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- ItemPrecision spectroscopy with a frequency-comb-calibrated solar spectrograph(Freiburg : Universität Freiburg, 2015) Doerr, Hans-PeterThe measurement of the velocity field of the plasma at the solar surface is a standard diagnostic tool in observational solar physics. Detailed information about the energy transport as well as on the stratification of temperature, pressure and magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere are encoded in Doppler shifts and in the precise shape of the spectral lines. The available instruments deliver data of excellent quality and precision. However, absolute wavelength calibration in solar spectroscopy was so far mostly limited to indirect methods and in general suffers from large systematic uncertainties of the order of 100 m/s. During the course of this thesis, a novel wavelength calibration system based on a laser frequency comb was deployed to the solar Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT), Tenerife, with the goal of enabling highly accurate solar wavelength measurements at the level of 1 m/s on an absolute scale. The frequency comb was developed in a collaboration between the Kiepenheuer-Institute for Solar Physics, Freiburg, Germany and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany. The efforts cumulated in the new prototype instrument LARS (Lars is an Absolute Reference Spectrograph) for solar precision spectroscopy which is in preliminary scientific operation since~2013. The instrument is based on the high-resolution echelle spectrograph of the VTT for which feed optics based on single-mode optical fibres were developed for this project. The setup routinely achieves an absolute calibration accuracy of 60 cm/s and a repeatability of 2.5 cm/s. An unprecedented repeatability of only 0.32 cm/s could be demonstrated with a differential calibration scheme. In combination with the high spectral resolving power of the spectrograph of 7x10^5 and virtually absent internal scattered light, LARS provides a spectral purity and fidelity that previously was the domain of Fourier-transform spectrometers only. The instrument therefore provides unique capabilities for precision spectroscopy of the Sun and laboratory light sources. The first scientific observations aimed at measuring the accurate wavelengths of selected solar Fraunhofer lines to characterise the so-called convective blue shift and its centre to limb variation. The convective blueshifts were derived with respect to laboratory wavelengths that were obtained from spectral lamps measured with the same instrument. The measurements agree with previous studies but provide a way higher accuracy. The data is only partially compatible with numerical simulations that were published recently. Further measurements were carried out to provide the absolute wavelengths of telluric O2 lines that are commonly used for wavelength calibration. With an accuracy of 1 m/s, these new measurements are two orders of magnitude better than existing data.
- ItemWave phenomena in sunspots(Freiburg : Universität Freiburg, 2015) Löhner-Böttcher, JohannesContext: The dynamic atmosphere of the Sun exhibits a wealth of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves. In the presence of strong magnetic fields, most spectacular and powerful waves evolve in the sunspot atmosphere. Allover the sunspot area, continuously propagating waves generate strong oscillations in spectral intensity and velocity. The most prominent and fascinating phenomena are the ‘umbral flashes’ and ‘running penumbral waves’ as seen in the sunspot chromosphere. Their nature and relation have been under intense discussion in the last decades. Aims: Waves are suggested to propagate upward along the magnetic field lines of sunspots. An observational study is performed to prove or disprove the field-guided nature and coupling of the prevalent umbral and penumbral waves. Comprehensive spectroscopic observations at high resolution shall provide new insights into the wave characteristics and distribution across the sunspot atmosphere. Methods: Two prime sunspot observations were carried out with the Dunn Solar Telescope at the National Solar Observatory in New Mexico and with the Vacuum Tower Telescope at the Teide Observatory on Tenerife. The two-dimensional spectroscopic observations were performed with the interferometric spectrometers IBIS and TESOS. Multiple spectral lines are scanned co-temporally to sample the dynamics at the photospheric and chromospheric layers. The time series (1 – 2.5 h) taken at high spatial and temporal resolution are analyzed according to their evolution in spectral intensities and Doppler velocities. A wavelet analysis was used to obtain the wave power and dominating wave periods. A reconstruction of the magnetic field inclination based on sunspot oscillations was developed. Results and conclusions: Sunspot oscillations occur continuously in spectral intensity and velocity. The obtained wave characteristics of umbral flashes and running penumbral waves strongly support the scenario of slow-mode magnetoacoustic wave propagation along the magnetic field lines. Signatures of umbral flashes and running penumbral waves are found already in the middle to upper photosphere. The signal and velocity increases toward the chromosphere. The shock wave behavior of the umbral flashes is confirmed by the evolving saw-tooth pattern in velocity and the strong downward motion of the plasma right after the passage of the shock front. The power spectra and peak periods of sunspot waves vary significantly with atmospheric altitude and position within the sunspot. In the vertical field of the umbra, the mixture of wave periods in the lower photosphere transforms into a domination of the 2.5min range in the upper photosphere and chromosphere. In the differentially inclined penumbra, the dominating wave periods increase with radial distance. The acoustic cut-off frequency which blocks the propagation of long-period waves is considered to increase with the field inclination and the ambient sound speed. The reconstruction of the sunspot’s magnetic field inclination based on the peak period distribution yields consistent results with the inferred photospheric and extrapolated coronal magnetic field.