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PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Hinode/SOT Observations of Quiescent Prominences Thomas Berger, T. Tarbell, N. Hurlburt, B. Lites, R. Shine, G.

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Presentation on theme: "PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Hinode/SOT Observations of Quiescent Prominences Thomas Berger, T. Tarbell, N. Hurlburt, B. Lites, R. Shine, G."— Presentation transcript:

1 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Hinode/SOT Observations of Quiescent Prominences Thomas Berger, T. Tarbell, N. Hurlburt, B. Lites, R. Shine, G. Slater, A.Title, S. Tsuneta, J. Okamoto, K. Ichimoto, Y. Katsukawa, M. Kubo, S. Nagata, T. Shimizu and the rest of the SOT Team

2 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Hinode Overview SOT Solar Optical Telescope XRT X-ray Telescope EIS Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer

3 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007

4 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 SOT Overview Optical Telescope Assembly (OTA): 0.5 m Gregorian Telescope Built by NAOJ/JAXA/Melco Focal Plane Package (FPP): Broadband Filter Imager (BFI) Narrowband Filter Imager (NFI) Spectropolarimeter (SP) Built by Lockheed/HAO Cameras by E2V/RAL Introduction Focal Plane Package (FPP)

5 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Introduction Hinode/SOT images prominences above the solar limb in two wavelengths: Ca II H-line at 396.8 nm 0.054”/pix H Balmer Alpha line at 656.3 nm 0.08”/pix Spatial resolution determined by 2x2 pixel summing. 2-pixel resolution is: Ca H-line ~ 160 km H-alpha ~ 230 km Typical temporal resolution values are 30--60 sec (15--30 sec cadence). SOT telescope is diffraction limited with no seeing distortions.

6 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Ca II H-line 396.8nm 30-Nov-2006 NW limb 6 hrs.

7 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Sample Regions TS1, TS2 = horizontal time slices Box = averaged vertical time slice

8 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Horizontal Time Slices TS2 TS1 Oscillations of unknown origin

9 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Vertical Composite Time Slice 16 1-pixel slices summed horizontally

10 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Vertical Composite Time Slice 16 1-pixel slices summed horizontally 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 v1 = 8.9 km/s v7 = 9.3 km/s v8 = 8.9 km/s = 9.0 km/s v2 = 12.2 km/s v3 = 19.2 km/s v4 = 12.6 km/s v5 = 11.9 km/s v6 = 8.9 km/s = 12.9 km/s Downflows Upflows

11 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Example Vortex Closeup Grid = 2” 2.5 Rotations Rate = 3.27 x 10 -3 rad/sec ~3000 km diameter

12 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Upflow Plumes Closeup Grid = 2”

13 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 656658660662664666 1 2 3 v1 = 7.1 km/s v2 = 14.2 km/s v3 = 19.9 km/s Upflow Plume Structure & Velocity Estimates 34 sec between frames

14 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 668670672674676678 3 v3 = 14.4 km/s Upflow Plume Structure & Velocity Estimates 34 sec between frames

15 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 680682684 7500 km Upflow Plume Structure Detail 34 sec between frames 4 v4 = 26.3 km/s 2250 km

16 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Plume Velocity Measurements v = 23 km/sv = 21 km/s v = 18 km/s v = 23 km/s a = -0.18 km/s 2

17 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Downflow Stream Closeup Grid = 2”

18 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Example Downflow Stream

19 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 H-  Line center 656.3nm 25-April-2007 SW limb (rotated) 5 hrs.

20 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Overlay of Ca II H-line on H-alpha

21 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 H-alpha 656.3nm 8-Aug-2007 NE limb 4 hrs.

22 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Ca II H-line 396.8nm 16-Aug-2007 NW limb 5 hrs.

23 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 H-alpha 656.3nm 16-Aug-2007 NW limb 5 hrs.

24 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Ca II H-line 396.8nm 03-Oct-2007 NW limb 5 hrs.

25 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 H-alpha 656.3nm +408 mA 03-Oct-2007 NW limb 408 mA ~ 20 km s -1

26 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Examples of non-plume forming prominences: Quiescent prominences with little or no discernible vertical motions: 23 December 2006 11-12 July 2007 4-5 August 2007 Active region prominences 9 November 2006 (Okamoto prominence) 18 December 2006 9 February 2007

27 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Ca II H-line 396.8nm 23-Dec-2006 NW limb 16 hrs. w/gap

28 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Ca II H-line 396.8 nm 12-July-2007 NE limb 4 hrs.

