On the Probable Existence of an Abrupt Magnetization in the Upper Chromosphere of the Quiet Sun

Abstract

We report on a detailed radiative transfer modeling of the observed scattering polarization in the H-alpha line, which allows us to infer quantitative information on the magnetization of the quiet solar chromosphere. Our analysis suggests the presence of a magnetic complexity zone with a mean field strength <B> > 30 G lying just below the sudden transition region to the coronal temperatures. The chromospheric plasma directly underneath is very weakly magnetized, with <B> ~ 1 G. The possible existence of this abrupt change in the degree of magnetization of the upper chromosphere of the quiet Sun might have large significance for our understanding of chromospheric (and, therefore, coronal) heating.

12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2010)

References in corpus (4)

• A Substantial Amount of Hidden Magnetic Energy in the Quiet Sun
• Non-LTE line-formation for hydrogen revisited
• Zero-Field Dichroism in the Solar Chromosphere
• The solar hydrogen spectrum in non-LTE

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• The impact of quantum interferences between different J-levels on scattering polarization in spectral lines
• Measuring the magnetic origins of solar flares, CMEs and Space Weather
• The energy of waves in the photosphere and lower chromosphere: IV. Inversion results of Ca II H spectra
• Scattering Polarization of Hydrogen Lines in Weakly Magnetized Stellar Atmospheres I. Formulation and Application to Isothermal Models
• On the Sensitivity of Partial Redistribution Scattering Polarization Profiles to Various Atmospheric Parameters
• Spectropolarimetric observations of the solar atmosphere in the H$\alpha$ 6563 Å line
• Three-dimensional simulations of scattering polarization and the Hanle effect in MHD chromospheric models
• Scattering polarization and the Hanle effect in H-alpha as a probe of chromospheric magnetism: Modeling vs. Observations