SPRG Seminars
September 6, 2011:
" Imaging spectroscopy of solar flares with AIA diffraction patterns "
Claire Raftery, Space Science Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley
The hydrodynamic properties of solar flares can provide us with vital information required for the complete and correct interpretation of these events. While imaging telescopes, such as AIA can provide us with unprecedented cadence and resolution, they also produce diffraction patterns during the brightest of events. Analysis of the dispersion effects associated with diffraction patterns observed to more than 40 orders can allow us to probe the temperature and emission measure distributions within a flaring source in a unique and innovative way. By comparing the dispersion patterns from the multiple AIA passbands to EVE spectra and synthetic spectra generated using CHIANTI, we can access the pixel-wise differential emission measure throughout a flare at the high cadence of AIA measurements. Using RHESSI images for context (due to AIA saturation) and spectroscopic results from RHESSI as a reference point, the DEM functions can be interpreted accurately for different locations within a flaring loop. Unlike traditional EUV spectroscopy, the high cadence of the AIA observations allow us to capture the highly dynamic nature of these eruptions with no compromise for spatial resolution or cadence.