ALMA's high-cadence imaging capabilities for solar observations

TL;DR

ALMA's high-cadence imaging at sub-millimeter wavelengths enables detailed measurements of the solar chromosphere's temperature and magnetic fields, promising significant advances in understanding solar atmospheric processes.

Contribution

This study demonstrates ALMA's capability to accurately map local gas temperatures and resolve small-scale chromospheric features using advanced simulations.

Findings

ALMA can closely map local gas temperatures in the chromosphere.

High-resolution imaging resolves complex small-scale chromospheric patterns.

Simulations show potential for revolutionary insights into solar atmospheric dynamics.

Abstract

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array offers an unprecedented view of our Sun at sub-/millimeter wavelengths. The high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution facilitates the measurement of gas temperatures and magnetic fields in the solar chromosphere with high precision. The anticipated results will revolutionize our understanding of the solar atmosphere and may in particular result in major steps towards solving the coronal heating problem. Based on state-of-the-art 3D radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we calculate the emergent continuum intensity (and thus brightness temperature maps) in the wavelength range accessed by ALMA and simulate instrumental effects for different array configurations. First results show that the local gas temperature can be closely mapped with ALMA and that much of the complex small-scale chromospheric pattern can be resolved.