Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Giovanelli, R. G..
Base-height statistics are presented for magnetic canopies in six unipolar magnetic regions which were observed near the limb with the Kitt Peak Vacuum Telescope and Diode Array Magnetograph during the period 25 April-3 July, 1980. As in earlier studies, extensive areas are found to be covered by low-lying canopies.
The response of longitudinal-field magnetographs to magnetic fields which are semi-infinite or confined to a horizontal layer is discussed with respect to the interpretation of solar diffuse fields, observed towards the limb, in terms of magnetic canopy models. Numerical results are presented for several reference solar models and typical 'calibration' curves are shown for the CI 9111 A, Fe I 8688 A, and Ca II 8542 A lines in magnetostatic atmospheres derived from a mean model. A procedure is developed for determining the base heights of magnetic canopies from observations with an uncertainty not exceeding the order of a pressure scale height. Until definitive information regarding atmospheric structure inside flux tubes can be developed from theory or observation, reliable field strengths cannot be derived from the data.
The magnetic field above two unrelated active regions on September 11-12, 1974 has been studied by means of magnetograms obtained in C I 9111, Fe I 8688, Ca II 8542, and H-alpha. In C I, originating low in the photosphere, the fields are strong and sharply defined, by contrast with Ca II and H-alpha, where they are very diffuse. The similar diffuseness of Fe I is due to the spreading of the field with height to form nearly horizontal magnetic canopies over regions free of field at lower levels. Within a region between two small sunspots some 140 Mm apart, the canopy height is typically 300-400 km, and it is about 150-250 km within a small superpenumbra. It is hypothesized that the chromospheric fibrils taken to delineate the field configuration are not due primarily to lateral variations in field, but rather to differences in density or excitation of gas across the lines of force.
A magnetograph has been developed with the intention of producing magnetograms of spatial resolution approaching or surpassing 1 arc s with a fast repetition rate. The spatial resolution achieved at present is about 2 arc s, and observations may be obtained over a circular field of one-quarter the solar diameter every 8 s. The instrument consists of a telescope with which filtergrams are obtained simultaneously in opposite circular polarizations in the wing of a magnetically sensitive line, and a subtractor which displays the image differences due to the longitudinal magnetic field.