The height distribution of the kinetic temperature and turbulent velocity of solar Hα spicules

The height distribution of the kinetic temperature of solar H spicules is determined using the widths of optically thin hydrogen and metallic lines obtained at the total solar eclipse of 1966: the temperature was found to be 8600 K at the height of 2200 km measured from the radial optical depth of unity at 5000 Å, and to decrease to a minimum of 5000 K ± 180 K at 3200 km, and to increase again to 8200 K at 6000 km.The height distribution of the non-thermal turbulent velocity is also determined and is shown to be consistent with the neutral helium line widths emitted at the kinetic temperature of 5000–8000 K.     

Hα emission line profiles of solar flares with turbulent velocity fields

The H line profile in a flare atmospheric model superposed by a spatially correlated velocity field is studied in detail in this paper. The computations are carried out with the assumption that the velocity field is represented by a Kubo-Anderson process. It is found that the shape and the intensity of the H line profile depend greatly on the parameters of the velocity field. The variation of the profile and its relative deviation with respect to different correlation lengths is more complex than in the case of absorption lines. It is also shown that such a profile cannot be matched by those produced in the usually-used micro- and macro-turbulent approaches, especially for the velocity field with an intermediate correlation length. The results imply that the flare atmosphere should be highly turbulent in order to explain the observed H line profile with only weak central reversal in the flare spectra. Particularly, the effects of meso-turbulent fields should be taken into account in order to improve the spectral diagnostics and modelling of the flare atmosphere.     

An analysis of photospheric vector magnetograms, Hα images and soft X-ray images in a superactive region NOAA 7321

Based on the photospheric vector magnetograms taken at Huairou Solar Observing Station (HSOS), H images taken at Hiraiso Solar Terrestrial Research Center of Communication Research Laboratory, soft X-ray images taken by Yohkoh and an extrapolation method, the magnetic field structures and some active phenomena of the active region AR 7321 around 04:12 UT on 27 October 1992 are analyzed in this paper. A divergence of the transverse magnetic field, located at a newly formed spot, was found. At least four highly sheared magnetic field systems separately spread from this divergence to four other sites around this divergence. Vertical current concentrations are upward in this region and downward in the other four sites, and the corresponding H bright patches and soft X-ray bright loops coincide with these structures, confirming the existence of these four systems. The extrapolated magnetic force lines reconstructed by the Boundary Element Method (BEM), force-free field assumption, and boundary condition of observed photospheric vector magnetic field, coincide in space with the H bright patches and soft X-ray bright loops, showing that this extrapolation method is very effective and suggesting that the H bright patches and soft X-ray bright loops in this case represent the magnetic field structures in the upper atmosphere of the Sun.The bright structures in the H images and the soft X-ray images have a close correlation with the non-potential characteristics of the magnetic fields.     

Hα Emission and Dynamics in Groups of Galaxies

H_α luminosities of a sample of galaxies in nearby compactgroups are presented. Our purpose is to study the influence of thegroup environment on the star formation rates (SFRs) of the galaxies in thegroups, provided that the H_α luminosity is a good tracer of theSFR of disc galaxies. Measuring the global L /L _B of the groups – including early-type galaxies – we find that the average value of the H_α emission is not significantly different from thatmeasured for field galaxies, and that most of the groups that show thehighest level of L /L _B, with respect to a set of synthetic groups built out of field galaxies, show tidal features in at least one of their members. Finally, we have exploredthe relationship between the ratio L /L _B and severalrelevant dynamical parameters of the groups (velocity dispersion, crossingtime, radius and mass-to-luminosity ratio) and have found no clearcorrelation. This suggests that the exact dynamical state of a groupdoes not appear to control the SFR of the group as a whole. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High resolution observation of Hα solar flares and temporal relation between Hα and X-ray,microwave emission

We studied the evolutional characteristics of fine structures in H flare emitting regions and their relation to X-ray and microwave emissions for selected events observed with the 60 cm Domeless Solar Telescope at Hida Observatory, University of Kyoto. The principal conclusions of this investigation are: (1) H kernel consists of some finer bright points or Hflare points whose individual size is less than 1 arc sec. (2) Impulsive brightnenings of H flare points occurred simultaneously with the spikes of the hard X-ray and microwave bursts within the time resolution of our H observations which varied from 1 to 10 s. (3) It is concluded that fast electron beams must be the principal mechanism of heating H flares during the impulsive phase of a flare.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984. Contributions from the Kwasan and Hida Observatories, University of Kyoto, No. 265.     

