The eruption of solar filaments, also known as prominences appearing off limb, is a common phenomenon in the solar atmosphere. It ejects massive plasma and high-energy particles into interplanetary space, disturbing the solar-terrestrial environment. It is vital to obtain the three-dimensional velocity fields of erupting filaments for space-weather predictions. We derive the three-dimensional kinematics of an off-limb prominence and an on-disk filament, respectively, using the full-disk spectral and imaging data detected by the Chinese Hα Solar Explorer (CHASE). It is found that both the prominence and the filament experience a fast semicircle-shaped expansion at first. The prominence keeps propagating outward with an increasing velocity until escaping successfully, with the south leg of the prominence finally moving back to the Sun in a swirling manner. For the filament, the internal plasma falls back to the Sun in a counterclockwise rotation in the late ejection, matching the failed eruption without a coronal mass ejection. During the eruptions, both the prominence and the filament show material splitting along the line-of-sight direction, revealed by the bimodal Hα spectral profiles. For the prominence, the splitting begins at the top and gradually spreads to almost the whole prominence with a fast blueshift component and a slow redshift component. The material splitting in the filament is more fragmental. As shown by the present results, the CHASE full-disk spectroscopic observations make it possible to systematically study the three-dimensional kinematics of solar filament eruptions.
1 March 2024 in Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics
The 2.5 m wide-field and high-resolution solar telescope (WeHoST) is currently under developing for solar observations. WeHoST aims to achieve high-resolution observations over a super-wide field of view (FOV) of 5′ × 5′, and a desired resolution of 0.3″. To meet the scientific requirements of WeHoST, the ground-layer adaptive optics (GLAO) with a specially designed wave front sensing system is as the primary consideration. We introduce the GLAO configuration, particularly the wave front sensing scheme. Utilizing analytic method, we simulate the performance of both classical AO and GLAO systems, optimize the wave front sensing system, and evaluate GLAO performance in terms of PSF uniformity and correction improvement across whole FOV. The results indicate that, the classical AO will achieve diffraction-limited resolution; the suggested GLAO configuration will uniformly improve the seeing across the full 5′ × 5′ FOV, reducing the FWHM across the axis FOV to less than 0.3″ (λ ≥ 705 nm, r0 ≥ 11 cm), which is more than two times improvement. The specially designed wave front sensor schedule offers new potential for WeHoST’s GLAO, particularly the multi-FOV GLAO and the flexibility to select the detected area. These capabilities will significantly enhance the scientific output of the telescope.
Kinematics of solar eruptive filaments is one of the important diagnostic parameters for predicting whether solar eruptions would induce geomagnetic storms. Particularly, some geomagnetic storms might be induced by solar filament eruptions originating from unexpected surface source regions because of nonradial ejection. The nonradial ejection of filaments has received widespread attention but remains inconclusive. We select two eruptive filaments, both of which are supported by flux ropes, as indicated by the hot channel structures seen in the 94 Å images and the hook-shaped brightenings where the filament material falls back. We measure the three-dimensional ejection trajectory of the eruptive filaments by integrating the simultaneous observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO). Furthermore, we calculate the distribution of the poloidal field along the ejection path and compare it to the ejection acceleration. It is revealed that the reinforcement of the poloidal magnetic field may lead to the suppression of the acceleration, with the acceleration resuming its increase only when the poloidal field diminishes to a certain level. Additionally, we compute the spatial distribution of the poloidal field in various directions and find that the poloidal magnetic field above the filaments is asymmetric. For both investigated events, the filaments appear to eject toward the side where the poloidal magnetic field is weaker, indicating that the eruptive filaments tend to propagate along the side with weaker strapping force. This may provide a new explanation for the inclined ejection of filaments.
Solar jets, collimated plasma ejections driven by magnetic reconnection, play a vital role in energy transport and coronal heating. While rotational motions in jets are often attributed to magnetic field untwisting, alternative explanatory mechanisms remain possible. This study investigates a rotating jet in an active region observed on 2023 August 1 using multiwavelength observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, Chinese H α Solar Explorer, and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, combined with a self-consistent time-dependent magnetofrictional model and magnetohydrodynamic simulation. Spectral diagnostics reveal coexisting red and blueshifts along the edges and central axis of the jet, indicating helical plasma motion within a twisted magnetic structure. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the jet’s rotation arises from plasma propagating along helical open field lines, formed via reconnection between a pre-existing flux rope and overlying magnetic fields. Contrary to classical untwisting models, both linear and rotational velocities decrease with altitude during the jet propagation. These results highlight that the observed rotation results from plasma spiral motion along twisted fields rather than untwisting dynamics of the magnetic field itself, providing new insights into solar jet energetics and their connection to broader solar phenomena.
The convective motions of solar granules generate a center-to-limb variation of Doppler velocity in the photospheric lines, known as the limb shift effect. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of this effect for the Fe I 6569 Å line using both observational data from the Chinese H α Solar Explorer (CHASE) mission and numerical simulations from the Bifrost code. We employ two independent methods to derive the limb shift curve: a spectral-averaging method (Method 1) and a velocity-averaging method (Method 2). By comparing synthetic and observed data, we determine the convective blueshift, which is not accounted for in the CHASE observations. The simulations reproduce the observed trends for both methods at the instrument’s spatial resolution (=1 2). However, at resolutions below <1″, Method 2 produces limb-shift curves that depart significantly from both Method 1 results and traditional limb-shift profiles, whereas Method 1 remains in agreement with classical behavior. Further analysis finds that the results from Method 1 comprise two distinct components: a contrast contribution caused by the correlation between velocity and line depth and a Dopplergram contribution caused by density inhomogeneities and corrugation effects.
The Lyot filter, a fundamental element of the Yunnan Observatories Coronagraph Green-line Imaging System (YOGIS) at Lijiang Observatory, utilizes a Liquid Crystal Variable Retarder (LCVR) for swift electrical modulation. This filter allows for precise observations of the coronal green line (Fe XIV, central wavelength 5303 Å) with a narrow full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 1 Å and enables rapid adjustment of the transmission band wavelength. This feature aids in capturing the sky background intensity around the green line and images of two line wings (offset by Å from the central wavelength), crucial for determining the green line’s Doppler shift. By employing sky background subtraction and processing line wing images, an improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in coronal green line images is achieved. The YOGIS Lyot filter, an enhancement of the NOrikura Green-line Imaging System (NOGIS) filter, operates at a wavelength of 5303 Å, offers a wavelength tuning range of Å, and tunes within <60 ms. This study elucidates the filter’s design principles, outlines essential calibration procedures, and validates its performance through on-site observations using the YOGIS.