6–10 Sept 2021
Online
Europe/Rome timezone

Diagnostic potential of Hε for small-scale energetic phenomena

8 Sept 2021, 11:13
13m
Online

Online

Poster Session 2 - The Solar Atmosphere: Heating, Dynamics and Coupling Poster Session 6.2

Speaker

Kilian Krikova (Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, ITA, University of Oslo)

Description

The Hydrogen Balmer lines show enhanced emission in various energetic phenomena in the solar atmosphere. For example, the H$\alpha$ line shows complex wing enhancements in the Ellerman Bomb phenomenon. Recently, Ellerman bombs have been detected in the H$\beta$ line at high number densities in the Quiet Sun and it was concluded that these mark the ubiquitous presence of small-scale magnetic reconnection. In this work, we explore the diagnostic potential of the H$\epsilon$ line, one of the shorter wavelength Balmer lines that promise detection of small-scale energetic events at higher spatial resolution than achieved before. H$\epsilon$ is located just redward of the strong Ca H line core which poses a challenge for the understanding of the spectral line formation. To understand the formation of H$\epsilon$, especially the transition from absorption to emission line, we investigate the line formation using 3D radiative MHD Bifrost simulations and NLTE forward modelling with RH. The locations where H$\epsilon$ goes into emission mark regions of steep chromospheric temperature enhancements and indicate regions where magnetic energy is released. H$\epsilon$ could be therefore a valuable tracer for small-scale energetic events in the solar atmosphere.

Primary author

Kilian Krikova (Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, ITA, University of Oslo)

Co-authors

Tiago Pereira (Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo) Luc Rouppe van der Voort (Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, University of Oslo)

Presentation materials