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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Structure and physical conditions in the Hα loops of an M7.7 solar flare

The M7.7 solar flare on July 19, 2012, is the most dramatic example of a “Masuda” flare with a well-defined second X-ray above-the-loop-top source. The behavior of the system of loops accompanying this flare has been studied comprehensively by Liu et al. based on Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) and Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA) data. We have performed spectroscopic and filter observations of the Hα loops in this flare with the Large Solar Vacuum Telescope. The basic physical parameters in the loops of this peculiar flare generally coincide with the known data in Hα loops. However, the electron density, 10¹¹ cm_?3, and the integrated disk-center continuum intensity, 12%, are quite high, given that the observations were obtained almost 3 h after the flare onset.We have estimated the ascending velocity of the loop arcade (~3.5 km s^?1) and the height difference between the Hα and 94 Å loops (~2 × 10⁴ km).     

Time delay between Hα and hard X-ray emissions during impulsive solar flares

This investigation shows that statistically there are significant time delays between H and hard X-ray (HXR) emissions during solar flares; most impulsive flares produce HXR emissions up to 1 min before and up to 2 min after the onset of H emission. HXR emissions are also found to be peaked up to 2 min before the H emissions.     

Complete determination of the magnetic field vector and of the electron density in 14 prominences from linear polarizaton measurements in the HeI D3 and Hα lines

The present paper is devoted to the interpretation of linear polarization data obtained in 14 quiescent prominences with the Pic-du-Midi coronagraph-polarimeter by J. L. Leroy, in the two lines Hei D₃ andH quasi-simultaneously. The linear polarization of the lines is due to scattering of the anisotropic photospheric radiation, modified by the Hanle effect due to the local magnetic field. The interpretation of the polarization data in the two lines is able to provide the 3 components of the magnetic field vector, and one extra parameter, namely the electron density, because the linear polarization of H is also sensitive to the depolarizing effect of collisions with the electrons and protons of the medium. Moreover, by using two lines with different optical thicknesses, namely Hei D₃, which is optically thin, and H, which is optically thick ( = 1), it is possible to solve the fundamental ambiguity, each line providing two field vector solutions that are symmetrical in direction with respect to the line of sight in the case of the optically thin line, and which have a different symmetry in the case of the optically thick line.It is then possible to determine without ambiguity the polarity of the prominence magnetic field with respect to that of the photospheric field: 12 prominences are found to be Inverse polarity prominences, whereas 2 prominences are found to be Normal polarity prominences. It must be noticed that in 12 of the 14 cases, the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field vector has a Normal polarity (to the extent that the notion of polarity of a vector component is meaningful; no polarity can be derived in the 2 remaining cases); this may explain the controversy between the results obtained with methods based on the Hanle effect with results obtained through the Zeeman effect. A dip of the magnetic field lines across the prominence has been assumed, to which the optically thick H line is sensitive, and the optically thin Hei D₃ line is insensitive.For the Inverse prominences, the average field strength is 7.5±1.2 G, the average angle,, between the field vector and the prominence long axis is 36° ± 15°, the average angle, , between the outgoing field lines and the solar surface at the prominence boundary is 29° ± 20°, and the average electron density is 2.1 × 10¹⁰ ± 0.7 × 10¹⁰ cm^–3. For the Normal prominences, the average field strength is 13.2±2.0 G, the average angle,, between the field vector and the prominence long axis is 53° ± 15°, the average angle, , between the outgoing field lines and the solar surface at the prominence boundary is 0° ± 20° (horizontal field), and the average electron density is 8.7 × 10⁹ ± 3.0 × 10⁹ cm^–3.     

Irradiance observations of the 1–8 Å solar soft X-ray flux from goes

The solar 0.5–8 soft X-ray flux was monitored by the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) from 1974 to the present, providing a continuous record over two solar activity cycles. Attempts have been made to determine a soft X-ray (SXR) background flux by subtracting out solar flares (using the daily lowest flux level). The SXR background flux represents the quiescent SXR flux from heated plasma in active regions, and reflects similar (intermediate-term) variability and periodicities (e.g. 155-day period) as the SXR or hard X-ray (HXR) flare rate, although it is determined in non-flaring time intervals. The SXR background flux peaks late in Solar Cycle 21 (2–3 years after the sunspot maximum), similar to the flare rate measured in SXR, HXR, or gamma rays, possibly due the increasing complexity of coronal magnetic structures in the decay phase of the solar cycle. The SXR background flux appears to be dominated by postflare emission from the dominant active regions, while the contributions from the quiet Sun are appreciable in the Solar Minimum only (A1-level). Comparisons with full-disk integrated images from YOHKOH suggest that the presence of coronal holes can decrease the quietest SXR irradiance level by an additional order of magnitude, but only in the rare case of absence of active regions.Presented at IAU Colloquium No. 143, The Sun as a Variable Star: Solar and Stellar Irradiance Variations, Boulder, CO, June 20–25, 1993     

X-ray and Hα observations of a filament-disappearance flare: An empirical analysis of the magnetic field configuration

A flare event occurred which involved the disappearance of a filament near central meridian on 29 August 1973. The event was well observed in X-rays with the AS & E telescope on Skylab and in H at BBSO. It was a four-ribbon flare involving both new and old magnetic inversion lines which were roughly parallel. The H, X-ray, and magnetic field data are used to deduce the magnetic polarities of the H brightenings at the footpoints of the brightest X-ray loops. These magnetic structures and the preflare history of the region are then used to argue that the event involved a reconnection of magnetic field lines rather than a brightening in place of pre-existing loops. The simultaneity of the H brightening onsets in the four ribbons and the apparent lack of an eruption of the filament are consistent with this interpretation. These observations are compared to other studies of filament disappearances. The preflare structures and the alignment of the early X-ray flare loops with the H filament are consistent with the schematic picture of a filament presented first by Canfield et al. (1974).     

