The Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) will provide wide-field images of the corona and transition region on the solar disc and up to 1.5 R⊙ above the solar limb. Its normal incidence multilayer-coated optics will select spectral emission lines from Fe IX (171 A), Fe XII (195 A), Fe XV (284 A), and He II (304 A) to provide sensitive temperature diagnostics in the range from 6 × 104 K to 3 × 10 6 K. The telescope has a 45×45 arcmin field of view and 2.6 arcsec pixels which will provide approximately 5-arcsec spatial resolution. The EIT will probe the coronal plasma on a global scale, as well as the underlying cooler and turbulent atmosphere, providing the basis for comparative analyses with observations from both the ground and other SOHO instruments. This paper presents details of the EIT instrumentation, its performance and operating modes.

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EIT: Extreme-UltraViolet Imaging Telescope for the SOHO Mission

The Solar Cycle is reviewed. The 11-year cycle of solar activity is characterized by the rise and fall in the numbers and surface area of sunspots. We examine a number of other solar activity indicators including the 10.7 cm radio flux, the total solar irradiance, the magnetic field, flares and coronal mass ejections, geomagnetic activity, galactic cosmic ray fluxes, and radioisotopes in tree rings and ice cores that vary in association with the sunspots. We examine the characteristics of individual solar cycles including their maxima and minima, cycle periods and amplitudes, cycle shape, and the nature of active latitudes, hemispheres, and longitudes. We examine long-term variability including the Maunder Minimum, the Gleissberg Cycle, and the Gnevyshev-Ohl Rule. Short-term variability includes the 154-day periodicity, quasi-biennial variations, and double peaked maxima. We conclude with an examination of prediction techniques for the solar cycle.

The Solar Cycle

The question of what heats the solar corona remains one of the most important problems in astrophysics. Finding a definitive solution involves a number of challenging steps, beginning with an identification of the energy source and ending with a prediction of observable quantities that can be compared directly with actual observations. Critical intermediate steps include realistic modeling of both the energy release process (the conversion of magnetic stress energy or wave energy into heat) and the response of the plasma to the heating. A variety of difficult issues must be addressed: highly disparate spatial scales, physical connections between the corona and lower atmosphere, complex microphysics, and variability and dynamics. Nearly all of the coronal heating mechanisms that have been proposed produce heating that is impulsive from the perspective of elemental magnetic flux strands. It is this perspective that must be adopted to understand how the plasma responds and radiates. In our opinion, the most promising explanation offered so far is Parker's idea of nanoflares occurring in magnetic fields that become tangled by turbulent convection. Exciting new developments include the identification of the “secondary instability” as the likely mechanism of energy release and the demonstration that impulsive heating in sub-resolution strands can explain certain observed properties of coronal loops that are otherwise very difficult to understand. Whatever the detailed mechanism of energy release, it is clear that some form of magnetic reconnection must be occurring at significant altitudes in the corona (above the magnetic carpet), so that the tangling does not increase indefinitely. This article outlines the key elements of a comprehensive strategy for solving the coronal heating problem and warns of obstacles that must be overcome along the way.

On Solving the Coronal Heating Problem

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a space mission that forms part of the Solar-Terrestrial Science Program (STSP), developed in a collaborative effort by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The STSP constitutes the first “cornerstone” of ESA’s long-term programme known as “Space Science — Horizon 2000”. The principal scientific objectives of the SOHO mission are a) to reach a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of the solar interior using techniques of helioseismology, and b) to gain better insight into the physical processes that form and heat the Sun’s corona, maintain it and give rise to its acceleration into the solar wind. To achieve these goals, SOHO carries a pay-load consisting of 12 sets of complementary instruments. SOHO is a three-axis stabilized spacecraft with a total mass of 1850 kg; 1150 W of power will be provided by the solar panels. The payload weighs about 640 kg and will consume 450 W in orbit. SOHO will be launched by an ATLAS II-AS and will be placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point where it will be continuously pointing to Sun centre with an accuracy of 10 arcsec. Pointing stability will be better than 1 arcsec over 15 min intervals. The SOHO payload produces a continuous science data stream of 40 kbits/s which will be increased by 160 kbits/s whenever the solar oscillations imaging instrument is operated in its high-rate mode. Telemetry will be received by NASA‘s Deep Space Network (DSN). Planning, coordination and operation of the spacecraft and the scientific payload will be conducted from the Experiment Operations Facility (EOF) at NASA‘s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

