The Scattering Polarization of the Lyα Lines of H I and He II Taking into Account Partial Frequency Redistribution and J-state Interference Effects

Belluzzi, L.; Trujillo-Bueno, J.; Štěpán, Jiří
Bibliographical reference

The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 755, Issue 1, article id. L2 (2012).

Advertised on:
8
2012
Number of authors
3
IAC number of authors
3
Citations
41
Refereed citations
33
Description
Recent theoretical investigations have pointed out that the cores of the Lyα lines of H I and He II should show measurable scattering polarization signals when observing the solar disk, and that the magnetic sensitivity, through the Hanle effect, of such linear polarization signals is suitable for exploring the magnetism of the solar transition region. Such investigations were carried out in the limit of complete frequency redistribution (CRD) and neglecting quantum interference between the two upper J-levels of each line. Here we relax both approximations and show that the joint action of partial frequency redistribution and J-state interference produces much more complex fractional linear polarization (Q/I) profiles, with large amplitudes in their wings. Such wing polarization signals turn out to be very sensitive to the temperature structure of the atmospheric model, so that they can be exploited for constraining the thermal properties of the solar chromosphere. Finally, we show that the approximation of CRD without J-state interference is however suitable for estimating the amplitude of the linear polarization signals in the core of the lines, where the Hanle effect operates.
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Magnetism, Polarization and Radiative Transfer in Astrophysics
Magnetic fields pervade all astrophysical plasmas and govern most of the variability in the Universe at intermediate time scales. They are present in stars across the whole Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, in galaxies, and even perhaps in the intergalactic medium. Polarized light provides the most reliable source of information at our disposal for the
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