EIF-OIF-IIF-IRG-ERG Final Activity and Management Report

Transcription

1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION RESEARCH DG HUMAN RESOURCES AND MOBILITY EIF-OIF-IIF-IRG-ERG Final Activity and Management Report Project Acronym: SoND Project Full Name: Solar Network Dynamics Marie Curie Actions EIF-OIF-IIF-IRG-ERG Final Activity and Management Report Period covered: from 01/07/2007 to 30/06/2008 Date of preparation: 04/09/2008 Start date of project: 01/07/2007 Project coordinator name: Dr. Aleš Kucera Project coordinator organisation name: Astronomický ústav Slovenskej akadémie vied Date of submission (SESAM): 04/09/ :36:19 CET Duration: 12 Version: 1

2 Marie Curie Actions EIF-OIF-IIF-IRG-ERG Final Activity and Management Report GENERAL INFORMATION Project acronym: Project full name: Period number: SoND Solar Network Dynamics 1st Period covered - start date: 01/07/2007 Period covered - end date: 30/06/2008 Project start date: 01/07/2007 Project duration [months]: 12 Project coordinator name: Project coordinator organisation name: Dr. Aleš Kucera Astronomický ústav Slovenskej akadémie vied Date of submission: 26/08/2008 Page - 2 of 10

3 PUBLIC OUTREACH: PUBLISHABLE SUMMARY OF WORK PERFORMED AND RESULTS Include all main keywords referring to the objectives and results of this project, stressing the most important scientific achievement made. Write clearly and concisely, and make it understandable for the general public The project Solar Network Dynamics is focused on the coupling between network dynamics and fine structures seen in the solar chromosphere and transition region. The scientific objectives involved: (a) small-scale network dynamics, (b) leakage of photospheric oscillations to the chromosphere, and (c) nature of spicules. The project realization embraced organization of joint observing campaigns aimed at acquisition of multispectral time sequences with long duration, their later analysis, interpretation, and confrontation with numerical simulations. The project realization benefited from availability of unprecedented high-resolution image sequence, though brief, obtained in 2002 by the rocket-borne Very high Angular resolution ULtraviolet Telescope (VAULT). The researcher took part actively as a co-proposer and an observer in setup and execution of two joint observing programs with the titles: Dynamic fibrils in the upper photosphere, chromosphere, and above; and Spectroscopy of the quiet solar photosphere: properties of the shocks and the acoustic flux generation. The programs were accomplished successfully by the Vacuum Tower Telescope at Observatorio del Teide, Canary Islands, Spain in May and June Before the observing campaigns the researcher analyzed VAULT filtergrams in the Ly alpha spectral line searching for dynamic fibrils (DFs) - bright jet-like features emanating from network boundaries and displaying conspicuous extension and/or retraction on timescales of several seconds. The researcher developed a software for measuring of precise image coordinates facilitating first ever identification of DFs in Ly alpha. The project brought the following results towards the objectives (a) and (b): The observing campaigns provided extensive multispectral and spectropolarimetric data volumes sampling the solar atmosphere in infrared and visual spectral ranges from lower photosphere up to the upper chromosphere. Thorough interpretation is a formidable challenge extending beyond project duration. Nevertheless, samples of observations were already presented as image of the month July 2008 at the webpage of Kiepenheuer-Institut fur Sonnenphysik in Freiburg (KIS). They will be presented as a poster in 12th European Solar Physics Meeting (ESPM-12) in September The project brought the following new results towards the objective (c): 1) most tops of DFs move supersonically; 2) decelerations of DFs vary from sub- to superballistic; 3) about half of DFs show outward acceleration, which may be an artifact from the poor sampling. The similarity between these DFs observed in Ly alpha and the ones observed in Halpha suggests that the magnetoacoustic shock excitation proposed for the Halpha DFs is also valid for the Ly alpha ones. This supports an idea that Halpha and Ly alpha DFs are on-disk manifestation of limb spicules. The most important scientific achievement made by the project so far is the first ever identification of DFs in Ly alpha. This achievement was already presented at several scientific gatherings, submitted as a regular paper in Astronomy and Astrophysics and will be presented as a talk in ESPM-12. The project outcomes are materialized in publication accessed at URL by simply entering the researcher's name. The project implementation also involved effective reintegration of the researcher after initial two-years MC Intra-European Fellowship back into his home country Slovakia via permanent employment at the Astronomical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences in Tatranska Lomnica (AISAS) located in Vychodne Slovensko (East Slovakia) and classified as less-favored region of the Community. Simultaneously, the researcher maintained strong linkage and transfer of knowledges between AISAS and leading European institutions through research travels and stays thus enhancing the visibility of his research and home institute in European research area. Page - 3 of 10

