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Abstract We analyzed the inverse Evershed flow (IEF) around a sunspot (NOAA 13131) using line scan observations in the Fei6173 Å and Caii8542 Å spectral lines, complemented with data products from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. Line-of-sight (LOS) velocities were obtained for different bisector levels in both spectral lines. Additionally, the Caii8542 Å spectra were inverted using the Non-LTE Inversion COde using the Lorien Engine (or NICOLE) to retrieve the temperature and velocity stratification over different layers of the lower solar atmosphere. The IEF evolved dynamically in time and with height in the solar atmosphere. The flow speed associated with the IEF channels was on the order of 8 km s⁻¹in the upper chromosphere, which decreased in the lower layers of the atmosphere. The flow was traced to the lower chromosphere in LOS velocity maps and the upper photosphere in intensity images. The temperature enhancements associated with the IEF were up to 300 K at logτ≈ −2 and 800 K at logτ≈ −6 near the end point of one channel. The overall appearance of the flow along the IEF channels seems consistent with a siphon flow model. We investigated the association of the IEF with the photospheric Evershed flow, but no obvious connection was found in our analysis. We also analyzed the effect of the IEF on moving magnetic features (MMF) selected near and away from IEF channels. MMFs moved radially outward with velocities in the 0.2–1 km s⁻¹range, with no apparent association with the IEF. 

Abstract Full-disk measurements of the solar magnetic field by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) are often used for magnetic field extrapolations, but its limited spatial and spectral resolution can lead to significant errors. We compare HMI data with observations of NOAA 12104 by the Hinode Spectropolarimeter (SP) to derive a scaling curve for the magnetic field strength,B. The SP data in the Feilines at 630 nm were inverted with the SIR code. We find that the Milne–Eddington inversion of HMI underestimatesBand the line-of-sight flux, Φ, in all granulation surroundings by an average factor of 4.5 in plage and 9.2 in the quiet Sun in comparison to the SP. The deviation is inversely proportional to the magnetic fill factor,f, in the SP results. We derived a correction curve to match the HMIBwith the effective fluxBfin the SP data that scaled HMIBup by 1.3 on average. A comparison of non-force-free field extrapolations over a larger field of view without and with the correction revealed minor changes in connectivity and a proportional scaling of electric currents and Lorentz force (∝B∼ 1.3) and free energy (∝B² ∼ 2). Magnetic field extrapolations of HMI vector data with large areas of plage and quiet Sun will underestimate the photospheric magnetic field strength by a factor of 5–10 and the coronal magnetic flux by at least a factor of 2. An HMI inversion including a fill factor would mitigate the problem. 

Abstract Understanding the mechanisms underlying the heating of the solar atmosphere is a fundamental problem in solar physics. The lower atmosphere of the Sun (i.e., photosphere and chromosphere) is composed of weakly ionized plasma. This results in anisotropic dissipation of electric currents by Coulomb and Cowling resistivities. Joule heating due to dissipation of currents perpendicular to the magnetic field by Cowling resistivity has been demonstrated to be the main mechanism for the heating of a sunspot umbral light bridge located in NOAA AR 12002 on 2014 March 13. Here, we focus on the same target region and demonstrate the importance of further constraining our Joule heating model using observational data in addition to magnetic field, namely plasma temperature calculated from the inversion of spectroscopic data obtained from the Interferometric BI-dimensional Spectrometer instrument of the ground-based Dunn Solar Telescope. As a parameter in our analysis, temperature is demonstrated to have the highest sensitivity after magnetic field. We show that the heating of the light bridge is a highly dynamic event that necessitates utilization of 3D spatially resolved observational data for temperature rather than a 1D temperature stratification based on theoretical/semiempirical solar atmosphere models. Our improved data-constrained analysis using spatially resolved temperatures shows that the entire light bridge is heated by the proposed mechanism, and yields heating rate values that are consistent with our previous study. 

Abstract Sunspot light bridges (LBs) exhibit a wide range of short-lived phenomena in the chromosphere and transition region. In contrast, we use here data from the Multi-Application Solar Telescope (MAST), the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), Hinode, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) to analyze the sustained heating over days in an LB in a regular sunspot. Chromospheric temperatures were retrieved from the MAST Caiiand IRIS Mgiilines by nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium inversions. Line widths, Doppler shifts, and intensities were derived from the IRIS lines using Gaussian fits. Coronal temperatures were estimated through the differential emission measure, while the coronal magnetic field was obtained from an extrapolation of the HMI vector field. At the photosphere, the LB exhibits a granular morphology with field strengths of about 400 G and no significant electric currents. The sunspot does not fragment, and the LB remains stable for several days. The chromospheric temperature, IRIS line intensities and widths, and AIA 171 and 211 Å intensities are all enhanced in the LB with temperatures from 8000 K to 2.5 MK. Photospheric plasma motions remain small, while the chromosphere and transition region indicate predominantly redshifts of 5–20 km s⁻¹with occasional supersonic downflows exceeding 100 km s⁻¹. The excess thermal energy over the LB is about 3.2 × 10²⁶erg and matches the radiative losses. It could be supplied by magnetic flux loss of the sunspot (7.5 × 10²⁷erg), kinetic energy from the increase in the LB width (4 × 10²⁸erg), or freefall of mass along the coronal loops (6.3 × 10²⁶erg). 

