%% file: proposal.txt = INTAS 2000 proposal %% last: Mar 8 2001 %% note: collage of official files sum + workpro << file sum>> High-Resolution Physics of the Solar Photosphere The programme aims to obtain comprehensive data with very high angular resolution on the magnetic field topology and the dynamical processes in the solar atmosphere. These data sets should serve to settle the nature of the pistons that generate acoustic shocks in the solar chromosphere, deliver the first measurements of kinetic flows within and around the tiny magnetic fluxtubes that are the basic building blocks of solar magnetism, give insight into the magnetohydrodynamical connection between these fluxtubes in the solar photosphere and the coronal loops mapped by space observatories, and address the structure and dynamics of sunspots. In order to achieve these goals, the Consortium will employ a superb narrow-band filter from Irkutsk on the new Dutch Open Telescope on La Palma to yield tomographic observations of the solar atmosphere of unprecedented angular resolution (0.2 arcsec, through consistent speckle reconstruction developed at Utrecht). In addition, quantitative Stokes vector spectropolarimetry will be obtained using other solar telescopes on the Canary Islands with instrumentation developed at La Laguna. These comprehensive data sets will be analysed through detailed spectral line formation modelling based on expertise at Kiev, yielding complete physical diagnostics of the solar atmosphere through numerical data inversion. << file workpro>> 3 WORK PROGRAMME 3.1 Research Project 3.1.1 Title: High-Resolution Physics of the Solar Photosphere 3.1.2 Objectives ---------------- Methodological objectives (instrumentation, observation, calibration): (1) - install the Irkutsk birefringent filter tuned to the Ba II 4554 spectral line on the Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) on La Palma; (2) - use this filter synchronously with the other DOT wavelength channels to obtain combined speckle-restored Dopplergram and image sequences at 0.2 arcsec resolution; (3) - obtain and reduce simultaneous high-resolution Stokes vector spectropolarimetry with other Canary Island telescopes; (4) - calibrate the filter and Stokes diagnostics through NLTE radiative transfer modelling and inversion. Scientific objectives, using the acquired data sets: (5) - identify the nature of the pistons that excite local enhancements of the chromospheric 3-minute oscillation; (6) - measure gas motions in individual fluxtubes, try to identify fluxtube wave modes, trace fluxtube evolution; (7) - address the morphological connection between photospheric fluxtubes, chromospheric network and transition-region fibrils; (8) - initiate tomographic analysis of sunspot umbrae and penumbrae. 3.1.3 Background and Justification for Undertaking the Project -------------------------------------------------------------- The frontier in high-resolution imaging of the solar photosphere has reached the identification of individual magnetic fluxtubes as "G-band bright points" by the Lockheed group (USA) at the Swedish telescope (SVST) on La Palma. The newly completed Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) built and operated by the Utrecht team takes over as the premier high-resolution imager in solar physics while the SVST makes place for a larger future successor. The DOT programme follows the Lockheed-SVST example of tomographic imaging in the G band, Ca II K and H-alpha, but with the important improvement of synchronous speckle reconstruction at all wavelengths to obtain diffraction-limited resolution consistently over long duration. Speckle restoration is a proven technique; the DOT initiates its solar application as a standard large-volume tool. Spectacular examples in the form of solar G-band movies are available on http://dot.astro.uu.nl. Such speckle restoration is complementary to the adaptive optics being developed at other telescopes because it restores the whole field of view (about 1000 isoplanatic patches instead of only one). The Irkutsk team has developed a sophisticated tunable birefringent Lyot filter delivering images in the Ba II 4554 resonance line. The 80 mA bandwidth is uniquely narrow. The Ba II 4554 line is particularly suited to measure non thermal motions in the solar photosphere due to the large atomic mass of the barium atom (small thermal broadening) and the insensitivity of the line opacity to temperature fluctuations. The filter was tested by the DOT team at the SVST shortly before that telescope was dismantled. The results (examples at http://dot.astro.uu.nl) are so impressive that a key programme objective is to install the Irkutsk filter permanently on the DOT and so obtain speckle-restored Dopplergrams simultaneously with the G-band, Ca II K and H-alpha image sequences. The state of the art in Stokes vector spectropolarimetry is currently reached on other Canary Island telescopes, in particular in the infrared part of the spectrum with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter (TIP) of the IAC team at La Laguna. The programme aims to add TIP spectropolarimetry to yield quantitative field-vector context to the higher-resolution but qualitative DOT Dopplergram and image sequences. NLTE spectral line formation modelling is a speciality of the Kiev team and is