Solar Physics Division - AAS [SP]
SP12A
CC:221
Monday
1030h
Solar Instrumentation I
Presiding:
T A Kucera, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; C Denker, NJIT
SP12A-01
10:30h
Fast Spectroscopy of the Solar Corona in the 6-25 Å region with the ATSSI Microcalorimeter Sounding Rocket Payload
* Martinez-Galarce, D
(denmart@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3251 Hanover St
O/ADBS B/252, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Boerner, P
(boerner@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3251 Hanover St
O/ADBS B/252, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Deiker, S
(deiker@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3251 Hanover St
O/ADBS B/252, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Cabrera, B
(cabrera@stanford.edu)
, Stanford University Physics Department, MC 4060, Stanford, CA 94305 United States
Chakraborty, S
(deepc@stanford.edu)
, Stanford University Physics Department, MC 4060, Stanford, CA 94305 United States
Barbee, T
(barbee2@llnl.gov)
, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550 United States
Irwin, K
(kent.irwin@nist.gov)
, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305 United States
Baker, P
(pcbaker@frontiernet.net)
, Baker Consulting, Walnut Creek, CA 94595 United States
The Advanced Technology Solar Spectroscopic Imager (ATSSI) sounding rocket payload will employ a quantum microcalorimeter
detector placed at the focus of a Wolter I telescope to study energy release in the active solar corona. Over its nominal 300 second observing period, the ATSSI will record ~120 spectra with its 2x2 array of detectors. These spectra span the
range of 6-25 Å with spectral resolution of ~650, spatial resolution of ~5 arcsec, and time cadence of ~10 seconds. The ATSSI will record high signal-to-noise measurements of the intensity of ~12 emission lines formed from
1-10 MK, including the temperature and density-sensitive lines of Fe XVII in the 15-17 Å region. The ATSSI's unique
capabilities will provide powerful constraints on the parameters of the coronal heating mechanism.
SP12A-02
10:45h
Cryogenic 3-D Detectors for Solar Physics
* Stern, R A
(stern@lmsal.com)
, LMSAL, Dept. ADBS
Bldg. 252
3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Martinez-Galarce, D
(denmart@lmsal.com)
, LMSAL, Dept. ADBS
Bldg. 252
3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Rausch, A
(rausch@lmsal.com)
, LMSAL, Dept. ADBS
Bldg. 252
3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Shing, L
(shing@lmsal.com)
, LMSAL, Dept. ADBS
Bldg. 252
3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Deiker, S
(deiker@lmsal.com)
, LMSAL, Dept. ADBS
Bldg. 252
3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Boerner, P
(boerner@lmsal.com)
, LMSAL, Dept. ADBS
Bldg. 252
3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Metcalf, T
(metcalf@lmsal.com)
, LMSAL, Dept. ADBS
Bldg. 252
3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Cabrera, B
(cabrera@stanford.edu)
, Stanford University, Physics Department, Stanford, CA 94305 United States
Leman, S W
(swleman@stanford.edu)
, Stanford University, Physics Department, Stanford, CA 94305 United States
Brink, P
(pbrink@hep.stanford.edu)
, Stanford University, Physics Department, Stanford, CA 94305 United States
Irwin, K
(irwin@boulder.nist.gov)
, NIST, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305-3328 United States
Alexander, D
(dalex@rice.edu)
, Rice University, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005 United States
Cryogenic microcalorimeters operating in the sub-Kelvin temperature range provide non-dispersive energy resolution at optical through gamma ray energies (e.g, E/Δ E ~ 1500 at 6 keV). Microcalorimeters also
have high time resolution (msec or better), and can be made into imaging
arrays through SQUID multiplexing of individual pixels or employing
position sensitive detector structures. The application of such "3-D"
detector technology to solar physics will lead to significant advances in
our understanding of magnetic reconnection in the Sun, including X-ray
jet phenomena, and active region heating and dynamics. An Explorer-class
solar mission within the next 5-10 years, based upon these detectors, is
rapidly becoming technically feasible. LMSAL currently has an internally
funded laboratory research program to investigate TES (Transition Edge
Sensor) microcalorimeters; we recently saw our first X-ray photons using
TES detectors supplied by NIST. In addition, we have recently been funded
by NASA to begin work with NIST on position-sensitive X-ray strip
detectors for solar physics applications. Finally, we are collaborating
with with Stanford and NIST on a solar sounding rocket. In
this presentation, we will discuss the current status of these programs
and their applicability to future Explorer missions and Roadmap missions
such as RAM.
