NDLI: New Observations of Balmer Continuum Flux in Solar Flares : Instrument Description and First Results

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Kotrč, P. Procházka, O. Heinzel, P.
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	Increase in the Balmer continuum radiation during solar flares was predicted by various authors, but has never been firmly confirmed observationally using ground-based slit spectrographs. Here we describe a new post-focal instrument, the image selector, with which the Balmer continuum flux can be measured from the whole flare area, in analogy to successful detections of flaring dMe stars. The system was developed and put into operation at the horizontal solar telescope HSFA2 of the Ondřejov Observatory. We measure the total flux by a fast spectrometer from a limited but well-defined region on the solar disk. Using a system of diaphragms, the disturbing contribution of a bright solar disk can be eliminated as much as possible. Light curves of the measured flux in the spectral range 350 – 440 nm are processed, together with the $\mathrm{H}α$ images of the flaring area delimited by the appropriate diaphragm. The spectral flux data are flat-fielded, calibrated, and processed to be compared with model predictions. Our analysis of the data proves that the described device is sufficiently sensitive to detect variations in the Balmer continuum during solar flares. Assuming that the Balmer-continuum kernels have at least a similar size as those visible in $\mathrm{H}α$ , we find the flux increase in the Balmer continuum to reach 230 – 550 % of the quiet continuum during the observed X-class flare. We also found temporal changes in the Balmer continuum flux starting well before the onset of the flare in $\mathrm{H}α$ .
Starting Page	779
Ending Page	789
Page Count	11
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00380938
Journal	Solar Physics
Volume Number	291
Issue Number	3
e-ISSN	1573093X
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2016-02-15
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Flares, spectrum Flares, white, light Spectrum, continuum Astrophysics and Astroparticles Atmospheric Sciences Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Sciences
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Astronomy and Astrophysics Space and Planetary Science

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
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