a necessary step in the formulation of reliable quantitative data interpretation through numerical inversion, a technique developed with great success in recent years by the La Laguna team. The proposed programme adds detailed study of the spectral diagnostics (Ba II and Fe I lines) through multi-dimensional multi-level NLTE simulation using 3D solar convection models in order to set up numerical inversions of the comprehensive data sets. In this manner, the Consortium should obtain physical diagnostics of unprecedented quality and information content to study the topology and dynamics of the magnetic fine structure in the solar atmosphere. The science objectives are topics in which large impact may be expected from the above combination of speckle-restored Dopplergrams and tomographic image sequences, simultaneous Stokes vector spectropolarimetry, careful analysis of the diagnostics and numerical inversion of the data. The acoustic piston issue (convective or magnetic nature?) is hotly debated in the present literature with important contributions from Utrecht and Kiev, and may be resolved definitely with these data sets. The 0.2 arcsec Ba II 4554 Dopplergram resolution will for the first time enable studies of kinetic flows within and around individual fluxtubes over large fields, with good statistics and with valuable variation in fluxtube environment. The photospheric fluxtubes are the basic building blocks of solar magnetism and a paradigm in magnetohydrodynamic theory; observation of their actual properties is a high-priority quest in solar physics. The DOT tomographic multi-layer capability invites studies of the connection between photospheric fluxtubes, Ca II K network, H-alpha mottles and fibrils, and coronal loops as well by using EUV images from space as those from SOHO and TRACE. This magnetic interface is a major unknown in present solar physics - the substantial MHD literature on magnetic fluxtubes and the substantial plasma physics literature on magnetic loops obviously lack overlap, whereas the sun itself indeed manages to produce loops out of tubes. Finally, sunspots, both umbrae and penumbrae, represent obvious research targets for the high-resolution, tomographic, spectropolarimetric and diagnostic calibration capabilities of the proposed programme. The main risk in the programme is that the methodological objectives (1) - (4) won't be fulfilled in time, in particular the installation of the Ba II 4554 filter on the DOT with its complex speckle processing (objective 1). However, the Consortium is confident that the schedule can be met on the basis of the very successful filter test at the SVST which already included speckle processing. The programme is timely because it coincides with maximum solar activity (just past its peak), employs the brand-new Dutch Open Telescope and the equally new TIP spectropolarimeter, and addresses scientific issues of large current interest. The DOT, Stokes vector spectropolarimetry, diagnostic calibration and the science objectives are also embedded in the EC-TMR "European Solar Magnetometry Network" (http:www.staff.science.uu.nl/~rutte101/tmr) in which both INTAS teams collaborate. The proposed programme effectively integrates the NIS teams into this larger INTAS network (which itself is not permitted to support any NIS effort by the EC-TMR rules). In principle, the programme is a purely scientific one. However, gaining deeper understanding of solar magnetism has obvious interest in the wider context of sun-earth relationships including the influence of solar activity on our climate. 3.1.4 Scientific/Technical Description -------------------------------------- 3.1.4.1 Research Programme -------------------------- Task T1: installation of Ba II 4554 filter Objective: accommodation of the Irkutsk tunable birefringent Ba II 4554 filter in the DOT, with remote tuning control and speckle data-acquisition and processing capability Inputs: Ba II 4554 filter (Irkutsk) and DOT (Utrecht) Output: successfully working remotely-controlled Ba II 4554 filter including speckle restoration Schedule: months 2-12 During the first summer the filter will be mounted provisionally on the DOT. Permanent installation with remote control should be realized by the second year. Work: filter housing modification including tilt accommodation, design and realization of mechanical DOT accommodation, design and realization of the digital camera interface and remote switching control (hardware and software), design and realization of narrow-band speckle processing Evaluation: fully operational in year 2 Teams: CO (coordination), CR2 Task T2: calibration of diagnostics Objective: detailed modelling of the formation of the spectral diagnostics, in particular the Ba II 4554 line and the Fe I lines used in Stokes vector spectropolarimetry Output: sufficient understanding of the spectral line formation to reliably convert high-resolution measurements into physical parameters (velocity, temperature, magnetic field strength and vector orientation) Schedule: months 1-18 Work: define model atoms for Ba II and Fe I; apply detailed NLTE line formation theory; set up appropriate inversion codes including Stokes vector evaluation with signal-to-noise estimation Evaluation: reliable diagnostic calibration available midway year 2, with initial reports in European