Optical design of visible emission line coronagraph on Indian space solar mission Aditya-L1

The ground based observations of the coronal emission lines using a coronagraph are affected by the short duration of clear sky and varying sky transparency. These conditions do not permit to study small amplitude variations in the coronal emission reliably necessary to investigate the process or processes involved in heating the coronal plasma and dynamics of solar corona. The proposed Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) over comes these limitations and will provide continuous observation 24 h a day needed for detailed studies of solar corona and drivers for space weather predictions. VELC payload onboard India’s Aditya-L1 space mission is an internally occulted solar coronagraph for studying the temperature, velocity, density and heating of solar corona. To achieve the proposed science goals, an instrument which is capable of carrying out simultaneous imaging, spectroscopy and spectro-polarimetric observations of the solar corona close to the solar limb is required. VELC is designed with salient features of (a) Imaging solar corona at 500 nm with an angular resolution of 5 arcsec over a FOV of 1.05Ro to 3Ro (Ro:Solar radius) (b) Simultaneous multi-slit spectroscopy at 530.3 nm [Fe XIV],789.2 nm [Fe XI] and 1074.7 nm [Fe XIII] with spectral dispersion of 28mÅ, 31mÅ and 202mÅ per pixel respectively, over a FOV of 1.05Ro to 1.5Ro. (c) Multi-slit dual beam spectro-polarimetry at 1074.7 nm. All the components of instrument have been optimized in view of the scientific objectives and requirements of space payloads. In this paper we present the details of optical configuration and the expected performance of the payload.     

Second generation instrumentation for the VLTI: The french VLTI connection

We describe the current French ideas for the instrumentation of the second generation of the VLTI. Instruments concepts addressed include: integrated optics beam combiner, extension of MIDI to a four beam facility, extension of AMBER to the visible and a densified pupil direct imaging beam combiner. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Apodized Lyot coronagraph for SPHERE/VLT

SPHERE (which stands for Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch) is a second-generation Very Large Telescope (VLT) instrument dedicated to high-contrast direct imaging of exoplanets which first-light is scheduled for 2011. Within this complex instrument one of the central components is the apodized Lyot coronagraph (ALC). The present paper reports on the most interesting aspects and results of the whole numerical study made during the design of the ALC for SPHERE/VLT. The method followed for this study is purely numerical, but with an end-to-end approach which is largely fed by a number of instrumental feedbacks. The results obtained and presented in this paper firstly permit to finalize the optical design before laboratory performance testing of the ALC being built for SPHERE/VLT (see paper II ??Laboratory tests and performances??), but will also hopefully help conceiving future other instruments alike, for example within the very promising extremely large telescope perspective.     

High-contrast coronagraph for ground-based imaging of Jupiter-like planets

We propose a high-contrast coronagraph for direct imaging of young Jupiter-like planets orbiting nearby bright stars. The coronagraph employs a steptransmission filter in which the intensity is apodized with a finite number of steps with identical transmission in each step. It should be installed on a large ground-based telescope equipped with a state-of-the-art adaptive optics system. In this case, contrast ratios around 10-6 should be accessible within 0.1 arcsec of the central star. In recent progress, a...     

Magnetic flux participation in solar surface magnetism during solar cycle 24

This study aims at investigating surface magnetic flux participation among different types of magnetic features during solar cycle 24. State-of-the-art observations from SDO/HMI and Hinode/SOT are combined to form a unique database in the interval from April 2010 to October 2015. Unlike previous studies, the statistics presented in this paper are feature-detection-based. More than 20 million magnetic features with relatively large scale, such as sunspot/pore, enhanced and quiet networks, are automatically detected and categorized from HMI observations, and the internetwork features are identified from SOT/SP observations. The total flux from these magnetic features reaches 5.9×10²² Mx during solar minimum and2.4 × 10²³ Mx in solar maximum. Flux occupation from the sunspot/pore region is 29% in solar maximum.Enhanced and quiet networks contribute 18% and 21% flux during the solar minimum, and 50% and 9% flux in the solar maximum respectively. The internetwork field contributes over 55% of flux in the solar minimum, and its flux contribution exceeds that of sunspot/pore features in the solar maximum. During the solar active condition, the sunspot field increases its area but keeps constant flux density of about 150 G,while the enhanced network follows the sunspot number variation showing increasing flux density and area,but the quiet network displays decreasing area and somewhat increasing flux density of about 6%. The origin of the quiet network is not known exactly, but is suggestive of representing the interplay between mean-field and local dynamos. The source, magnitude and possible importance of ‘hidden flux' are discussed in some detail.     

