Solar active regions: SOHO/CDS and TRACE observations of quiescent coronal loops

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

83

Sun: Corona, Techniques: Spectroscopic, Sun: Transition Region, Sun: Abundances

Scientific paper

This study focuses on the diagnostic capabilities of the TRACE and SOHO-CDS instruments to describe the physical characteristics of quiescent solar active regions. In particular we concentrate on the 1 MK loops, best seen in the TRACE EUV 173 Å passband. These are high-lying structures which can remain stable over timescales of hours to days. We present simultaneous observations of off-limb active region 1 MK loops performed with TRACE (173 Å and 195 Å bands) and the SOHO-CDS. The CDS spectral capabilities complement the TRACE observations well and allow an in-depth study of the plasma properties. Some important new results are presented here. In terms of cross-field characteristics, we find that these loops are isothermal and much cooler (T =~ 0.7-1.1 x 106 K) than the surrounding diffuse high-lying active region emission (T =~ 2 x 106 K). We show that the diffuse background-foreground constitutes the bulk of the high-lying quiescent active region emission. We explain some of the discrepancies found by various authors (based on SOHO and TRACE observations) with an overestimation of loop temperatures and densities. This was caused by inaccurate or neglected background subtraction in the data analysis. We studied the leg of a 1 MK loop and found that along its length temperatures and densities have steeper profiles compared to those derived from previous studies based on TRACE observations. The observations are consistent with an element abundance FIP effect of about 4, filling factors close to unity, and a constant density across the loop. We find a remarkable consistency between the CDS and TRACE observations, although we also find severe limitations to the use of TRACE diagnostic techniques.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Solar active regions: SOHO/CDS and TRACE observations of quiescent coronal loops does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Solar active regions: SOHO/CDS and TRACE observations of quiescent coronal loops, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Solar active regions: SOHO/CDS and TRACE observations of quiescent coronal loops will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1662787

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.