meetings Teams: CR1 (coordination), CR3 Task T3: data collection and reduction Objective: acquire speckle sequences at the DOT and complementary spectropolarimetry with the TIP Outputs: reduced observations of both quiet-sun areas and active regions Schedule: months 2-6 and 13-18 The summers are the best observing seasons at the Canary Islands. Work: telescope setup; campaign coordination; data collection and data reduction including speckle processing Evaluation: quality and quantity of the acquired data sets, plus their dissemination on the world-wide web Teams: CO (coordination), CR1, CR3 Task T4: analysis and interpretation Objective: science objectives defined under 3.1.2 Inputs: data sequences from Task 3 Outputs: identification of acoustic pistons; insights in fluxtube motions; tomographic charting of magnetic field topology; studies of sunspot structure Schedule: months 6-24 Work: data analysis; comparison with numerical predictions; interpretation in terms of astrophysical mechanisms Evaluation: reports at conferences and publications in press Teams: CO (coordination), CR1, CR2, CR3 3.1.4.2 Reporting, exploitation and dissemination of results ------------------------------------------------------------- Reports will be sent to INTAS at the completion of the first year and of the second year, respectively. Results will be reported at the yearly European solar physics meetings (in which many NIS scientists participate) and will be published in the open scientific literature. In addition, a website will be set up to disseminate and advertise new observations and results as they come in. The Consortium will support an open data policy, with electronic access granted on the basis of collaborative effort. 3.1.5 Description of the Consortium ----------------------------------- 3.1.5.1 Research teams ---------------------- CO - Sterrekundig Instituut, Utrecht, The Netherlands Scientists: R.J. Rutten R.H. Hammerschlag P. Suetterlin The Utrecht team runs the DOT, is expert in instrumentation, in imaging techniques and in speckle processing, and has extensive experience in solar physics, in particular NLTE line formation, solar atmospheric dynamics, and solar magnetohydrodynamics. The team will lead tasks T1, T3 and T4. CR1 - Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain Scientists: M. Collados Vera J. Trujillo Bueno I. Rodriguez Hidalgo The La Laguna team has world-class expertise in infrared Stokes vector spectropolarimetry, the theory of polarised line formation, and numerical inversion of spectropolarimetric data. It operates the TIP and has access to all Canary Island telescopes. The team will lead task T2 and share in tasks T3 and T4. CR2 - Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Irkutsk, Russia Scientists: V.I. Skomorovsky G.N. Domishev The Irkutsk team is widely known for its expertise in birefringent Lyot filter technology. The Ba II 4554 filter that they have developed in the past years offers unique Dopplergram capability and is a key part of the programme. The team is instrumental to task T1 and will share in task T4. CR3 - Main Astronomical Observatory, Kiev, Ukraine Scientists: R.I. Kostik N.G. Shchukina V.A. Sheminova O.V. Khomenko (age 23 years) S.M. Osipov O.V. Andriyenko (age 27 years) The first four scientists have extensive experience in solar spectral line formation, the physics of solar granulation, and the interpretation of spectropolarimetric measurements. They have long-standing collaborations with teams CO and CR1 in these fields and will play major roles in tasks T2 and T4. The last two scientists are specialists in solar observation and run the solar telescopes at Kiev and at Terskol in the Russian Caucasus (property of the Ukrainian-Russian Center for Astronomical, Medical and Ecological Investigations). They will share in tasks T3 and T4. 3.1.5.2 Scientific References ----------------------------- Team CO (Utrecht) ----------------- Lites, B.W., Rutten R.J., Berger T.E., "Dynamics of the solar chromosphere. Ca II H2v and K2v grains versus internetwork fields", Astrophysical Journal, 517, 1013, 1999 ftp://ftp.phys.uu.nl/pub/astronomy/rutten/h2v.ps.Z Rutten, R.J., Hammerschlag, R.H. Bettonvil, F.C.M., "The Dutch Open Telescope" in: Solar and Stellar Activity: Similarities and Differences, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, 158, 57-60, 1999 ftp://ftp.phys.uu.nl/pub/astronomy/rutten/armdot.pdf http://dot.astro.uu.nl Suetterlin, P., Wiehr, E., "Applying speckle masking to spectra", Solar Physics, 194, 35-42, 2000 Team CR1 (IAC La Laguna) ------------------------ Martinez Pillet, V, Collados, M., Sanchez Almeida, J., et al., "LPSP & TIP: Full Stokes Polarimeters for the Canary Islands Observatories" in: High Resolution Solar Physics: Theory, Observations and Techniques, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, 183, 264-271, 1999 Trujillo, J. "Towards the modelling of the second solar spectrum" in: Solar Polarization Astrophysics and Space Science Library 243, 73-96, 1999, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht Bellot Rubio, L.R., Collados, M., Ruiz Cobo, B., Rodriguez Hidalgo, I., "Oscillations in the Photosphere of a Sunspot Umbra from the Inversion of Infrared Stokes Profiles", Astrophysical Journal 534, 989-996, 2000 Team CR2 (Irkutsk) ------------------ Domishev, G.N., Kushtal, G.I, Sadohin, V.P., Skomorovski V.I., "Method of compensation of BF's bandpass temperature drift", Patent RU # 2118800 C1 G 01 J 7/00, Bulletin Invention, 25, 1998 Kushtal G.I., Skomorovski V.I., "Birefringent filters for the measurement of solar magnetic fields", Issledovaniya po geomagnetizmu, aeronomii i Fizike Solntsa, 108, 267-274, 1998 (in Russian) Skomorovski, V.I., "Advance of design and technology of birefringent filters", Proceedings SPIE, 2265, 413-421, 1994 Skomorovski V.I., Firstova N.M., "The large vacuum telescope: the optical system and the first spectral observations", Solar Physics, 163, 209-222, 1996 Team CR3 (MAO Kiev) ------------------- Khomenko, E., Collados, M., Bellot Rubio, L.R., Rodriguez Hidalgo, I., Ruiz Cobo, B., "Formation and destruction of a weak magnetic feature in the solar photosphere", in: Magnetic Fields and Solar Processes, 9th European Meeting on Solar Physics, ESA--SP 448, 307-311, 2000. Kostik, R.I., Shchukina, N.G., Rutten, R.J., "The solar iron abundance: not the last word", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 305, 325-342, 1996 Kostik, R.I., Shchukina, N.G., "Local 5-min oscillations above solar granule and intergranular space", Astronomy Letters, 25, no. 10, 678-687, 1999 Osipov, S.M., Gandzha, S.I., Andriyenko, O.V., Karpov, M.V., Kostik, R.I., "The scanner for precise spectrophotometry of the sun as a star", Solar Physics, 172, 361-370, 1997 Shchukina, N.G., Bueno, J.T., Kostik, R.I., "The NLTE formation of iron lines used in solar polarimetry", Solar Physics, 112, 117-124, 1997 Sheminova, V.A., "Sensitivity indicators of Fraunhofer lines", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 329, 721-724, 1998 3.1.6 Management ---------------- The programme will primarily be executed by means of extended visits of the NIS scientists to the INTAS partners, being the optimum way to fulfill the programme tasks with maximum efficiency within the constraints and ceilings set by INTAS rules. The Consortium has scheduled the following such visits: - Task T1: team CR2 to the DOT (La Palma) Skomorovski and Domishev: twice one month to the DOT - Task T2: team CR3 to La Laguna (Tenerife) Khomenko, Kostik, Shchukina: two months to La Laguna - Task T3: team CR3 to the DOT (La Palma) Andriyenko and Osipov: one month to the DOT - Task T4: team CR3 to Utrecht and to La Laguna Sheminova: six weeks to Utrecht Khomenko, Kostik, Shchukina: two months to La Laguna The travels to the DOT (La Palma) will also encompass shorter stays at La Laguna for consultation with the La Laguna team. Outside these visits the programme execution will rely heavily on the Internet for the exchange of data, software, results, and manuscripts. Consortium meetings will additionally take place during the general Euroconferences on solar physics since many team members (also from the NIS institutes) tend to participate in these. 3.1.6.1 Planning and Tasks Allocation -------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Task Teams Months Months Months Months 1 - 6 7 - 12 13 - 18 19 - 24 ---------------------------------------------------------------- T1 CO, CR2 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx T2 CR1, CR3 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx T3 CO, CR1, CR3 xxxxxx xxxxxxx T4 CO, CR1, CR2, CR3 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1.6.2 Cost Table ------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- INTAS Team Status Other Overhead Total Utrecht CO - 2000 2000 La Laguna CR1 - 2000 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------- Subtotal - 4000 4000 NIS team Status Travel+subsistence Other Total Irkutsk CR2 12800 - 12800 Kiev CR3 38000 - 38000 ------------------------------------------------------------- Subtotal 50800 - 50800 --------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL NIS 50800 INTAS 4000 54800 --------------------------------------------------------------- NIS labour: none. 3.1.7 Summary ------------- The programme aims to obtain comprehensive data with very high angular resolution on the magnetic field topology and the dynamical processes in the solar atmosphere. These data sets should serve to settle the nature of the pistons that generate acoustic shocks in the solar chromosphere, deliver the first measurements of kinetic flows within and around the tiny magnetic fluxtubes that are the basic building blocks of solar magnetism, give insight into the magnetohydrodynamical connection between these fluxtubes in the solar photosphere and the coronal loops mapped by space observatories, and address the structure and dynamics of sunspots. In order to achieve these goals, the Consortium will employ a superb narrow-band filter from Irkutsk on the new Dutch Open Telescope on La Palma to yield tomographic observations of the solar atmosphere of unprecedented angular resolution (0.2 arcsec, through consistent speckle reconstruction developed at Utrecht). In addition, quantitative Stokes vector spectropolarimetry will be obtained using other solar telescopes on the Canary Islands with instrumentation developed at La Laguna. These comprehensive data sets will be analysed through detailed spectral line formation modelling based on expertise at Kiev, yielding complete physical diagnostics of the solar atmosphere through numerical data inversion.