpolarized light are attributed to the much higher downflow inside the elements themselves and have nothing to do with supergranule motions.Visiting Astronomer, Kitt Peak National Observatory.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Solar X-ray spectra observed from the ‘Intercosmos-4’ satellite and the ‘Vertical-2’ rocket

Results are given of the detailed analysis of fourteen Fe xxv-xxiii lines ( = 1.850–1.870 Å) in the spectra of a solar flare on 16 Nov. 1970. The spectra were obtained with a resolution of about 4 × 10^–4 Å, which revealed lines not previously observed and allowed the measurement of line profiles. The measured values of the wavelengths and emission fluxes are presented and compared with theoretical calculations. The analysis of the contour of the Fe xxv line ( = 1.850 Å) leads to the conclusion that there is unidirectional macroscopic gas motion in the flare region with the velocity (projection on the line of sight) ± 90 km s^–1.Measurements of the 8.42 Å Mg xii and 9.16 Å Mg xi lines in the absence of solar flares indicate prolonged existence of active regions on the solar disk with T _e = 4–6 × 10⁶K and emission measure ME 10⁴⁸ cm^–3. The profile of the Mg xii line indicates a macroscopic ion motion with a velocity up to 100 km s^–1.     

A relation between magnetic field strength and temperature in sunspots

We present Stokes I Zeeman splitting measurements of sunspots using the highly sensitive (g = 3) Fe i line at = 1.5649 m. The splittings are compared with simultaneous intensity measurements in the adjacent continuum. The relation between magnetic field strength and temperature has a characteristic, nonlinear shape in all the spots studied. In the umbra, there is an approximately linear relation between B ² and T _b, consistent with magnetohydrostatic equilibrium in a nearly vertical field. A distinct flattening of the B ² vs T _brelationship in the inner penumbra may be due to changes in the lateral pressure balance as the magnetic field becomes more horizontal; spatially unresolved intensity inhomogeneities may also influence the observed relation.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.     

Temperature gradients in the inner corona

Emission gradient curves for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) resonance lines of O vi and Mg x have been constructed from spectroheliograms of quiet limb regions observed with the Harvard experiment on Skylab. An analysis of these data suggests that the coronal temperature rises throughout the height range 1.03R r1.3R . This result implies that in quiet regions there is significant coronal heating beyond r = 1.3R .Now at E.O. Hulburt Center for Space Research, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.     

Observations and modeling of infrared and millimeter molecular lines towards GL2591

We have observed C₂H₂ and HCN rovibrational transitions near 13µm in absorption against GL2591. We also have observed rotational transitions at 0.6-3 mm of CS, HCN, H₂CO, and HCO⁺. Analysis of the rotational lines, which arise in the extended cloud around the source, shows that no single density model can explain all the data. Models with density and temperature gradients do much better; in particular models withn(r) r ^–1.5 can reproduce the observed pattern of emission line strengths. The abundances show significant depletion compared to models of gas-phase chemistry. The rovibrational data were analyzed in comparison to the absorption line analysis of CO by Mitchellet al. (1989). Our data are consistent with the C₂H₂ and HCN absorption arising in the same warm (200 K) and hot (1010 K) components seen in CO, but we see little evidence for the cold (38 K) component seen in CO. The rovibrational lines from higher states (J 21) indicate that the hot HCN deviates from LTE, leading to a density of about 3 × 10⁷ cm^–3. Comparison of the two data sets shows that the rovibrational absorption of HCN, rather than arising in the extended envelope, must come from a region with a small angular extent. A model in which early-time gas phase abundances are preserved on grain mantles and released at high temperature can explain the data.     

Medium resolution EUV observations and network structure

Medium resolution observations have been used to find the fractional emitting area in three transition region lines. It is found that is given by DI _{mg x} ^k where k varies from 0.78 to 0.51 in the temperature range 2 × 10⁵ to 7 × 10⁵ K. The average emitting area in O vi deduced by this method is in good agreement with the results from ATM observations. The fractional emitting areas at different values of the Mg x intensity and at different temperatures are combined to find the variation of the areas with height. This variation is in good agreement with Giovanelli's model of the fractional area of cross-section of a magnetic tube of force in the transition region.