A comparison of He ii 304 Å and He i 10 830 Å spectroheliograms

Spectroheliograms were obtained simultaneously in the He ii 304 Å emission line and the He i 10 830 Å absorption line with an angular resolution of approximately 5″. A negative print of the 304 Å image is matched with a positive print of the 10 830 Å image so that corresponding features of the chromospheric network (including active regions) appear identical in the two images. Differences between these images include the facts that:

1. Disk filaments and limb darkening are strongly visible in the 10 830 Å positive image, but they are weakly visible (as lightenings) in the 304 Å negative image.
2. The contrast between the chromospheric network and the network cell centers is much greater in the 10 830 Å image than in the 304 Å negative image.

These results provide constraints on models of helium line formation in various types of solar features.     

Correlation of He II lyman alpha with He I 10830 Å, and with chromospheric and EUV coronal emission

This paper describes the results of comparing SERTS-3 images obtained in the transition region line of Heii 304 with chromospheric Hei 10830 absorption, with strong coronal lines of Mgix 368 , Fexv 284 and 417 , and Fexvi 335 and 31 , with H, with Caii 8542 , and with magnetograms in Fei 8688H. All of the images are illustrated, and the image reconstruction techniques used are described and evaluated. The high correlation of the Heii 304 and Hei 10830 images, originally found by Harvey and Sheeley (1977), is confirmed and is put on a quantitative basis. We find that the supergranulation network has greater contrast, and that filaments appear darker, in 10830 than in 304 . In active regions, the 304 line follows more closely the behavior of H and Caii 8542 than the 10830 line.     

The astrophysical S-Factor of 4He(3He,γ)7Be reaction at very low-energies

The astrophysical S-factor for ⁴He-³He radiative capture is calculated at very low-energies. We construct conserved two- and three-body electromagnetic currents, using minimal substitution in the explicit momentum dependence of the two- and three-cluster interactions. The realistic Argonne v ₁₈ two-nucleon and Urbana IX or Tucson-Melbourne three-cluster interactions are considered for calculation. The zero energy S-factor is found to be S(0)=0.563 (0.581) keV?b, with (without) three-body interactions, in satisfactory agreement with other theoretical results and experiment data.     

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.     

Comparative morphology of EIT/SOHO images and He ii excitation

Morphological differences between coronal images on the one hand, and a Hei image on the other, are used to demonstrate the independence of Heii excitation from coronal radiation. The distribution of magnetic flux is found to be more important for Heii excitation. Collisional excitation by non-thermal electrons produced in nano-flare events is proposed as the mechanism for Heii excitation.     

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.     

A study of the He λ 10830 line emission from quiescent prominences

Observations of the He 10830 line emission in a number of quiescent prominences are presented. The line shapes are analyzed to obtain values for the Doppler widths and optical thicknesses, leading to a determination of the 2³ P – 2³ S excitation temperature of 4020 K. The results are compared with those of previous observational and theoretical research.     

Changes in the spectrum of the recombining planetary nebula He 1–5

In 2008, we observed the spectrum of the planetary nebula He 1–5, which has had no ionization source for more than 50 years. Comparison with the observations performed in 1972–1976 and 1988 shows that the line intensity ratio I(λ5007[O III])/I(Hβ) decreased by a factor of 2.5, the intensity ratio of the red [N II] doublet to Hα was almost constant, and the [S II]-to-Hα intensity ratio may have slightly increased. The observed changes in the spectrum agree, within the limits of the observational errors, with the calculations of gas recombination in a medium-excitation nebula performed by Tylenda in 1980, but the nitrogen line intensities are higher than the calculated ones by 10–15%. This is most likely related to the slightly reduced nitrogen abundance adopted in the model. The onset of nebular recombination dates from the end of the 19th century and is consistent with its estimate from the photometric history of the central star.     

Analysis of He I 1083 nm Imaging Spectroscopy Using a Spectral Standard

We develop a technique for the analysis of Hei 1083 nm spectra which addresses several difficulties through determination of a continuum background by comparison with a well-calibrated standard and through removal of nearby solar and telluric blends by differential comparison to an average spectrum. The method is compared with earlier analysis of imaging spectroscopy obtained at the National Solar Observatory/Kitt Peak Vacuum Telescope (NSO/KPVT) with the NASA/NSO Spectromagnetograph (SPM). We examine distributions of Doppler velocity and line width as a function of central intensity for an active region, filament, quiet Sun, and coronal hole. For our example, we find that line widths and central intensity are oppositely correlated in a coronal hole and quiet Sun. Line widths are comparable to the quiet Sun in the active region, are systematically lower in the filament, and extend to higher values in the coronal hole. Outward velocities of 2–4 km s^–1 are typically observed in the coronal hole. The sensitivity of these results to analysis technique is discussed.     