The SOHO Mission: An Overview

We present an overview of solar flares and associated phenomena, drawing upon a wide range of observational data primarily from the RHESSI era Following an introductory discussion and overview of the status of observational capabilities, the article is split into topical sections which deal with different areas of flare phenomena (footpoints and ribbons, coronal sources, relationship to coronal mass ejections) and their interconnections We also discuss flare soft X-ray spectroscopy and the energetics of the process The emphasis is to describe the observations from multiple points of view, while bearing in mind the models that link them to each other and to theory The present theoretical and observational understanding of solar flares is far from complete, so we conclude with a brief discussion of models, and a list of missing but important observations

An Observational Overview of Solar Flares

A model for the magnetic field associated with solar prominences is considered. It is shown that flux cancellation at the neutral line of a sheared magnetic arcade leads to the formation of helical field lines which are capable, in principle, of supporting prominence plasma. A numerical method for the computation of force-free, canceling magnetic structures is presented. Starting from an initial potential field we prescribe the motions of magnetic footpoints at the photosphere, with reconnection occurring only at the neutral line. As more and more flux cancels, magnetic flux is transferred from the arcade field to the helical field. Results for a particular model of the photospheric motions are presented. The magnetic structure is found to be stable: the arcade field keeps the helical field tied down at the photosphere. The axis of the helical field moves to larger and larger height, suggestive of prominence eruption. These results suggest that prominence eruptions may be trigered by flux cancellation.

Formation and eruption of solar prominences

We analytically study the damping of Alfven mode oscillations in the chromosphere and in coronal loops. In the partially ionized chromosphere the dominant damping process of Alfven waves is due to collisions between ions and neutrals. We calculate the damping time for Alfven waves of a given frequency, propagating through model chromospheres of various solar structures such as active region plage, quiet sun, and the penumbra and umbra of sunspots. For a given wave frequency, the maximum damping always occurs at temperature minimum heights and in the coldest structure(s), i.e., the umbra of sunspots. Energy dissipation due to ion-neutral damping of Alfven waves with an energy flux of 107 ergs cm-3 s- 1 can play a considerable role in the energy balance of umbrae, quiet sun, and plage for Alfven wave periods of the order, respectively, 50, 5, and 0.5 s. We also consider Alfven waves in coronal loops and the leakage of wave energy through the footpoints. We assume a three-layer model of coronal loops with constant Alfven speed vA (and no damping) in the corona, vA varying exponentially with height in the dissipative chromosphere, and vA again constant in the photosphere at the end of the loop. We find an exact analytical solution in the chromospheric part. Using these solutions, we estimate the leakage of wave energy from the coronal volume through the footpoint regions of the loop and find that the presence of a moderate amount of chromospheric damping can enhance the footpoint leakage. We apply this result to determine the damping time of standing waves in coronal loops. The enhanced footpoint leakage also has implications for theories of coronal heating based on resonant absorption. Finally, we find exact expressions for the damping of Alfven waves launched in the photosphere and upward propagating through the chromosphere and into the corona. The partially ionized chromosphere presents an effective barrier for upward propagating Alfven waves with periods less than a few seconds.