4 List of Keywords solar chromosphere, solar network, fibrils, transition region Websites where additional information may be found REPORT ON WORK PERFORMED AND RESULTS Please report on the work performed and on the results of the research, addressing the following points clearly and concisely: a) Accomplishment of research objectives as presented in the original proposal b) New objectives established during the course of work and new lines of research The following structure should be used in the description of points a) and b) for each objective separately. - Objective of the research; - Work performed (mentioning also unsuccessful approaches and unforeseen developments); - Results and degree to which the objectives were met; - List specific training received on scientific and technical aspects; - Relevance for basic and applied science and for applications, including industrial links. Changes to original proposal: Note that the Commission has to be informed in advance of any changes to the original proposal. For point a) it is important that any deviations from the original proposal are clearly indicated. In order to help illustrate the work carried out during the fellowship, please enclose copies of the most relevant publications and reports as well as abstracts of other publications and manuscripts. Note that this is in addition to the free-hand report requested above. Additional information such as word documents, graphs, tables, etc. can be uploaded as attachments using the upload functionality (button attachments). ACCOMPLISHMENT OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AS PRESENTED IN THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL Objective (a): Small-scale network dynamics; and objective (b): Leakage of photospheric oscillations to the chromosphere Objective realization relied upon acquisition of large data volumes indicated as Goal 5 in work plan of original project proposal (Part B, p. 12). Project timeline assumed organization of observation campaigns in the second half of 4-year project duration. However, due to favourable circumstances the campaigns were already executed successfully in advance within the first year of the project. Work performed The researcher was a co-proposer and an observer in setup and execution of two joint observing programs with the titles: Dynamic fibrils in the upper photosphere, chromosphere, and above (PI: Dr. A. Kucera); and Spectroscopy of the quiet solar photosphere: properties of the shocks and the acoustic flux generation (PI: Dr. J. Rybak). Another members of observing team were Dr. P. Gomory from AISAS and Dr. H. Woehl from KIS. Both programmes were accomplished by the Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) operated by the Kipenheuer-Institut fur Sonnenphysik in Freiburg at Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. Results and degree to which the objective was met The first campaign focused on dynamic fibrils was executed in the period 26 May - 1 June VTT with the KIS Adaptive Optics System (KAOS) was used to obtain high-cadence imagery, two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy, and 2D spectropolarimetry of quiet solar photosphere and chromosphere with high spatial resolution. Images were collected with exposure times ranging from 5 to 10 ms in the G band and from 100 to 150 ms in Halpha. TESOS (Triple Etalon SOlar Spectrometer), G-band and Halpha CCD cameras were fed by visual beam diverted by IR/VIS beam splitter. 2D spectra in all Stokes parameters were collected by TESOS in the VIP (Visual Imaging Polarimeter) mode using the Fe I nm and Balmer Halpha spectral lines. Infrared beam fed the Page - 4 of 10

