Solar activity and responses observed in Balmer lines

Abstract

Context. Many stars show Sun-like magnetic activity cycles, which are frequently observed by tracking changes in the chromospherically sensitive CaII H&K doublet. However, relationships between the line profile changes related to the magnetic activity seen in strong spectral transitions in other portions of a stellar spectrum are yet to be understood. Aims. We follow variability patterns in various solar lines in order to relate them to the emergence, passage, and decay of active solar regions. Methods. The line activity indices (core-to-wing ratio) for the upper Balmer lines – Hβ, Hγ, and Hδ – are constructed from the near-daily solar measurements acquired by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument and the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument. Results. On solar rotation timescales, the upper Balmer line activity indices closely follow variations in the total solar irradiance, r ∼ −(0.6 − 0.7), and thus frequently deviate from the behavior of the line activity indices that track chromospheric activity levels (e.g., the CH 430 nm band used in this study), specifically during passages of big sunspot groups.