Chromospheric Damping of Alfvén Waves

We present a head-to-tail linkage model for the formation, evolution, and eruption of solar filaments The magnetic field structure of our model is based on the observation that filaments form exclusively in filament channels with no apparent magnetic connections above the polarity inversion line The formation of a filament in this configuration is driven by flux convergence and cancellation, which produces looplike filament segments with a half-turn Filament segments of like chirality may connect and form long quiescent filaments Such filaments are stabilized through footpoint anchoring until further cancellation at the footpoints causes their eruption The eruption restores the original filament channel so that filament formation may resume immediately We then demonstrate that the combined workings of Hale's polarity law, Joy's law, and differential rotation introduce a strong hemispheric preference in the chirality of filaments formed poleward of the sunspot belt, which is in agreement with observations We analyze the magnetic fine structure of filaments formed through our model and find consistency with the observed hemispheric preference for barb orientation and a simple explanation for barb formation Finally, we consider the flux tubes retracted below the surface in the process of filament formation We show that every cancellation event that generates a filament obeying the hemispheric chirality preference injects a flux tube below the surface with a poloidal field opposite that of the ongoing cycle We suggest that this pattern of submergence of flux represents the specific mechanism for the reversal of the poloidal flux in a Babcock-Leighton-Durney-type model for the solar dynamo

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/322279/pdf

Origin and Evolution of Filament-Prominence Systems

A circuit model is derived for solar filament eruptions and two-ribbon flares. In the model the filament is approximated as a line current and the current sheet as infinitely thin. The model reproduces the slow energy buildup and eruption of the filament and the energy dissipation in a current sheet at the top of postflare loops during the two-ribbon flare. The two circuits considered are that of the filament and its return current and that of the current sheet and its return current. These circuits are inductively coupled, and free energy stored in the filament in the pre-flare phase is found to be transferred to the sheet during the impulsive phase and rapidly dissipated there. In the solutions for the evolution of the filament current sheet system four phases are distinguished: (1) a slow energy buildup, (2) a 'metastable' state, (3) the eruptive phase, and (4) a postflare phase. These phases are described in detail.

A circuit model for filament eruptions and two-ribbon flares

We are currently experiencing solar cycle 24, the latest roughly 11-year cycle of solar magnetic activity since the scientific recording of sunspot activity began in 1755. The Sun is currently extremely active, but the recent, deep activity minimum that occurred during cycle 23 was characterized by an unexpectedly large number of sunspot-less days (unprecedented in almost a century), very low radiative energy output (irradiance), and high cosmic ray flux. Nandy et al. use kinematic dynamo simulations to explain the possible origin of this unusual solar minimum. They find that rapid solar plasma flows during the first half of a cycle, followed by slower flows in the second half, reproduce the characteristics of the minimum of sunspot cycle 23. Direct observations over the past four centuries show that the number of sunspots observed on the Sun's surface varies periodically. After sunspot cycle 23, the Sun went into a prolonged minimum characterized by a very weak polar magnetic field and an unusually large number of days without sunspots. This study reports kinematic dynamo simulations which demonstrate that a fast meridional flow in the early half of a cycle, followed by a slower flow in the latter half, reproduces both characteristics of the minimum of sunspot cycle 23. Direct observations over the past four centuries1 show that the number of sunspots observed on the Sun’s surface varies periodically, going through successive maxima and minima. Following sunspot cycle 23, the Sun went into a prolonged minimum characterized by a very weak polar magnetic field2,3 and an unusually large number of days without sunspots4. Sunspots are strongly magnetized regions5 generated by a dynamo mechanism6 that recreates the solar polar field mediated through plasma flows7. Here we report results from kinematic dynamo simulations which demonstrate that a fast meridional flow in the first half of a cycle, followed by a slower flow in the second half, reproduces both characteristics of the minimum of sunspot cycle 23. Our model predicts that, in general, very deep minima are associated with weak polar fields. Sunspots govern the solar radiative energy8,9 and radio flux, and, in conjunction with the polar field, modulate the solar wind, the heliospheric open flux and, consequently, the cosmic ray flux at Earth3,10,11.

Petrus C. Martens

Papers

Formation and eruption of solar prominences

Chromospheric Damping of Alfvén Waves

Origin and Evolution of Filament-Prominence Systems

A circuit model for filament eruptions and two-ribbon flares

The unusual minimum of sunspot cycle 23 caused by meridional plasma flow variations