Velocity measurements for a solar active region fan loop from Hinode/EIS observations

TL;DR

This study measures plasma velocities in a solar active region fan loop using Hinode/EIS data, revealing temperature-dependent flow patterns and providing insights into the loop's structure and dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a new wavelength calibration technique for EIS and identifies instrumental effects influencing velocity measurements.

Findings

Cooler plasma shows downflows of ~15 km/s up to 0.8 MK.

Hotter plasma (≥1.0 MK) exhibits no net flow.

Electron density decreases with height in the loop.

Abstract

The velocity pattern of a fan loop structure within a solar active region over the temperature range 0.15-1.5 MK is derived using data from the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on board the Hinode satellite. The loop is aligned towards the observer's line-of-sight and shows downflows (redshifts) of around 15 km/s up to a temperature of 0.8 MK, but for temperatures of 1.0 MK and above the measured velocity shifts are consistent with no net flow. This velocity result applies over a projected spatial distance of 9 Mm and demonstrates that the cooler, redshifted plasma is physically disconnected from the hotter, stationary plasma. A scenario in which the fan loops consist of at least two groups of "strands" - one cooler and downflowing, the other hotter and stationary -- is suggested. The cooler strands may represent a later evolutionary stage of the hotter strands. A density diagnostic of Mg VII was used to show that the electron density at around 0.8 MK falls from 3.2 x 10^9 cm^-3 at the loop base, to 5.0 x 10^8 cm^-3 at a projected height of 15 Mm. A filling factor of 0.2 is found at temperatures close to the formation temperature of Mg VII (0.8 MK), confirming that the cooler, downflowing plasma occupies only a fraction of the apparent loop volume. The fan loop is rooted within a so-called "outflow region" that displays low intensity and blueshifts of up to 25 km/s in Fe XII 195.12 A (formed at 1.5 MK), in contrast to the loop's redshifts of 15 km/s at 0.8 MK. A new technique for obtaining an absolute wavelength calibration for the EIS instrument is presented and an instrumental effect, possibly related to a distorted point spread function, that affects velocity measurements is identified.