Complexity of the Upper Solar Atmosphere Revealed from Spectropolarimetry during a Solar Eclipse

Abstract

Abstract We analyze linear polarimetric spectrum data of solar emission lines with different formation temperatures in a visible light band from 516.3–532.6 nm, obtained during the 2013 Gabon solar eclipse using the prototype Fiber Arrayed Solar Optical Telescope. Complexities are found from the chromosphere through the transition zone to the corona at the spatial resolution limit of 2″ and temporal resolution of seconds. The observations show irregular spatial and spectral variations in linear polarization amplitudes, directions, and profile shapes. Within the observational band, spectral lines with different formation temperatures can have comparable polarization amplitudes in one spatial volume but one order difference in another, and at the same spatial volume, the amplitudes can differ by one order at different lines. The polarization amplitudes do not consistently increase with elongation in local regions. The variation in the direction of the polarization along the elongation is found from the green coronal line and the transition zone line more frequently than from the chromospheric lines. Such a variation in orientation is not synchronous for the different lines. Finally, Stokes Q/I profiles of the broad lines, such as the magnesium triplet and the green coronal line, show very diverse and complicated patterns. After pixel binning, we show that some of the complexity may be caused by the integration over different polarization sources at subresolution scales and/or along the line of sight in the optically thin layers with complex geometric corrugations.