High-resolution Observations of Halpha Spectra with a Subtractive Double Pass

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that a subtractive double pass (SDP) spectrograph can achieve high-resolution solar Halpha imaging comparable to Fabry-Perot Interferometers, but at lower cost and with larger field of view.

Contribution

The study introduces and validates the use of SDP systems as a cost-effective alternative to FPI systems for high-resolution solar imaging with large FOVs.

Findings

SDP systems reach similar spatial and spectral resolution as FPI systems.

SDP provides a larger spectral range and comparable cadence.

Small-scale structures in Halpha are linked to magnetic field patches.

Abstract

High-resolution imaging spectroscopy in solar physics has relied on Fabry-Perot Interferometers (FPIs) in recent years. FPI systems, however, get technically challenging and expensive for telescopes larger than the 1-m class. A conventional slit spectrograph with a diffraction-limited performance over a large field of view (FOV) can be built at much lower cost and effort. It can be converted to an imaging spectro(polari)meter using the concept of a subtractive double pass (SDP). We demonstrate that an SDP system can reach a similar performance as FPI-based systems with a high spatial and moderate spectral resolution across a FOV of 100"x100" with a spectral coverage of 1 nm. We use Halpha spectra taken with a SDP system at the Dunn Solar Telescope and complementary full-disc data to infer the properties of small-scale superpenumbral filaments. We find that the majority of all filaments end in patches of opposite-polarity fields. The internal fine-structure in the line-core intensity of Halpha at spatial scales of about 0.5" exceeds that in other parameters such as the line width, indicating small-scale opacity effects in a larger-scale structure with common properties. We conclude that SDP systems are a valid alternative to FPI systems when high spatial resolution and a large FOV are required. They also can reach a cadence that is comparable to that of FPI systems, while providing a much larger spectral range.