Photospheric Hot Spots at Solar Coronal Loop Footpoints Revealed by Hyperspectral Imaging Observations

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Autori principali: Chitta, L. P., van Noort, M., Smitha, H. N., Priest, E. R., van der Voort, L. H. M. Rouppe
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Chitta, L. P.
van Noort, M.
Smitha, H. N.
Priest, E. R.
van der Voort, L. H. M. Rouppe
author_facet Chitta, L. P.
van Noort, M.
Smitha, H. N.
Priest, E. R.
van der Voort, L. H. M. Rouppe
contents Poynting flux generated by random shuffling of photospheric magnetic footpoints is transferred through the upper atmosphere of the Sun where the plasma is heated to over 1 MK in the corona. High spatiotemporal resolution observations of the lower atmosphere at the base of coronal magnetic loops are crucial to better understand the nature of the footpoint dynamics and the details of magnetic processes that eventually channel energy into the corona. Here we report high spatial resolution ($\sim$0.1\arcsec) and cadence (1.33 s) hyperspectral imaging of the solar H$α$ line, acquired by the Microlensed Hyperspectral Imager prototype installed at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope, that reveal photospheric hot spots at the base of solar coronal loops. These hot spots manifest themselves as H$α$ wing enhancements, occurring on small spatial scales of $\sim$0.2\arcsec, and timescales of less than 100 s. By assuming that the H$α$ wings and the continuum form under the local thermodynamic equilibrium condition, we inverted the H$α$ line profiles and found that the hot spots are compatible with a temperature increase of about 1000 K above the ambient quiet-Sun temperature. The H$α$ wing integrated Stokes $V/I$ maps indicate that hot spots are related to magnetic patches with field strengths comparable to or even stronger than the surrounding network elements. But they do not show the presence of parasitic polarity magnetic field that would support the interpretation that these hot spots are reconnection-driven Ellerman bombs. Therefore, we interpret these features as proxies of locations where convection-driven magnetic field intensification in the photosphere can lead to energy transfer into higher layers. We suggest that such hot spots at coronal loop footpoints may be indicative of the specific locations and onset of energy flux injection into the upper atmosphere.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_04964
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Photospheric Hot Spots at Solar Coronal Loop Footpoints Revealed by Hyperspectral Imaging Observations
Chitta, L. P.
van Noort, M.
Smitha, H. N.
Priest, E. R.
van der Voort, L. H. M. Rouppe
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Plasma Physics
Space Physics
Poynting flux generated by random shuffling of photospheric magnetic footpoints is transferred through the upper atmosphere of the Sun where the plasma is heated to over 1 MK in the corona. High spatiotemporal resolution observations of the lower atmosphere at the base of coronal magnetic loops are crucial to better understand the nature of the footpoint dynamics and the details of magnetic processes that eventually channel energy into the corona. Here we report high spatial resolution ($\sim$0.1\arcsec) and cadence (1.33 s) hyperspectral imaging of the solar H$α$ line, acquired by the Microlensed Hyperspectral Imager prototype installed at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope, that reveal photospheric hot spots at the base of solar coronal loops. These hot spots manifest themselves as H$α$ wing enhancements, occurring on small spatial scales of $\sim$0.2\arcsec, and timescales of less than 100 s. By assuming that the H$α$ wings and the continuum form under the local thermodynamic equilibrium condition, we inverted the H$α$ line profiles and found that the hot spots are compatible with a temperature increase of about 1000 K above the ambient quiet-Sun temperature. The H$α$ wing integrated Stokes $V/I$ maps indicate that hot spots are related to magnetic patches with field strengths comparable to or even stronger than the surrounding network elements. But they do not show the presence of parasitic polarity magnetic field that would support the interpretation that these hot spots are reconnection-driven Ellerman bombs. Therefore, we interpret these features as proxies of locations where convection-driven magnetic field intensification in the photosphere can lead to energy transfer into higher layers. We suggest that such hot spots at coronal loop footpoints may be indicative of the specific locations and onset of energy flux injection into the upper atmosphere.
title Photospheric Hot Spots at Solar Coronal Loop Footpoints Revealed by Hyperspectral Imaging Observations
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Plasma Physics
Space Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.04964