5 TIP (Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter) scanning observed area of about 5 by 80 arcsec square and collecting data of all Stokes parameters of two Fe I spectral lines at 1.56 micron. The second campaign was executed in the period 2-7 June 2008 with TESOS switched to normal mode observing the Fe I Doppler line nm. The rest of the instrument setup was identical with the first campaign. Total data volume of 1.45 TB was obtained by VTT in eight days with reasonable good seeing. The observations involved small active region NOAA and later quiet areas at various position angles. There was performed in-situ speckle reconstruction of G-band and Halpha imaging data from all eight days by KISIP speckle code. Examples of speckled images and movies are shown in the website of the project. Both campaigns were coordinated with SoHO, TRACE, and Hinode satellites. Samples of observations were already presented as a prestigious image of the month July 2008 at the webpage of Kiepenheuer-Institut fur Sonnenphysik in Freiburg. Overall summary of observations will be presented as a poster with the title: "Multi-wavelength observations of dynamic fibrils in the upper photosphere and chromosphere" in 12th European Solar Physics Meeting in September Although thorough analysis and interpretation of such extensive data volume is a formidable challenge extending beyond project duration, complexity and quality of the data allows to conclude, that the objectives are met in full extent. Specific training received on scientific and technical aspects - organisation and execution of coordinated campaigns involving VTT, SoHO, TRACE, and Hinode solar observatories; - on-site involvement in setup of instrument; - operation of VTT Halpha imagining system; - total time spent in situ at VTT: 12 days; - large-volume data mining and analysis. Relevance for basic science The accomplishments are relevant for basic science, in particular for research of solar photosphere and chromosphere. They provide complex observations of chromospheric consequences of photospheric small-scale dynamics and magnetizm important for understanding of chromospheric fine structures represented by fibrils and spicules. Objective (c): Nature of spicules Work performed Availability of Lyman alpha filtergrams obtained by the rocket-borne Very high Angular ULtraviolet Telescope (VAULT) on June 14, 2002 near to the solar limb enhanced project effectiveness and its scientific impact. VAULT acquired the Lyman alpha filtergrams with angular and temporal resolution of 1/3 arcsec and 17 s, respectively. Even at a temporal coverage was only a few minutes, it is unattainable by the EUV imagery from the SoHO, TRACE, and STEREO satellites. The researcher performed precise co-alignment of VAULT Lyman alpha filtergrams, then applied an appropriate greyscale to enhance the fine structure, constructed movies, and used these in extensive visual inspection to define, locate, and study dynamical variations. We invite the reader to also inspect these movies, available in the website of the project. The limb movie clearly shows temporal variation in the extent of many jet-like features even during its limited four-frame one-minute duration. These jets are similar to limb spicules in showing up bright against dark internetwork and in showing hedgerow-like clustering at network boundaries that is best seen near the solar limb. They appear much like dynamic fibrils (DFs) in Halpha, except that these Ly alpha features are bright against dark whereas the Halpha DFs analyzed by Hansteen et al. (2006) and De Pontieu et al. (2007) are dark against a bright background made up by plage. Henceforth these Ly alpha features are called ``dynamic fibrils'' or DFs as well. They are likely to be on-disk manifestation of limb spicules. The researcher identified fifty Ly alpha DFs which exhibit measurable extension and/or retraction in the four-frame sequence. The main effort was oriented toward development of IDL software (Interactive Data Language) for measuring of precise image coordinates and intensity profiles of particular Ly alpha DFs. Their top trajectories are often nearly parabolic, as is the case for Halpha DFs. Following Hansteen et al and De Pontieu et al the researcher derived kinematic properties from the trajectories, in particular searching for linear relations between maximum velocities and decelerations/accelerations as found by them for Halpha DFs. Then the researcher fitted the top trajectories with quadratic polynomials and estimated the total fibril excursion duration. Page - 5 of 10

6 Results and degree to which the objective was met The precise measurements and parabolic fitting of top trajectories of Ly alpha DFs brought the following new results towards the objective (c): 1) most tops of Ly alpha DFs move supersonically; 2) decelerations of Ly alpha DFs vary from sub- to superballistic; 3) about half of Ly alpha DFs show outward acceleration, which may be an artifact from the poor sampling. The similarity between these DFs observed in Ly alpha and the ones observed in Halpha suggests that the magnetoacoustic shock excitation proposed for the Halpha DFs is also valid for the Ly alpha ones. This supports an idea that Halpha and Ly alpha DFs are on-disk manifestation of limb spicules. These results provide the first ever observational evidence on DFs in Ly alpha. This achievement was already presented at several scientific gatherings, submitted as a regular paper in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Koza et al. 2008) and will be presented as a talk with the title: "Dynamic fibrils in Ly alpha" in 12th European Solar Physics Meeting in September The objective was met with the degree of 100 percent. Specific training received on scientific and technical aspects - advanced IDL programming; - improving of science communication through active attendance in Colloquia of Kipenheuer-Institut fur Sonnenphysik in Freiburg (KIS) and Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics in Oslo (ITA). The objective realization capitalized from researcher's stays at KIS and ITA allowing direct discussions with leading experts on spicules and DFs research: prof. V. Hansteen, prof. M. Carlsson, Dr. B. De Pontieu, O. Langangen and Dr. R. Hammer. Relevance for basic science The accomplishments are relevant for solar physics, in particular for understanding of coupling between chromospheric and transition-region fine structures. REFERENCES Hansteen, V. H., De Pontieu, B., Rouppe van der Voort, L., van Noort, M., Carlsson, M.: 2006, Dynamic Fibrils Are Driven by Magnetoacoustic Shocks, The Astrophysical Journal, 647, L73 De Pontieu, B., Hansteen, V. H., Rouppe van der Voort, L., van Noort, M. Carlsson, M.: 2007, High-Resolution Observations and Modeling of Dynamic Fibrils, The Astrophysical Journal, 655, 624 Koza, J., Rutten, R. J., Vourlidas, A.: 2008, Dynamic fibrils in Ly alpha, Astronomy and Astrophysics, submitted MANAGEMENT REPORT Please justify any deviations and/or modifications to the initial financial planning of the project. The project run fully in accordance with the original financial planning and no deviations and/or modifications occurred with respect to the original financial breakdown. Page - 6 of 10

