recent solar activity as observed with x-ray spectrophotometer sphinx aboard the coronas-photon...
TRANSCRIPT
Recent solar activity as observed with
X-ray spectrophotometer SphinX aboard
the CORONAS-PHOTON
Janusz Sylwester
for the SphinX teamSolar Physics Division, Space Research Centre
Polish Academy of Sciences, 51-622 Wrocław, Kopernika 11
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
Obserwacje strumienia promieniowania rentgenowskiego Słońca „jako gwiazdy” w okresie głębokiego minimum aktywności
The SphinX Team
• SRC PAS Wrocław– Mirek Kowalinski, Szymon Gburek, Marek Siarkowski,
Jarek Bakala, Zbigniew Kordylewski, Piotr Podgorski, Barbara Sylwester, Anna Kepa, Witold Trzebiński
• P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow– Sergey Kuzin-TESIS PI, Andrei Pertsov,
Sergey Bogaczev• Astronomical Institute, Ondrejov
– Frantisek Farnik• Astronomical Observatory, Palermo
• Fabio Reale, Alfonso Collura• University College, London
– Ken Phillips
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
SphinX: Solar Photometer in X-rays, PI: SRC-PAS
PointingSemi-Three axis stabilised
Mass ~2500 kg, 8.2 GB/day
http://www.cbk.pan.wroc.pl/body/publikacje/2008/SphinX.pdf
Launched 30 Jan. 2009 at 13:30 UT
from Plesetsk Cosmodrome
http://www.tesis.lebedev.ru/TESIS with
SphinX
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
CORONAS PHOTON
The orbit
CORONAS-F
96 min550km ,
82.5 deg.Polar orbit
Life ~7 years
EncounteredSAA
~1000 cts/s&
Polar ovals~100 cts/s
4 times/96 min
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
SphinXPolish concept, design & manufacture
Measures the X-ray fluence of the Sun 0.85 –
15 keV with unprecedented
– Time resolution ~0.00001 s
– Sensitivity 100 x better than GOES XRM – the standard for 30+years
– Energy resolution
3x RHESSI (NASA)
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
The construction • EUV filters (doubly aluminized Mylar)
• Photometer
– Collimators (+-2.5 deg)
– Three apertures
– D1, D2, D3
• Shutter
– Stepper motor
• FFU
– Filters
– Targets
– D4
• Electronics
– Front end Amptek
– Digital „our”
• Controller
– Software
– reprogramming
• Heat sink
• Alignment mirror
Total cost of the project ~ 1 mln PLN KBN T12 grant XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
Measurement channels
φ: 5 mmA: 20.4mm2
8 μsUp to
25 000 cts/sFWHM: 490 eV
P h o t o m e t r i c FFU
φ: 4 mmA: 0.50 mm2
25 μsUp to
20 000 cts/sFWHM: 290 eV
φ: 4 mmA: 0.0052 mm2
25 μsUp to
20 000 cts/sFWHM: 290 eV
φ: 4 mmA: 13.0 mm2
25 μsUp to
20 000 cts/sFWHM: 290 eV
Detectors (four units): 256/1024 energy binsAmptek, Peltier cooled (-50 deg C below the
support T) Si PIN diodes. Detectors’ support plate passively
cooled through the heat sink pipe to the external radiator
Photon arrival time measured to within 2μs (in Time Stamping Mode)
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
How performance looks from the tests
BESSY Berlin Synchrotron:- All detectors’ linearity: perfect (0.1% ) over 0.8-14.5 keV; & dynamic range 104.- absolute response known to better than 5% against reference synchrotron source.
- pile-up matrices known as measured from X-ray 4 crystal monochromator spectra
obtained at 8 energies between 1.5 and 8 keV
The BESSY synchrotron input spectrum (red) with overplotted response of SphinX
D2 detector (black). Nominal effective areas have been used. The agreement is
better than 5% in the energy band where SphinX detectors are the most sensitive.