SP12A-03
11:00h
Microcalorimeter X-ray Detectors for Solar Physics
* Deiker, S
(deiker@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3176 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Boerner, P
(boerner@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3176 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Martinez-Galarce, D
(denmart@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3176 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Metcalf, T
(metcalf@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3176 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Rausch, A
(rausch@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3176 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Shing, L
(shing@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3176 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Stern, R
(stern@lmsal.com)
, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3176 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 United States
Irwin, K
(irwin@boulder.nist.gov)
, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305 United States
William, D
(doriese@boulder.nist.gov)
, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305 United States
Reintsema, C
(reintsema@boulder.nist.gov)
, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305 United States
Ullom, J
(ullom@boulder.nist.gov)
, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305 United States
Cabrera, B
(cabrera@stanford.edu)
, Stanford University Dept. of Physics, Main Office, Varian Physics room 108
382 Via Pueblo Mall, Palo Alto, CA 94305 United States
Lehman, S
(lehman@stanford.edu)
, Stanford University Dept. of Physics, Main Office, Varian Physics room 108
382 Via Pueblo Mall, Palo Alto, CA 94305 United States
Brink, P
(pbrink@stanford.edu)
, Stanford University Dept. of Physics, Main Office, Varian Physics room 108
382 Via Pueblo Mall, Palo Alto, CA 94305 United States
Cryogenic X-ray microcalorimeters provide high spectral resolution over a large bandwidth. They have achieved < 3 eV
resolution at 5.9 keV, and can produce this performance simultaneously from 0.25 to 10 keV. Although they operate at low (< 0.1 K) temperatures, such temperature are now easily produced. Microcalorimeters cooled by adiabatic demagnetization
refrigerators have already flown on sounding rocket flights to study the soft X-ray background of the interstellar medium,
and will soon be launched on the ASTRO-E II satellite. Microcalorimeters based on superconducting transition edge sensors are multiplexable and may be fabricated using standard photolithographic techniques. This makes large arrays of
microcalorimeters feasible. Each pixel of such an array detects the arrival time of each photon to within < 0.01 ms. Such
an instrument would offer simultaneous spatial, temporal and energy resolution, bringing a wealth of new information about
solar processes. Current design and performance of microcalorimeters will be presented. Future improvements required to
optimize microcalorimeters for solar physics applications will also be discussed.
SP12A-04
11:15h
Solar Polar Imager Vision Mission Study: Observing Solar Activity from a New Perspective
* Socker, D G
(dennis.socker@nrl.navy.mil)
, NRL, 4555 OVERLOOK AVE., S.W., Washington, DC 20375-5000 United States
Liewer, P C
(paulett.liewer@jpl.nasa.gov)
, JPL, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109-8099 United States
Due to the effects of solar rotation, solar observations from vantage points well out of the ecliptic plane will enable
measurement of the magnetic fields and convective flows in the polar regions of the Sun that are crucial to understanding the solar magnetic dynamo. These same vantage points are also near optimal for measurement of the solar atmosphere at the poles, and allow a panoramic view of the solar corona, coronal mass ejections and the inner heliosphere. In this poster, we present results from the Vision Mission Study of a Solar Polar Imager (SPI) mission. The SPI mission uses solar sail propulsion to
place a sun pointed spacecraft in a 0.5 AU circular orbit around the Sun with an inclination of 75 degrees. Details of the
scientific objectives, instrument suite, observations and mission design are presented.