Abstract Onestrongmagnetic cloud (MC) with a magnetic field magnitude reaching ∼40 nT at 1 au during 2012 June 16–17 is examined in association with a preexisting magnetic flux rope (MFR) identified on the Sun. The MC is characterized by a quasi-three-dimensional (3D) flux rope model based on in situ measurements from the Wind spacecraft. The contents of the magnetic flux and other parameters are quantified. In addition, a correlative study with the corresponding measurements of the same structure crossed by the Venus Express (VEX) spacecraft at a heliocentric distance of 0.7 au and with an angular separation of ∼6° in longitude is performed to validate the MC modeling results. The spatial variation between the Wind and VEX magnetic field measurements is attributed to the 3D configuration of the structure appearing as a knotted bundle of flux. A comparison of the magnetic flux contents between the MC and the preexisting MFR on the Sun indicates that the 3D reconnection process accompanying an M1.9 flare may correspond to the magnetic reconnection between the field lines of the preexisting MFR rooted in the opposite polarity footpoints. Such a process reduces the amount of the axial magnetic flux in the erupted flux rope, by approximately 50%, in this case. 

Abstract Solar filaments exist as stable structures for extended periods of time before many of them form the core of a coronal mass ejection (CME). We examine the properties of an erupting filament on 2017 May 29–30 with high-resolution Hei10830 Å and Hαspectra from the Dunn Solar Telescope, full-disk Dopplergrams of Hei10830 Å from the Chromospheric Telescope, and EUV and coronograph data from SDO and STEREO. Pre-eruption line-of-sight velocities from an inversion of Heiwith the HAZEL code exhibit coherent patches of 5 Mm extent that indicate counter-streaming and/or buoyant behavior. During the eruption, individual, aligned threads appear in the Heivelocity maps. The distribution of velocities evolves from Gaussian to strongly asymmetric. The maximal optical depth of Hei10830 Å decreased fromτ= 1.75 to 0.25, the temperature increased by 13 kK, and the average speed and width of the filament increased from 0 to 25 km s⁻¹and 10 to 20 Mm, respectively. All data sources agree that the filament rose with an exponential acceleration reaching 7.4 m s⁻²that increased to a final velocity of 430 km s⁻¹at 22:24 UT; a CME was associated with this filament eruption. The properties during the eruption favor a kink/torus instability, which requires the existence of a flux rope. We conclude that full-disk chromospheric Dopplergrams can be used to trace the initial phase of on-disk filament eruptions in real time, which might potentially be useful for modeling the source of any subsequent CMEs. 

Context. The inverse Evershed flow (IEF) is a mass motion towards sunspots at chromospheric heights. Aims. We combined high-resolution observations of NOAA 12418 from the Dunn Solar Telescope and vector magnetic field measurements from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) to determine the driver of the IEF. Methods. We derived chromospheric line-of-sight (LOS) velocities from spectra of H α and Ca  II IR. The HMI data were used in a non-force-free magnetic field extrapolation to track closed field lines near the sunspot in the active region. We determined their length and height, located their inner and outer foot points, and derived flow velocities along them. Results. The magnetic field lines related to the IEF reach on average a height of 3 megameter (Mm) over a length of 13 Mm. The inner (outer) foot points are located at 1.2 (1.9) sunspot radii. The average field strength difference Δ B between inner and outer foot points is +400 G. The temperature difference Δ T is anti-correlated with Δ B with an average value of −100 K. The pressure difference Δ p is dominated by Δ B and is primarily positive with a driving force towards the inner foot points of 1.7 kPa on average. The velocities predicted from Δ p reproduce the LOS velocities of 2–10 km s −1 with a square-root dependence. Conclusions. We find that the IEF is driven along magnetic field lines connecting network elements with the outer penumbra by a gas pressure difference that results from a difference in field strength as predicted by the classical siphon flow scenario. 

Context. Resistive Ohmic dissipation has been suggested as a mechanism for heating the solar chromosphere, but few studies have established this association. Aims. We aim to determine how Ohmic dissipation by electric currents can heat the solar chromosphere. Methods. We combine high-resolution spectroscopic Ca  II data from the Dunn Solar Telescope and vector magnetic field observations from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) to investigate thermal enhancements in a sunspot light bridge. The photospheric magnetic field from HMI was extrapolated to the corona using a non-force-free field technique that provided the three-dimensional distribution of electric currents, while an inversion of the chromospheric Ca  II line with a local thermodynamic equilibrium and a nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium spectral archive delivered the temperature stratifications from the photosphere to the chromosphere. Results. We find that the light bridge is a site of strong electric currents, of about 0.3 A m −2 at the bottom boundary, which extend to about 0.7 Mm while decreasing monotonically with height. These currents produce a chromospheric temperature excess of about 600−800 K relative to the umbra. Only the light bridge, where relatively weak and highly inclined magnetic fields emerge over a duration of 13 h, shows a spatial coincidence of thermal enhancements and electric currents. The temperature enhancements and the Cowling heating are primarily confined to a height range of 0.4−0.7 Mm above the light bridge. The corresponding increase in internal energy of 200 J m −3 can be supplied by the heating in about 10 min. Conclusions. Our results provide direct evidence for currents heating the lower solar chromosphere through Ohmic dissipation.