A distribution function calculation of the H α profiles of SNR filaments

In shocked media of high preshock ionisation, the lack of thermal contact between atoms in the neutral component of the gas can prevent the formation of a thermal equilibrium independent of the ionic component. The behaviour of the neutral gas in such a shock is dominated by the atomic processes driven by the postshock ionic component.A transport equation for the velocity distribution of the neutral gas is explicitly solved under the physical conditions of a 1D ionic shock transition. The resulting distributions are used to calculate predicted H line emission from such a system.     

A comparison of Hα and soft X-ray characteristics of spotless and spot group flares

A comparative analysis of spotless and spot group flares recorded at Hvar and Kanzelhöhe Observatories during the 21st cycle of solar activity is presented. The rate of occurrence of two-ribbon flares was found to be significantly higher for the spotless flares. In comparison with spot group flares of corresponding H importance, the soft X-ray peak values have been systematically lower for the spotless flares. The highest peak values and the energy released in soft X-rays was found for flares with a H ribbon protruding over a major spot umbra. It was found that the effective plasma temperatures in spotless flares have been considerably lower than the temperatures in spot group flares.     

Measurements of Filament Height in Hα and EUV 304 Å

In this study, we present the three-dimensional (3D) configuration of a filament observed by STEREO and the Global High Resolution H-alpha Network (GHN) in EUV 304 Å and Hα line center, respectively. This was the largest filament located close to the active region NOAA 10956 that produced a small B9.6 flare and two Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) on 19 May 2007. The 3D coordinates of multiple points traced along this filament were reconstructed by triangulation from two different aspect angles. The two STEREO (A and B) spacecraft had a separation angle α of 8.6 degree on 19 May 2007. The “true” heights of the filament were estimated using STEREO images in EUV 304 and Hα images, respectively. Our results show that EUV emission of the filament originates from higher locations than the Hα emission. We also compare the measured reconstructed heights of the filaments in EUV with those reported in previous studies.     

The Temperature and Density Structure of an Hα Flaring Loop

We develop a simple method to deduce the temperature and density in the loop of a limb flare from the spectral observations of two lines, H and Caii 8542 Å. We first build a grid of homogeneous slab models with various temperature and density values and compute the emergent line intensities, and then find the relevant model that can match the observed intensities. This is an approximate method because there are several other factors which can influence the line intensities. We apply this method to the limb flare of 11 November 1998 and deduce the values of temperature and hydrogen number density at different spatial points in the flaring loop, as well as their temporal variations. The loop contains relatively high density and possibly the loop top is slightly hotter and more condensed than the legs of the loop at the flare maximum time. A favorable scenario to produce this result is that magnetic reconnection occurs above the loop, and the reconnection outflow may heat and condense the plasma near the loop top.     

Evolution of an active region and associated Hα arch structures

We have studied the early stages of development of two adjacent active regions observed at the center and the wings of H for six days. From the growth of spots and arch structures we found that periods of slow flux emergence were followed by periods of vigorous flux emergence. We observed arch filaments covering an appreciable range of sizes (from a length of about 27 000 km and a height of 2000–3000 km to a length of 45 000 km and a height of about 15 000 km). Individual arch filaments within the same arcade sometimes have different inclinations of their planes with respect to the vertical. We observed isolated cases of arches crossing each other at an angle of 45°. During their early stages arch filament systems are short and they expand at a rate of about 0.8 km s^–1. The rate of growth of arch filament systems is faster when the orientation of the flux tubes is nearly parallel to the equator. Our observations suggest that the early part of the evolution of individual arch filaments in a grown system is not visible; however, in a few cases we observed arch filaments appearing as dark features near one footpoint and expanding towards the other, with a mean velocity of about 30 km s^–1.     

Comparison of Prominences in Hα and He II 304 Å

In this letter, we bring attention to prominences which show different morphology in H and Heii 304 Å, as observed simultaneously by BBSO and EIT on board SOHO. Those two lines have been thought to represent similar chromospheric structures although they are formed at significantly different temperatures. We give two examples representing two kinds of anomaly: (1) prominences showing strong H emissions in the lower part and strong Heii emissions in the upper part, and (2) erupting prominences showing extensive Heii emission, but nothing in H. Our results indicate that a part or the whole of a prominence may be too hot to emit H radiation, possibly due to heating or thermal instability. Please note that these are not just two isolated cases, many other prominences show the similar differences in H and Heii 304 Å.     

