On-disk counterparts of type II spicules in the Ca II 854.2 nm and Halpha lines

TL;DR

This study identifies on-disk counterparts of type II spicules in the solar chromosphere using spectral imaging, revealing their dynamic properties and potential role in heating plasma, which enhances understanding of solar atmospheric processes.

Contribution

First detection of disk counterparts of type II spicules using Ca II 854.2 nm and Halpha spectral data, linking their properties to limb observations and solar atmospheric heating.

Findings

Rapid blueward excursions in spectral lines indicate jet-like features.

Features show velocities of about 50 km/s and Doppler shifts of 20-50 km/s.

Properties are consistent with limb-observed type II spicules.

Abstract

Recently a second type of spicules was discovered at the solar limb with the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) onboard the Japanese Hinode spacecraft. These previously unrecognized type II spicules are thin chromospheric jets that are shorter-lived (10-60 s) and that show much higher apparent upward velocities (of order 50-100 km/s) than the classical spicules. Since they have been implicated in providing hot plasma to coronal loops, their formation, evolution and properties are important ingredients for a better understanding of the mass and energy balance of the low solar atmosphere. Here we report on the discovery of the disk counterparts of type II spicules using spectral imaging data in the Ca II 854.2 nm and Halpha lines with the CRisp Imaging SpectroPolarimeter (CRISP) at the Swedish Solar Telescope (SST) in La Palma. We find rapid blueward excursions in the line profiles of both chromospheric lines that correspond to thin, jet-like features that show apparent velocities of order 50 km/s. These blueward excursions seem to form a separate absorbing component with Doppler shifts of order 20 and 50 km/s for the Ca II 854.2 nm and Halpha line respectively. We show that the appearance, lifetimes, longitudinal and transverse velocities and occurrence rate of these rapid blue excursions on the disk are very similar to those of the type II spicules at the limb. A detailed study of the spectral line profiles in these events suggests that plasma is accelerated along the jet, and plasma is being heated throughout the short lifetime of the event.