Search results for " Sun: X-rays"
showing 10 items of 13 documents
An iterative method in a probabilistic approach to the spectral inverse problem - Differential emission measure from line spectra and broadband data
2010
Inverse problems are of great importance in astrophysics for deriving information about the physical characteristics of hot optically thin plasma sources from their EUV and X-ray spectra. We describe and test an iterative method developed within the framework of a probabilistic approach to the spectral inverse problem for determining the thermal structures of the emitting plasma. We also demonstrate applications of this method to both high resolution line spectra and broadband imaging data. Our so-called Bayesian iterative method (BIM) is an iterative procedure based on Bayes' theorem and is used to reconstruct differential emission measure (DEM) distributions. To demonstrate the abilities …
Post-flare evolution of AR 10923 with Hinode/XRT
2010
Flares are dynamic events which involve rapid changes in coronal magnetic topology end energy release. Even if they may be localized phenomena, the magnetic disturbance at their origin may propagate and be effective in a larger part of the active region. We investigate the temporal evolution of a flaring active region with respect to the loops morphology, the temperature, and emission measure distributions. We consider $Hinode/XRT$ data of a the 2006 November 12th C1.1 flare. We inspect the evolution of the morphology of the flaring region also with the aid of TRACE data. XRT filter ratios are used to derive temperature and emission measure maps and evolution. The analyzed flare includes se…
On the importance of background subtraction in the analysis of coronal loops observed with TRACE
2010
In the framework of TRACE coronal observations, we compare the analysis and diagnostics of a loop after subtracting the background with two different and independent methods. The dataset includes sequences of images in the 171 A, 195 A filter bands of TRACE. One background subtraction method consists in taking as background values those obtained from interpolation between concentric strips around the analyzed loop. The other method is a pixel-to-pixel subtraction of the final image when the loop had completely faded out, already used by Reale & Ciaravella 2006. We compare the emission distributions along the loop obtained with the two methods and find that they are considerably differen…
HINODE /EIS SPECTROSCOPIC VALIDATION OF VERY HOT PLASMA IMAGED WITH THE SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY IN NON-FLARING ACTIVE REGION CORES
2012
We use coronal imaging observations with SDO/AIA, and Hinode/EIS spectral data, to explore the potential of narrow band EUV imaging data for diagnosing the presence of hot (T >~5MK) coronal plasma in active regions. We analyze observations of two active regions (AR 11281, AR 11289) with simultaneous AIA imaging, and EIS spectral data, including the CaXVII line (at 192.8A) which is one of the few lines in the EIS spectral bands sensitive to hot coronal plasma even outside flares. After careful coalignment of the imaging and spectral data, we compare the morphology in a 3 color image combining the 171, 335, and 94A AIA spectral bands, with the image obtained for CaXVII emission from the an…
Temperature Distribution of a Non-flaring Active Region from Simultaneous Hinode XRT and EIS Observations
2011
We analyze coordinated Hinode XRT and EIS observations of a non-flaring active region to investigate the thermal properties of coronal plasma taking advantage of the complementary diagnostics provided by the two instruments. In particular we want to explore the presence of hot plasma in non-flaring regions. Independent temperature analyses from the XRT multi-filter dataset, and the EIS spectra, including the instrument entire wavelength range, provide a cross-check of the different temperature diagnostics techniques applicable to broad-band and spectral data respectively, and insights into cross-calibration of the two instruments. The emission measure distribution, EM(T), we derive from the…
Evidence of Widespread Hot Plasma in a Nonflaring Coronal Active Region from Hinode/X-Ray Telescope
2009
Nanoflares, short and intense heat pulses within spatially unresolved magnetic strands, are now considered a leading candidate to solve the coronal heating problem. However, the frequent occurrence of nanoflares requires that flare-hot plasma be present in the corona at all times. Its detection has proved elusive until now, in part because the intensities are predicted to be very faint. Here, we report on the analysis of an active region observed with five filters by Hinode/X-Ray Telescope (XRT) in 2006 November. We have used the filter ratio method to derive maps of temperature and emission measure (EM) both in soft and hard ratios. These maps are approximate in that the plasma is assumed …
Coronal fuzziness modelled with pulse-heated multistranded loop systems
2010
Coronal active regions are observed to get fuzzier and fuzzier (i.e. more and more confused and uniform) in harder and harder energy bands or lines. We explain this evidence as due to the fine multi-temperature structure of coronal loops. To this end, we model bundles of loops made of thin strands, each heated by short and intense heat pulses. For simplicity, we assume that the heat pulses are all equal and triggered only once in each strand at a random time. The pulse intensity and cadence are selected so as to have steady active region loops ($\sim 3$ MK), on the average. We compute the evolution of the confined heated plasma with a hydrodynamic loop model. We then compute the emission al…
Comparison of Hinode/XRT and RHESSI detection of hot plasma in the non-flaring solar corona
2009
We compare observations of the non-flaring solar corona made simultaneously with Hinode/XRT and with RHESSI. The analyzed corona is dominated by a single active region on 12 November 2006. The comparison is made on emission measures. We derive emission measure distributions vs temperature of the entire active region from multifilter XRT data. We check the compatibility with the total emission measure values estimated from the flux measured with RHESSI if the emission come from isothermal plasma. We find that RHESSI and XRT data analyses consistently point to the presence of a minor emission measure component peaking at log T ~ 6.8-6.9. The discrepancy between XRT and RHESSI results is withi…
Nonequilibrium of Ionization and the Detection of Hot Plasma in Nanoflare‐heated Coronal Loops
2008
Impulsive nanoflares are expected to transiently heat the plasma confined in coronal loops to temperatures of the order of 10 MK. Such hot plasma is hardly detected in quiet and active regions, outside flares. During rapid and short heat pulses in rarified loops the plasma can be highly out of equilibrium of ionization. Here we investigate the effects of the non-equilibrium of ionization (NEI) on the detection of hot plasma in coronal loops. Time-dependent loop hydrodynamic simulations are specifically devoted to this task, including saturated thermal conduction, and coupled to the detailed solution of the equations of ionization rate for several abundant elements. In our simulations, initi…
Thermal structure of a hot non-flaring corona from Hinode/EIS
2014
In previous studies a very hot plasma component has been diagnosed in solar active regions through the images in three different narrow-band channels of SDO/AIA. This diagnostic from EUV imaging data has also been supported by the matching morphology of the emission in the hot Ca XVII line, as observed with Hinode/EIS. This evidence is debated because of unknown distribution of the emission measure along the line of sight. Here we investigate in detail the thermal distribution of one of such regions using EUV spectroscopic data. In an active region observed with SDO/AIA, Hinode/EIS and XRT, we select a subregion with a very hot plasma component and another cooler one for comparison. The ave…