The 1990 May 24 solar cosmic-ray event

This paper presents an integrated analysis of GOES 6, 7 and neutron monitor observations of solar cosmic-ray event following the 1990 May 24 solar flare. We have used a model which includes particle injection at the Sun and at the interplanetary shock front and particle propagation through the interplanetary medium. The model does not attempt to simulate the physical processes of coronal transport and shock acceleration, therefore the injections at the Sun and at the shock are represented by source functions in the particle transport equation. By fitting anisotropy and angle-average intensity profiles of high-energy (>30 MeV) protons as derived from the model to the ones observed by neutron monitors and at GOES 6 and 7, we have determined the parameters of particle transport, the injection rate and spectrum at the source. We have made a direct fit of uncorrected GOES data with both primary and secondary proton channels taken into account.The 1990 May 24–26 energetic proton event had a double-peaked temporal structure at energies 100 MeV. The Moreton (shock) wave nearby the flare core was seen clearly before the first injection of accelerated particles into the interplanetary medium. Some (correlated with this shock) acceleration mechanism which operates in the solar corona at a height up to one solar radius is regarded as a source of the first (prompt) increase in GOES and neutron monitor counting rates. The proton injection spectrum during this increase is found to be hard (spectral index 1.6) at lower energies ( 30 MeV) with a rapid steepening above 300 MeV. Large values of the mean free path ( 1.8 AU for 1 GV protons in the vicinity of the Earth) led to a high anisotropy of arriving protons. The second (delayed) proton increase was presumably produced by acceleration/injection of particles by an interplanetary shock wave at height of 10 solar radii. Our analysis of the 1990 May 24–26 event is in favour of the general idea that a number of components of energetic particles may be produced while the flare process develops towards larger spatial/temporal scales.Visiting Associate from St. Petersburg State Technical University, St. Petersburg 195251, Russia.     

Prediction of solar cycle 24 and beyond

In the previous study (Hiremath, Astron. Astrophys. 452:591, 2006a), the solar cycle is modeled as a forced and damped harmonic oscillator and from all the 22 cycles (1755–1996), long-term amplitudes, frequencies, phases and decay factor are obtained. Using these physical parameters of the previous 22 solar cycles and by an autoregressive model, we predict the amplitude and period of the present cycle 23 and future fifteen solar cycles. The period of present solar cycle 23 is estimated to be 11.73 years and it is expected that onset of next sunspot activity cycle 24 might starts during the period 2008.57±0.17 (i.e., around May–September 2008). The predicted period and amplitude of the present cycle 23 are almost similar to the period and amplitude of the observed cycle. With these encouraging results, we also predict the profiles of future 15 solar cycles. Important predictions are: (i) the period and amplitude of the cycle 24 are 9.34 years and 110 (±11), (ii) the period and amplitude of the cycle 25 are 12.49 years and 110 (±11), (iii) during the cycles 26 (2030–2042 AD), 27 (2042–2054 AD), 34 (2118–2127 AD), 37 (2152–2163 AD) and 38 (2163–2176 AD), the sun might experience a very high sunspot activity, (iv) the sun might also experience a very low (around 60) sunspot activity during cycle 31 (2089–2100 AD) and, (v) length of the solar cycles vary from 8.65 years for the cycle 33 to maximum of 13.07 years for the cycle 35.     

Neural network prediction of solar cycle 24

The ability to predict the future behavior of solar activity has become extremely import due to its effect on the environment near the Earth.Predictions of both the amplitude and timing of the next solar cycle will assist in estimating the various consequences of space weather.The level of solar activity is usually expressed by international sunspot number (Rz).Several prediction techniques have been applied and have achieved varying degrees of success in the domain of solar activity prediction.We predict a...     

UV observations of macrospicules at the solar limb

During the Spacelab 2 mission, the NRL High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) obtained a time-series of broad-band ultraviolet images of macrospicules at the solar limb inside a polar coronal hole with a temporal resolution of 20 and 60 s. The properties of the macrospicules observed in the Spacelab data are measured and compared with the properties reported for EUV macrospicules observed during Skylab (Bohlin et al., 1975; Withbroe et al., 1976). There is a general agreement between the data sets but several differences. Because of the higher temporal resolution of the Spacelab data, it is possible to see macrospicules with shorter lifetimes than seen during Skylab, as well as variations on faster timescales. The largest (30–60) and fastest (150 km s ^-1) macrospicules seen during Skylab were not found in the Spacelab observations. The Spacelab data support the conclusion that many macrospicules decay by simply fading away.     