29 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Ca II H-line 396.8 nm 5-Aug-2007 NW limb 6 hrs.

30 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Active Region 10922 Ca II H-line 396.8 nm 9-Nov-2006 W limb 1 hr.

31 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Active Region 10930 Ca II H-line 396.8 nm 18-Dec-2006 W limb 6 hrs.

32 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Active Region 10940 Ca II H-line 396.8 nm 18-Dec-2006 W limb 10 hrs.

33 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Findings Two appearances of quiescent prominence structures in Hinode/SOT database: “Sheet” or “Hedgerow” prominences with ubiquitous vertical motion. “Horizontal” prominences w/ no obvious vertical motion. Sheet prominences always show the presence of upflow plumes, downflow streams, and large-scale vortices. There is no such thing as a static sheet prominence.  Dark upflow “plumes” are intermittent, ~ 20 km/sec, 10 minute characteristic lifetime, 400 - 700 km width.  Bright downflow “streams”, ~ 10 km/sec, 10 min characteristic lifetime, 250 - 700 km width.  Vortices, characteristic scale 10 3 km, 3x10 -3 rad/sec  Rotational endpoint structures  Bright “support arches” ~5000 km above photosphere  Arches “break” under the weight of accumulated plasma Horizontal prominences always show horizontal flows on “shorter” disjoint fibrils.  Very little or no vertical motions - “vertically static”.  No obvious plume formation.  All AR prominences seen so far appear “horizontal” in structure.

34 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Hypotheses What causes the dark buoyant upflows? 1. Thermal plume hypothesis: the upflow plumes are caused be localized heatings in the photosphere at the magnetic neutral line. The source of the heating is magnetic reconnection at the cancellation sites of larger magnetic elements. The heating causes a density deficit relative to the surrounding plasma. This causes the heated volume to rise adiabatically in the form of a thermal plume. Flow character is turbulent and does not appear to follow magnetic field lines. The constant rise speed of the plumes implies that the bouyancy force is balanced by fluid dynamic and/or magnetohydrodynamic “drag” forces. Assuming only fluid dynamic drag, a characteristic size R = radius of spherical “bubble”, and a unity drag coefficient: =

35 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 1. Thermal plume hypothesis: (cont.) Hypotheses Assuming a perfect gas in pressure equilibrium Using g = 274 m s -2, v = 20,000 km s -1, T = 7000 K, and R = density scale height at T(7000) = 300 km, Temperature in plumes ~60,000K - sufficiently hot to reduce level populations necessary for scattering of Ca II and H-alpha radiation.

36 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 1. Thermal plume hypothesis: (cont.) Hypotheses Note: the foregoing assumes plume kinetic energy density >> magnetic field pressure. i.e. this is a high-Beta plasma “in the corona”. Low & Hundhausen, ApJ, 443, 818, 1995. Given the density of prominence plasma (n e ~10 11 cm -3 ), this can only happen where B ~ 0.

37 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 1. Thermal plume hypothesis: (cont.) Hypotheses A really wild idea: These thermal plumes exist everywhere where there is magnetic reconnection in the lower atmosphere. I.e., the prominence material simply makes the plumes visible by their inability to scatter chromospheric radiation. Either you heard it here first... or I will plausibly deny ever having said this...

38 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 2. Magnetic Bubble hypothesis: (courtesy B.C. Low) We suppose that magnetic reconnection in the photosphere results in highly evacuated magnetic “bubbles” that rise through the prominence due to the density deficit caused by the magnetic field energy density. Hypotheses In this case, both the Lorentz force and fluid dynamic drag resist the bouyancy force of the “bubble”. The temperature of the bubble remains at ambient temperature. The plumes are dark because the density is so low that chromospheric Ca H-line and H-alpha radiation are no longer efficiently scattered in the plumes. A really wild idea: These magnetic bubbles exist everywhere where there is magnetic reconnection in the lower atmosphere. They are just made visible by prominences... Either you heard it here first... or I will plausibly deny ever having said this...

39 PROM 2007 WorkshopMonday 29-October-2007 Coming soon.... More (better) Doppler velocity measurements in H-alpha. Many more prominences in Cycle 24 with other instruments! STEREO He II 304Å 22-Sep-2007


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