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
GOES X class range to be extended down
10-6
W/m2
10-7
10-8
10-9
10-10
10-11
Solar X-ray flux remains at background levels: i.e. Max Millenium message
SphinX detection threshold
A = 10-8 W/m2
S = 10-9 W/m2
Q = 10-10 W/m2
SA
A
S/C night
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
New X-ray classes
• We are introducing new „classes” of X-ray solar variability, below GOES A1.0– A = 10-8 W/m2 (present lowest)– S = 10-9 W/m2
– Q = 10-10 W/m2
• SphinX in its D1 channel is capable to observe events 100 x less intense than GOES– Most of variability since the launch is observed to
happen below the GOES delectability threshold
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
Solar activity: longer-term only around 80 flares,detected by GOES, among them C2.7 on 6 July
2009 and triple B on March 26, 2009
GOES detection threshold
Since Launch: GOES 80 events, SphinX 550 events
The Lowest observed level
SphinX D2 record cts/s
Long S/Cday
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
Determination of absolute levels of X-ray solar luminosity E > 1 keV
D1- DGI 1s
D1
D2
/E2 E1
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
X-ray fluence at E > 1 keV
Example: for data set No. 50Te 1.71 MK [ 1.69, 1.72 ]EM 6.2 [ 5.7 , 6.7] 1047 cm-3
Flux [1 - 15 keV] 1.4 10-8 W/m2Flux GOES [1 – 8 Å] 4.2 10-10 W/m2
Histogram of T values
D1 rate
Temperature
Emission Measure
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
Thermodynamic Measure
D1 rate
D2
rate
1.6 1.8 2.0 MK
Instrument heating
TESIS images (courtesy Sergey Bogaczev FIAN)
2009 02 20 18:27:42 171 Å2009 02 20 18:28:42 304 Å
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
~80 000 K ~1 MK
Longer exposure: ~18 hours
Counts below 3 keV ~ 1 mln
Counts above 3 keV ~ 3000
Ratio: 0.003Any coronal heating model should „obey” this measurement
from now on
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
http://www.cbk.pan.wroc.pl/sphinxnews/?page_id=25
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
Example catalogue page
D1
D2
bcg
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
Summary• Two components on the lightcurves:
– Quasi steady X-ray intensities enhanced when AR are present– The lowest quasi-steady state level, when no AR are present, is
also observed in D2, this level is still fluctuating on a 5 min time scale study is in progress.
– Flares are seen on-top of this basal variability.– Flare „enhancements” are being detected from amplitudes
above ~ 0.05 dex.– Both short and LDE types of events are present „without the
sunspots”• The Sun is the weakest X-ray star within 7 parsecs (Schmitt et
al., 1995, ApJ, 450, 392) – with our new estimated luminosity at LX = 1.3 × 1018 W 100 x
less α Cen A., 47 x less previous estimates (Judge et al., 2003, ApJ, 593, 534)
– Luminosity in the 1—300 Å is 8.0 × 1025 erg s-1, a value which is
of interest for heating the Earth’s atmosphere, much below present estimates
– Thermal energy content of the solar corona is 2 × 1030 erg
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
The End
Please have a look at the posterBarbara Sylwester, Janusz Sylwester, Marek Siarkowski
Zakład Fizyki Słońca CBK PAN Wrocław:
"Interpretacja widm uzyskanych za pomocą polskiego spektrofotometru SphinX"
XXXIV Zjazd PTA Kraków , Solar Session, 15 September 2009 Janusz Sylwester
Compilation of SphinX flare catalogue
SOLAR CORONAL LOOPS WORKSHOP IV , Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Janusz Sylwester: Activity - SphinX
Flare statistics – based on SphinX catalogue interpretation (provisional)
Flare amplitude vs the occurence times
of events
Increasing trend is noticeable
GOES detection Threshold
SOLAR CORONAL LOOPS WORKSHOP IV , Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Janusz Sylwester: Activity - SphinX
30 April 2009 10:42 A3.1 flare
XRT Hinode
EIT SOHO 195 Å
SOLAR CORONAL LOOPS WORKSHOP IV , Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Janusz Sylwester: Activity - SphinX
Spectra
E1 E2
maximum
decay
Flare evolution on T-EM diagramsee poster B. Sylwester et al.
T
EM
ThM = T * sqrt(EM)
Diagnostic Diagram Jakimiec, J.; Sylwester, B.
; Sylwester, J.; Serio, S.; Peres, G.; Reale, F. 1992A&A...253..269
Jakimiec, J.; Sylwester, B.; Sylwester, J.; Mewe, R.; Peres, G., 1986AdSpR...6..237J
Palermo-Harvard CodePeres et al., 1982
From HXIS
SS RTV: 2 Log T – ½ Log EM = ½ Log(L/2A) - 6.145
L
AeH
CL
AeH
C
Diagnostic diagram based on GOES
Warning
Sylwester, J.; Sylwester, B.; Phillips, K. J. H.; Kepa, A.
06 June 2009 B2.6 flare
XRT Hinode
SOLAR CORONAL LOOPS WORKSHOP IV , Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Janusz Sylwester: Activity - SphinX
TESIS 171 Å
Spectra
E1 E2
maximum
decay
SOLAR CORONAL LOOPS WORKSHOP IV , Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Janusz Sylwester: Activity - SphinX
Flare evolution on T-EM diagramsee poster B. Sylwester et al.
T
EM
ThM = T * sqrt(EM)
Conclusions
• SphinX will provide flare flags to Coronas (testing algorithms in orbit)
• Sphinx measurements allow– To See solar X-ray variability from the bottom level up to
X20– To Determine absolute fluxes above 1 keV, each few s (also
GOES in standard bands)– To Study photon arrival times statistics (needs some more
work on the instrument operation)– To Study small flare statistics
• Will supplement RHESSI spectra towards lower energies
• Will provide the most exhaustive flare catalogue
SOLAR CORONAL LOOPS WORKSHOP IV , Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Janusz Sylwester: Activity - SphinX