Considerations for the next generation of solar telescopes: A systems approach to solar physics

The exciting new high resolution images from the one meter Sunrise balloon telescope and the first images from the 1.6 meter Big Bear telescope together with the continuing data from the 1 meter Swedish Solar Observatory demonstrate the promise of the new generation of multimeter solar telescopes. While the promise of the new generation of telescopes is great the technical challenges to build them will require the efforts of a significant fraction of the solar community. In this talk I will emphasize the need for an integrated systems approach to the development of the telescope, its instruments, its software, and its operations and management structures. The experience of several decades of space mission has taught us a great deal about the value of planning mission development from the definition of the primary scientific objectives to the delivery of the data to the science community. Much of these lessons learned, often painfully, should provide guidance to those in developing the new telescope systems (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Three-dimensional model for generation of the mean solar magnetic field

A three-dimensional (non-axisymmetric) model for the solar mean magnetic field generation is studied. The sources of generation are the differential rotation and mean helicity in the convective shell. The system is described by two equations of the first order in time and the fourth order in space coordinates. The solution is sought for in the form of expansion over the spherical function Y_n^m. The modes of different m are separated. A finite-difference scheme similar to the Peaceman-Rachford scheme is constructed so to find coefficients of the expansion depending on the time and radial coordinates. It is shown that a mode with a smaller azimuthal number m is primarily excited. The axisymmetric mode m = o describes the 22 year solar cycle oscillations. The modes of m o have no such periodicity, the oscillate with a period of rotation of the low boundary of the solar convective shell, The solutions which are symmetric relative to the equator plane are excited more easily compared with the antisymmetrical ones. The results obtained are confronted to the observational picture of the non-axisymmetric large-scale solar magnetic fields.     

A Neuro-Fuzzy modeling for prediction of solar cycles 24 and 25

The paper presents a Neuro-Fuzzy model to predict the features of the forthcoming sunspot cycles 24 and 25. The sunspot time series were analyzed with the proposed model. It is optimized based on Backpropagation scheme and applied to the yearly smoothed sunspot numbers. The appropriate number of network inputs for the sunspots data series is obtained based on sequential forward search for the Neuro-Fuzzy model. According to the model prediction the maximum amplitudes of the cycles 24 and 25 will occur in the year 2013 and year 2022 with peaks of 101±8 and 90.7±8, respectively. The correlation and error analysis are discussed to ensure the performance of the proposed Neuro-Fuzzy approach as a predictor for sunspot time series. The correlation coefficient between Neuro-Fuzzy model forecasted sunspot number values with the actual ones is 0.96.     

Temporal variation of solar flare index during solar cycles 21–24

The present investigation attempts to quantify the temporal variation of Solar Flare Index(SFI)with other activity indices during solar cycles 21-24 by using different techniques such as linear regression,correlation,cross-correlation with phase lag-lead,etc.Different Solar Activity Indices(SAI)considered in this present study are Sunspot Number(SSN),10.7 cm Solar Radio Flux(F10.7),Coronal Index(CI)and MgⅡCore-to-Wing Ratio(MgⅡ).The maximum cycle amplitude of SFI and considered SAI has a decreasing trend from solar cycle 22,and cycle 24 is the weakest solar cycle among all other cycles.The SFI with SSN,F10.7,CI and MgⅡshows hysteresis during all cycles except for solar cycle 22 where both paths for ascending and descending phases are intercepting each other,thereby representing a phase reversal.A positive hysteresis circulation exists between SFI and considered SAI during solar cycles 22 and 23,whereas a negative circulation exists in cycles 21 and 24.SFI has a high positive correlation with coefficient values of 0.92,0.94,0.84 and 0.81 for SSN,F10.7,CI and MgⅡrespectively.According to crosscorrelation analysis,SFI has a phase lag with considered SAI during an odd-number solar cycle(solar cycles21 and 23)but no phase lag/lead during an even-numbered solar cycle(solar cycles 22 and 24).However,the entire smoothed monthly average SFI data indicate an in-phase relationship with SSN,F10.7 and MgⅡ,and a one-month phase lag with CI.The presence of those above characteristics strongly confirms the outcomes of different research work with various solar indices and the highest correlation exists between SFI and SSN as well as F10.7 which establishes that SFI may be considered as one of the prime activity indices to interpret the characteristics of the Sun’s active region as well as for more accurate short-range or long-range forecasting of solar events.     