Charged-particle induced thermonuclear reaction rates of 3He(3He,2p)4He, 3He(4He,γ)7Be and 7Be(p,γ)8B by using the exact tunneling probability

The astrophysical S-factor of the experimental cross section data of the main reactions in the proton–proton chain, i.e. ³He(³He,2p)⁴He, ³He(⁴He,γ)⁷Be and ⁷Be(p,γ)⁸B, are reanalyzed by using the exact tunneling probability in nuclear reactions. Our goal is to test this treatment in finding the reaction rate per pair for non-resonant reactions. At low temperatures, the exact treatment is identical to the standard formalism but diverges at higher temperatures.     

Atmospheric models of He-peculiar stars: synthetic He I line profiles and absolute visual magnitudes

We analyze the influence of magnetic pressure effects on the atmospheric structure of B peculiar type stars, as well as, on the emergent He?I line profiles and absolute visual magnitudes. We consider a photosphere in local thermodynamic and hydrostatic equilibrium. The hydrostatic equilibrium equation is modified to include the Lorentz force. Atomic occupational numbers are computed in LTE considering non-ideal effects in the gas equation of state. We depict the influence of a magnetic field on local He?I line profiles and discuss the effects of the helium abundance in magnetic B-type stars. The Lorentz force might explain local variations up to 7 % in the equivalent width of helium lines, while local enhancements of He chemical abundances would produce larger changes. To analyze the line variations in real stars we computed the net contribution of a bipolar magnetic field over the stellar disk. The resulting disk-averaged magnetic field predicts variations with the rotation phase up to 2–3 % in the line EWs for a dipolar magnetic field of 1000 G.     

A Change in the Solar He ii EUV Global Network Structure as an Indicator of the Geo-Effectiveness of Solar Minima

Solar activity during 2007?–?2009 was very low, causing anomalously low thermospheric density. A comparison of solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance in the He?ii spectral band (26 to 34 nm) from the Solar Extreme ultraviolet Monitor (SEM), one of instruments on the Charge Element and Isotope Analysis System (CELIAS) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) for the two latest solar minima showed a decrease of the absolute irradiance of about 15±6 % during the solar minimum between Cycles 23 and 24 compared with the Cycle 22/23 minimum when a yearly running-mean filter was used. We found that some local, shorter-term minima including those with the same absolute EUV flux in the SEM spectral band show a higher concentration of spatial power in the global network structure from the 30.4 nm SOHO/Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) images for the local minimum of 1996 compared with the minima of 2008?–?2011. We interpret this higher concentration of spatial power in the transition region’s global network structure as a larger number of larger-area features on the solar disk. These changes in the global network structure during solar minima may characterize, in part, the geo-effectiveness of the solar He?ii EUV irradiance in addition to the estimations based on its absolute levels.     

Coronal He+ λ304 radiation

The intensity of the He⁺ 304 coronal line relative to the H⁰ 1216 line, including the dominant contribution due to resonance scattering, is presented. All physical processes important in the corona are included. It is found that He⁺ 304 is a major contributor to the XUV corona, and that the sensitivity of the He⁺ 304/H⁰ 1216 intensity ratio to coronal temperature is very weak, supporting the belief that this ratio is a good indicator of the coronal helium abundance.     

Rotational excitation of aluminium monofluoride (AlF) by?He?atom at low temperature

We report on the calculation of collision induced rotational excitation cross sections and rate coefficients of AlF by He atom at low temperature. These quantities were obtained by first computing the interaction potential energy surface (PES) of the AlF(X  ¹Σ⁺)-He(¹ S) van der Waals complex at the ab initio Coupled Cluster with Single and Double and perturbative Triple excitations [CCSD(T)] level of theory. The aug-cc-pVQZ Gaussian basis, to which was added a set of bond functions, was used for that purpose. The calculations account for basis set superposition errors (BSSE). The interaction potential presents a minimum of ∼24 cm⁻¹ below the AlF-He dissociation limit. The PES was fitted on a basis of Legendre polynomial functions to allow for the calculation of cross sections in the close-coupling (CC) approach. By averaging these cross sections over a Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution, rate coefficients were inferred at low temperatures (T≤300 K). From our computations, a propensity towards ΔJ=1 transitions is observed.     