Hα and radio observations of LSI+61o303

Quasi simultaneous H and radio observations of LSI+61^o303 during August-September 1993 are presented. The radio data show that during the studied epoch the outburst has peaked at radio phase 0.6, at level100 mJy. No significant variations in the H profile at phases 0.5 to 0.65 have been detected. A remarkable increase of the EW and FWHM of the H blue peak is observed at radio phase 0.23. Possible reasons are considered.     

The seven components of Hα and the 9873 MHz line

Under conditions pertaining to the middle chromosphere, the nlj-substates of the n = 2 and n = 3 states of hydrogen are found to be populated proportionally to their degree of degeneracy. Thus, the non-LTE formation of the H line is not expected to be influenced by some exotic excitation conditions in one of its seven components. The overpopulation of the 2S _1/2 substate relative to the 2P _3/2 substate does not depend upon details of the radiative transfer in H, so that it rests wholly on the transfer in L (Milkey and Mihalas, 1973). One-component plane parallel models of the chromosphere thus further predict that the 2S _1/2-2P _3/2, 9873 MHz (3.04 cm) line will not be observable in the radio-spectrum of the quiet Sun.Astronomische Mitteilungen der Eidgenössischen Sternwarte Zürich, Nr. 367.     

Hα and Hβ profile variations in the spectra of the star 55 Cyg

Profile variations in the H_α and H_β lines in the spectra of the star 55 Cyg are investigated from observations acquired in 2010 at the Cassegrain focus of the 2-m telescope at the Shamakhy Astrophysical Observatory after named N.Tusi (Azerbaijan). The spectral resolution is approximately 15000. The emission and absorption components of the Ha profile are found to disappear on some observational days, and one of the spectrograms exhibits an inverse P-Cyg profile of Hα. It is suggested that the observational evidence for the nonstationary atmosphere of 55 Cyg can be associated in part with nonspherical stellar wind.     

Hα contrast profiles of filament features

The wavelength dependence of filament features is studied, using high-resolution filtergrams taken at seven wavelengths in H. The observed contrast profiles are compared with profiles calculated on the basis of Beckers' (1964) cloud model. The deviation between observed and calculated profiles is used to suggest a progression among the observed profiles that depends on the height of the filament feature.Both upward and downward velocities are detected. The fine scale features in the filament and the corresponding velocity field vary with a time constant of a few minutes.     

Hα red asymmetry of solar flares

The evolutional characteristics of the red asymmetry of H flare line profiles were studied by means of a quantitative analysis of H flare spectra obtained with the Domeless Solar Telescope at Hida Observatory. Red-shifted emission streaks of H line are found at the initial phase of almost all flares which occur near the disk center, and are considered to be substantial features of the red asymmetry. It is found that a downward motion in the flare chromospheric region is the cause of the red-shifted emission streak. The downward motion abruptly increases at the onset of a flare, attains its maximum velocity of about 40 to 100 km s^-1 shortly before the impulsive peak of the microwave burst, and rapidly decreases before the intensity of H line reaches its maximum. Referring to the numerical simulations made by Livshits et al. (1981) and Somov et al. (1982), we conclude that the conspicuous red-asymmetry or the red-shifted emission streak of H line is due to the downward motion of the compressed chromospheric flare region produced by the impulsive heating by energetic electron beam or thermal conduction.Contributions from the Kwasan and Hida Observatories, University of Kyoto, No. 258.     

Hα surges and associated Soft X-ray loops

A recurrent H surge was observed on 7 October, 1991 on the western solar limb with the Meudon MSDP spectrograph. The GOES satellite recorded X-ray subflares coincident with all three events. During two of the surges high-resolutionYohkoh Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) images have been taken. Low X-ray loops overlying the active region where the surges occurred were continuously restructuring. A flare loop appeared at the onset of each surge event and somewhat separated from the footpoint of the surge. The loops are interpreted as causally related to the surges. It is suggested that surges are due to magnetic reconnection between a twisted cool loop and open field lines. Cold plasma bubbles or jets squeezed among untwisting magnetic field lines could correspond to the surge material. No detection was made of either X-ray emission along the path of the surges or X-ray jets, possibly because of the finite detection threshold of theYohkoh SXT.     

Comparison between some Hα and X-ray flares

In the present paper, H-evolutive curves of chromospheric events are compared with flux evolutive curves of X-ray events observed at the same time in different spectral regions. A correspondence between the emissions E(I _H/I _chr)'s at higher and higher H-intensity levels, and the X-ray fluxes F()'s in harder and harder -ranges is shown. Further, the present observations seem to indicate the existence of a single triggering mechanism during the flash-phase of a flare. It is also shown that these results may be in agreement with Brown's model for chromospheric flares.