Photometric calibration of the LASCO-C2 coronagraph for Solar System objects

We present a photometric calibration of the SOHO/LASCO-C2 coronagraph appropriate to Solar System objects based on the extensive analysis of all stars down to magnitude V=8 which transited its field-of-view during the past nine years of operation (1996-2004). An automatic procedure was developed to analyze some 143,000 images, and to detect, locate and measure those stars. Aperture photometry was performed using three different aperture sizes and the zero points of the photometric transformations between the LASCO-C2 magnitudes for its three filters (orange, blue and red) and the standard V magnitudes were determined after introducing a correction for the color of the stars. The calibration coefficients for the surface photometry of extended sources were then derived from the zero points. An analysis of their temporal evolution indicates a slight decrease of the sensitivity of LASCO-C2 at a rate of ∼0.7% per year.     

24MgH+ in the solar photospheric spectrum

The²⁴MgH⁺ (A ¹⁺ –X ¹⁺) molecular lines have been identified in the photospheric spectrum. The rotational excitation temperature determined from the analysis of molecular line intensities of²⁴MgH⁺ is found to be of the order of 4850 K which corresponds to the photospheric temperature of the Sun. The CNDO/2 dipole moments of²⁴MgH⁺ for internuclear distance range: (1.3–2.1) Å in theX ¹⁺ state can be approximated byM(R)=4.92+1.33R. Estimations for the spontaneous emission Einstein coefficients (A _{v v} ) and the absorption oscillator strengths (f _{v v} ) for the (1, 0), (2, 0), and (2, 1) transitions in theX ¹⁺ state of the²⁴MgH⁺ ion are also made.Work partially supported by the CNPq, Brasilia under contract number 30.4076/77.     

Predicting maximum sunspot number in solar cycle 24

A few prediction methods have been developed based on the precursor technique which is found to be successful for forecasting the solar activity. Considering the geomagnetic activity aa indices during the descending phase of the preceding solar cycle as the precursor, we predict the maximum amplitude of annual mean sunspot number in cycle 24 to be 111 ± 21. This suggests that the maximum amplitude of the upcoming cycle 24 will be less than cycles 21–22. Further, we have estimated the annual mean geomagnetic activity aa index for the solar maximum year in cycle 24 to be 20.6 ± 4.7 and the average of the annual mean sunspot number during the descending phase of cycle 24 is estimated to be 48 ± 16.8.     

Temporal trends of solar EUV and UV full-disk fluxes

Several progressions in the temporal characteristics of full-disk solar UV and EUV fluxes have been identified that raise many questions about the solar physics involved. The collective effect of numerous enhancements smaller than scaled plages contribute significantly to the solar cycle variations, especially for emissions from the cooler portions of the corona and the chromosphere. Active-region remnants are suggested to have a strong role even in solar-rotation induced variations late in an episode of major activity. Although cool coronal EUV emissions are long lasting, the persistence of the solar-rotation induced variations is even greater at photospheric UV wavelengths. Gyroresonance and possibly nonthermal radio emission at centimeter wavelengths are suggested to be particularly important during the first solar rotation of an episode of major activity.     

Temporal trends of solar EUV and UV full-disk fluxes

Several progressions in the temporal characteristics of full-disk solar UV and EUV fluxes have been identified that raise many questions about the solar physics involved. The collective effect of numerous enhancements smaller than scaled plages contribute significantly to the solar cycle variations, especially for emissions from the cooler portions of the corona and the chromosphere. Active-region remnants are suggested to have a strong role even in solar-rotation induced variations late in an episode of major activity. Although cool coronal EUV emissions are long lasting, the persistence of the solar-rotation induced variations is even greater at photospheric UV wavelengths. Gyroresonance and possibly nonthermal radio emission at centimeter wavelengths are suggested to be particularly important during the first solar rotation of an episode of major activity.     

Observations and comments for the solar event of 24 October, 1969

Observations of the flare of October 24, 1969 by Zirin et al. (1971) Solar Phys. 19, 463, are given with accompanying graphs of XUV emissions from satellites and four microwave radio emissions from Sagamore Hill Observatory. This event provides an excellent example of the development of two types of radio spectra within the same center and similar profiles for the hard X-ray burst and the 8800 MHz radio profile. The examination of the 2700 MHz burst from the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory provides a clarification of the radio profile and shows the existence of a long enduring burst not previously considered. This event parallels a similar variation of intensity in the soft X-ray burst.     

Atmospheric temperature response to solar cycle UV flux variations

A radiative-convective climate model was used to explore the response of the mean global vertical temperature structure to a variation in the solar UV flux over the solar cycle. The model predicted a cooling of the troposphere and a warming of the stratosphere from solar minimum to solar maximum. The response of the atmospheric temperature to solar UV variations was found to be moderated by a concomitant change in the mean global stratospheric ozone content.