The Origin and Acceleration of ~3He and Heavy Ions in the 2000 July 14 Event

1INTRODUCTIONEnrichment of3He and heavy ions(i.e.,Ne,Mg,Si and Fe),characteristic of impulsive?ares,have beenstudied for more than three decades.It is found that they are generally associated with nonthermal energeticelectron-rich events(Reames et al.1988;Reames1999and references therein;Ho et al.2001;Wang et al.2006)and are related to the peculiar ratio of charge to mass(Mazur et al.1996;Reames1999).Althoughthe abundance of3He ions is not correlated with the abundance of heavy ions,s…     

Possible contribution of radiation from the 2s2p42P level of O II in dayglow measurements of the He I line at 584 Å

Intensity of dayglow emmisions in the lines of 0 II at 537 and 581 Å is evaluated from presently accepted atomic parameters, EUV solar fluxes and atmospheric models. An improvement of the experimental techniques used up to now is suggested to identify these emissions and provide new data on ionospheric processes.     

Measurement of the relative intensities of Heζ-H8 lines λ3889Å in the spectrum of the chromospheric spicules at various heights above the limb

A series of 31 large scale spectra of the spicules near H8-He lines 3889 Å has been photographed at different heights (1500–5000 km) with 53-cm coronagraph. The solar image was 121 mm in diameter, dispersion and spatial resolution were respectively 0.647 Å mm^–1 and 1–2. Equivalent widths of both lines have been measured and ratio R = EW_He/EW_H8 was obtained. T _e(h) distribution in the averaged spicule deduced differs from that in the recent spicule model by Beckers (1972): the spicules are colder greatly than it was accepted hitherto (T _e 10000 K). The electron temperature in the quiescent prominence which occurred in the spectra was also estimated: T _e 6000 K at h = 4000 and 5000 km.     

Study of nonstationarity of the atmosphere of <Emphasis Type="Italic">κ</Emphasis> Cas. I. Variability of profiles of photospheric and He I wind lines

Temporal variations of radial velocities and line profiles in the spectrum of the supergiant κ Cas were investigated. Variability of radial velocities and profiles of photospheric lines Si III, OII, He I, H₁₀–Hδ and wind lines He I λ 5875, 6678 Å ismainly caused by non-radial pulsations. For photospheric lines quasisinusoidal variabilities of the radial velocity were found. Temporal variability of radial velocity of the wind lines He I λ 5875, 6678 A? differ from each other and from the photospheric lines. Gamma velocities and amplitudes of radial velocity variability were determined. The amplitude of variability and the velocity of expansion increase from lower to upper layers of the atmosphere. Emission components are superimposed on the line profiles at positions about ?135 ± 10.0, ?20 ± 20 and 135 ± 10.0 kms^?1 respectively. They are more obvious in the wind line profiles, although, there are signs of emissions also in the photospheric lines. Such a character of variability of all the lines in the κ Cas spectrum confirms its Be nature.     

Comparison of the magnetic fields in active prominences measured from the He I D3 and Hα lines

We present the results of magnetic field measurements in three active prominences, July 24, 1981, July 24, 1999, and July 12, 2004, obtained from observations with the echelle spectrograph of the horizontal solar telescope at the Astronomical Observatory of the Taras Shevchenko Kiev National University. The magnetic fields were measured from the Zeeman splitting of the I ± V profiles in the He I D₃ and H?? lines in the atmosphere at heights from 3 to 14 Mm. Our measurements of the effective magnetic fields B _eff from the shift of the profile centroids have shown that the magnetic fields averaged over the entrance slit area were within the range from ?600 to +1500 G. The amplitude values of the local fields have been estimated from the splitting of the bisectors of the central parts of the line profiles at 0.9 of the peak intensity. The corresponding fields B _0.9 have turned out to be approximately twice B _eff and reached 4000 G in absolute value. Narrow (1?C2 Mm) height peaks at heights of 6?C11 Mm have been found in the height distributions of the magnetic field. We have found an interesting effect in two prominences-an anticorrelation between the magnetic field strengths measured from the D₃ and H?? lines.