UVCS/SOHO Observations of Spectral Line Profiles in Polar Coronal Holes

Ultraviolet emission line profiles have been measured on 15-29 September 1997 for H I 1216 Å, O VI 1032, 1037 Å and Mg X 625 Å in a polar coronal hole, at heliographic heights ? (in solar radii) between 1.34 and 2.0. Observations of H I 1216 Å and the O VI doublet from January 1997 for ? = 1.5 to 3.0 are provided for comparison. Mg X 625 Å is observed to have a narrow component at ? = 1.34 which accounts for only a small fraction of the observed spectral radiance, and a broad component that exists at all observed heights. The widths of O VI broad components are only slightly larger than those for H I at ? = 1.34, but are significantly larger at ? = 1.5 and much larger for ? > 1.75. In contrast, the Mg X values are less than those of H I up to 1.75 and then increase rapidly up to at least ? = 2.0, but never reach the values of O VI.     

Soho Observations of Density Fluctuations in Coronal Holes

In recent UVCS/SOHO White Light Channel (WLC) observations we found quasi-periodic variations in the polarized brightness (pB) in the polar coronal holes at heliocentric distances of 1.9 to 2.45 solar radii. The motivation for the observation is the 2.5D MHD model of solar wind acceleration by nonlinear waves, that predicts compressive fluctuations in coronal holes. In February 1998 we performed new observations using the UVCS/WLC in the coronal hole and obtained additional data. The new data corroborate our earlier findings with higher statistical significance. The new longer observations show that the power spectrum peaks in the 10–12 minute range. These timescales agree with EIT observations of brightness fluctuations in polar plumes. We performed preliminary LASCO/C2 observations in an effort to further establish the coronal origin of the fluctuations. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Electron Beam Instrument (F6) on Freja

The Electron Beam Instrument (F6) onFreja is the first attempt to apply the electron drift technique in a region of large ambient magnetic fields. The paper describes the operational principles, the technical realization, and the difficulties encountered in the derivation of the electric fields.     

3D nonlinear wave heating of coronal loops

The heating of solar coronal loops by the resonant absorption or phase-mixing of incident wave energy is investigated in the framework of 3D nonlinear magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) by means of numerical simulations.     

Radial profile measurements of the solar wind speed using radio sounding techniques

Velocity measurements of the solar wind in the region of its acceleration were carried out in 1984 with Venera Orbiters using the following specific radio sounding techniques: (i) phase and frequency correlations from two or three widely-spaced ground stations; (ii) phase and frequency correlations from two spacecraft and two widely-spaced ground stations; (iii) two station two-way coherent Doppler measurements; (iv) determination of the break frequency in power spectra of intensity fluctuations. Our results are substantially lower than those derived from direct Doppler shift measurements of transition region and lower coronal resonance lines and those from measurements applying the Doppler dimming technique.     

The Freja ultraviolet imager

Auroral images acquired by satellite instrumentation have proven to be a crucial component of the scientific equiry into the physical processes of the Earth's magnetosphere. TheFreja mission provided an opportunity to extend these measurements into the temporal and spatial regime commonly associated with ground-based optical imagers. Employing the basic procedure used successfully in theViking program allowed image repetition rates of 6 s to be achieved with simultaneous exposure of all pixels within the field-of-view. Typical exposure times of 0.3 s required development of an improved image intensifier system and operational requirements resulted in image formats covering approximately one-third of a spin. Simultaneously exposing two broad-band UV cameras, the instrument generates in its normal operational mode 264.6 kbytes per image pair. Results from initial operations confirm the design approach and suggest such imagers can be routinely included on challenging low cost missions such asFreja.     

Thermal cyclotron radiation from a hot coronal loop with helical magnetic field

The spectral and polarization properties of thermal cyclotron radio emission from a hot coronal loop with a current along the axis are computed. The magnetic field is supposed to have a component along the loop axis as well as a poloidal part due to the current, both components being of comparable magnitude. In this specific configuration a helical magnetic field is present with a remarkable minimum of its absolute value along the loop axis and a maximum at its periphery. The presence of one or two maxima of magnetic field value along the line of sight results in increasing optical thickness of the gyroresonance layers at appropriate frequencies in the microwave band and, therefore, in enhanced radio emission at those harmonics which are optically thin (for example,s=4). These cannot be observed in models with the commonly employed magnetic field configuration (longitudinal along the loop axis).We show that the frequency spectrum of thermal cyclotron radiation from a hot coronal loop with a helical magnetic field differs from that of the standards-component source (with smooth frequency characteristics and polarization corresponding toe-mode) in that plenty of fine structures (line-like features and cut-offs) are present and theo-mode is prevalent in some frequency intervals. The enhanced radio emission at high harmonics and the complicated form of frequency spectrum in the model considered imply that some microwave sources, which are poorly explained in traditional models of solar active regions, may be associated with helical magnetic fields in hot coronal loops. Computations allow one to indicate spectral and polarizational peculiarities of local sources testifying to the presence of a helical magnetic field.     

Modeling of dynamic evolution of coronal loops

Parameters of expanding magnetic loops and arches and of mass flows generated by them in the corona have been computed in a 1D two-fluid approximation. Two possible trigger mechanisms of the coronal transients have been considered: (i) sudden increase of the background magnetic field strength, and (ii) heating and compression plasma inside these magnetic structures. We discuss the formation of shock waves and their dependence on dynamics and geometry of the magnetic structures.