X-ray fluorescence observations of the moon by SMART-1/D-CIXS and the first detection of Ti Kα from the lunar surface

The demonstration of a compact imaging X-ray spectrometer (D-CIXS), which flew on ESA's SMART-1 mission to the Moon (Racca et al., 2001; Foing et al., 2006), was designed to test innovative new technologies for orbital X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. D-CIXS conducted observations of the lunar surface from January 2005 until SMART-1 impacted the Moon in September 2006. Here, we present scientific observations made during two solar flare events and show the first detection of Titanium Kα from the lunar surface. We discuss the geological implications of these results. We also discuss how experience from D-CIXS has aided the design of a similar instrument (Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS)) that was launched on the 22nd October 2008 on India's Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon.     

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.     

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.     

Obtaining space-based SDO/AIA solar UV and EUV images from ground-based Hα observations by deep learning

In this work,we explore the mappings from solar images taken in Hα(6563 A) by the Global Oscillation Network Group(GONG) on the ground to those observed in eight different wavelengths(94,131,171,193,211,304,335 and 1600 A) by SDO/AIA in space.Eight mappings are built by training the conditional Generative Adversarial Networks(cGANs) on datasets with 500 paired images,which are [Hα,AIA94],[Hα,AIA131],[Hα,AIA171],[Hα,AIA193],[Hα,AIA211],[Hα,AIA304],[Hα,AIA335] and[Hα,AIA1600].We evaluate the eight trained cGANs models on validation and test datasets with 154-pair images and 327-pair images,respectively.The model generated fake AIA images match the corresponding observed AIA images well on large-scale structures such as large active regions and prominences.But the small-scale flare loops and filament threads are difficult to reconstruct.Four quantitative comparisons are carried out on the validation and test datasets to score the mappings.We find that the model-generated images in 304 and 1600 A match the corresponding observed images best.This exploration suggests that the cGANs are promising methods for mappings between ground-based Ha and space-based EUV/UV images,while some improvements are necessary.     

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.     

Hβ line width and the UV–X-ray spectra of luminous AGN

The width of the broad Hβ emission line is the primary defining characteristic of the NLS1 class. This parameter is also an important component of Boroson and Green’s optical “Eigenvector 1” (EV1), which links steeper soft X-ray spectra with narrower Hβ emission, stronger Hβ blue wing, stronger optical Fe II emission, and weaker [O III] λ5007. Potentially, EV1 represents a fundamental physical process linking the dynamics of fueling and outflow with the accretion rate. We attempted to understand these relationships by extending the optical spectra into the UV for a sample of 22 QSOs with high quality soft-X-ray spectra, and discovered a whole new set of UV relationships that suggest that high accretion rates are linked to dense gas and perhaps nuclear starbursts. While it has been argued that narrow (BLR) Hβ means low Black Hole mass in luminous NLS1s, the C IV λ1549 and Lyα emission lines are broader, perhaps the result of outflows driven by their high Eddington accretion rates. We present some new trends of optical-UV with X-ray spectral energy distributions. Steeper X-ray spectra appear associated with stronger UV relative to optical continua, but the presence of strong UV absorption lines is associated with depressed soft X-rays and redder optical–UV continua.     

A catalogue of Hα emission-line point sources in the vicinity fields of M31 and M33 from the LAMOST survey

We present a catalogue of 3305 Hα emission-line point sources observed with the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope(LAMOST) in the vicinity fields of M31 and M33 during September 2011 and January 2016.The catalogue contains 1487 emission-line stars,532 emission-line nebulae including 377 likely planetary nebulae(PNe),83 H Ⅱ region candidates and 20 possible supernova remnants(SNRs) and 1286 unknown objects.Among them,24 PN candidates,19 H Ⅱ region candidates,10 SNR candidates and one symbiotic star candidate are new discoveries.Radial velocities and fluxes estimated from the Hα line and those quantities of seven other major emission lines including Hβ,[O Ⅲ] A4959,[O Ⅲ] A5007,[N Ⅱ] A6548,[N Ⅱ] A6583,[S Ⅱ] A6717 and [S Ⅱ] A6731 lines of all the catalogued sources yielded from the LAMOST spectra are also presented in our catalogue.Our catalogue is an ideal starting point to study the chemistry properties and kinematics of M 31 and M 33.     

Connection between the appearance of γ-ray sources and Hα line impact linear polarization in the July 23, 2002 flare

Astronomy Letters - During our spectropolarimetric observations of the 2B/4.8X flare on July 23, 2002, with the Large Solar Vacuum Telescope (LSVT), we detected impact linear polarization in the...     

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.     

Simultaneous measurements of the polarization in Hα and D3 prominence emissions

Simultaneous observations of the polarization of radiations H and D₃ have been performed in 1979 at Pic du Midi on 60 solar prominences (300 pairs of measurements). For the essential part of the sample, the degree of polarization p(D₃) does not depend strongly upon the intensity E(D₃); on the contrary p(H) decreases steeply when E(H) goes beyond the brightness which corresponds to (H) = 1 (Figure 4); the deviation of the polarization direction (H) does not show such a strong dependance upon E(H) (Figure 6). A crude estimate of the possible role of multiple scattering in an optically thick prominence is in general agreement with observational data but a detailed comparison will be possible only when a complete theory of the Hanle effect in non optically thin layers will be available.Therefore, H polarization measurements are presently useful mainly when (H) < 1 and, in connexion with D₃ measurements (Figure 8), they should make possible to determine the three components of the prominence magnetic vector. Prospects are given for the observation of other lines (H; 10 830 Å) which do not suffer heavy self-absorption effects and would be well-suited to this type of study.