7 ASSESSMENT BY THE SCIENTIST IN CHARGE ON THE FELLOW'S WORK DURING THE FELLOWSHIP This is my (Ales Kucera) assessment of the project of MC-ERG researcher Dr. Julius Koza in my group at Solar Physics Department of Astronomical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences in Tatranska Lomnica. First of all I would like to emphasise that all main objectives of the project were successfully achieved. Namely: 1) The researcher was fully reintegrated at the home institute for long time. 2) He gained an extensive training during two stays at leading European institutions in solar physics research and during observations performed by VTT. 3) He accomplished well scientific objectives of the project. Dr. Julius Koza has worked diligently and successfully accomplishing objectives of the project in full extent and does he got permanent at the host institute. I am very impressed by his strong motivation and work attitude. It was most fortunate that the observing campaigns, foreseen in the original project proposal, were accomplished by VTT with great success bringing multispectral and spectropolarimetric data volumes sampling the solar atmosphere from lower photosphere up to the upper chromosphere. The project also benefited from availability of high-resolution Ly alpha filtergrams obtained by the rocket-borne Very high Angular resolution ULtraviolet Telescope (VAULT) even before the onset of the project. The researcher used effectively these complex observational data to bring new insight on coupling of chromospheric and transition-region fine structures represented by fibrils and spicules. Their nature is decades-old puzzle. The researcher's analysis of superb VAULT filtergrams brought first ever identification of dynamic fibrils in Ly alpha. It is also clear that data gained in both campaigns represent the start of extended research for multiple if not many years to come. In addition to this successful research, Dr. Koza has been a lively and well-valued member of our group. He has taken a very active part in organisation and execution of both observing campaigns as a co-proposer and an observer. This important training part of the project was accomplished by the reseacher excellently. We have been fortunate to have Dr. Koza in our midst. In summary, our view is that this grant was very well spent allowing an effective re-integration of Dr. Koza in the form of a continuing work agreement between him, as a permanent staff member, and Astronomical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences in Tatranska Lomnica. The undersigned agree: - that the Commission may publish information contained in this report - to allow the Commission to divulge future contact details to national representatives or to organisations carrying out services for the Commission Yes Yes Page - 7 of 10

8 RESEARCH RESULTS RELATED TO THE FELLOWSHIP Participation in conferences and other scientific events Active participation Oral Poster Of which were invited presentations (oral + poster) Passive participation Conferences Workshops 0 Other Scientific Meetings 3 Patents Number of Patents Application filed Pending Granted National Patents - Member States and/or Associated States National Patents - Third Countries - US National Patents - Third Countries - Japan National Patents - Third Countries - Other European Patents (EP number) International Patents (WO number) Publications As main author Number of Publications Total Of which were co-authored with researchers from other institutions Peer Reviewed - Articles in Journals Peer Reviewed - Chapters in Books Peer Reviewed - Articles in Conference Proceedings Peer Reviewed - Books and Monographs Non-Peer Reviewed Submitted Manuscripts in preparation Teaching and Transfer of Knowledge Number of participants Number of hours Early stage researchers Other Lectures Training Courses Other outcomes Number Academic qualifications 0 Type Page - 8 of 10

9 Number Prizes and Awards 0 Spin-off companies 0 Type Page - 9 of 10

10 Attachments annex.pdf, espm12_poster.pdf, espm12_talk.pdf, espm12_abstract2.pdf, espm12_abstract1.pdf, aa_paper.pdf Contractor's Stamp Name of the Fellow Name of the Scientist in Charge Date Date Signature Signature Page - 10 of 10